Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 44 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 44
  2. Negative: 5 out of 44
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  1. 94
    Where else can I get the chance to score with the head of anthropology and a Russian exchange student all in the same day?
  2. Just one of the most hilarious games I have played in a long time.
  3. Surprisingly, this game has a ton of staying power. Among the hundred or so people you can talk to, there are a dozen different girls to pick up and at least twice that number that send Larry on fetch tasks or trigger funny events. And I don't mean sort of funny. We're talking wack to the extreme.
  4. 80
    Worth buying, especially for the cartoon raunchiness. But don't let on that this is the only way you meet women.
  5. Leisure Suit Larry takes off its clothes and shows us an imaginative world full of sexually starved monkeys that can talk, chicks with dicks, and several other zany enticements that will have you so horny, you'll be licking the dust off your television screen.
  6. Magna Cum Laude does get a slight recommendation based on its grade school level humor, but just prepare yourself for a lot of load screens and repetitive mini-games.
  7. 75
    The voice acting is actually very nicely done and very authentic. By authentic I’m talking about lots of swearing and sexual comments, this is a college setting after all.
  8. Game Informer
    75
    The core of what makes these games so memorable is still there in full force - pretty girls, unspeakably embarrassing sexual acts, and an endearing dorkiness that makes the entire experience feel mroe charming and humorous than exploitive. [Nov 2004, p.148]
  9. It’s ribaldry and bathroom humor told with tongue planted firmly in cheek or perhaps hand planted provocatively in pants – take your pick.
  10. TotalGames.net
    74
    Lewd, loud and incredibly funny, Magna Cum Laude is a game that works far better than it should. This is partly because there's very little 'game' there to speak of.
  11. Feels way too much like a rehash-by-committee of things that barely worked 15 years ago.
  12. 72
    As an adventure or puzzle game, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude falls short...The titillating moments certainly deserve some credit for helping maintain your interest here, but it's the game's humor that's the real star and, ultimately, the only reason to keep playing once the allure of polygonal boobies has worn thin.
  13. Is Leisure Suit Larry crass? Yes. Vulgar? You bet. Immature? Of course. Funny? Downright hilarious.
  14. Wear your morals round your ankles and keep your mind in the gutter, otherwise this crude comedy is shooting blank. [GamesMaster]
  15. If you're willing to forgive its brain-dead gameplay and occasionally frustrating design, Magna Cum Laude is a hysterically entertaining romp through the world of wacky sexual hijinks.
  16. Magna Cum Laude might become too repetitive way too quickly but for those looking for a funny look at the college life, this game will not fail to provide some truly genuine laughs.
  17. PSM Magazine
    70
    It's funny, sexy, and pretty damn entertaining. [Holiday 2004, p.86]
  18. The gags are often obscene, the women exaggerated in all of the important areas, and there were a few sexually explicit poses we had to look up in our well thumbed copy of the Karma Sutra.
  19. 70
    If you're a Larry fan from way back, Magna Cum Laude takes the series into a pleasing new direction. But it needs a greater variety of challenges to be more appealing.
  20. For the thick-skinned (preferably male) gamer looking for some fairly harmless stupidity to amuse themselves with, this resurrection of Leisure Suit Larry is surprisingly good fun, and a welcome change from the constant array of samey me-too sludge that's peppering the landscape this Christmas.
  21. If you are looking for a quick, cheap overnight gaming fling, then Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude is right up your testosterone alley.
  22. Simplistic gameplay aside, the game is honestly funny when it’s not being too lowbrow. Well, even when it’s lowbrow there are still quite a few amusing moments.
  23. Computer Games Magazine
    67
    While the mini-games are shallow and sometimes boring, Magna Cum Laude has an interseting adult humor element that is sure to keep one amused while playing. [Feb 2005, p.9]
  24. The PS2 version suffers from some absolutely brutal load times. Every time that you start to talk with a character you can expect a 30 second wait, and every time that you head to a new area, you can expect a 45-60 second wait. Not exactly a great way to keep people in the game.
  25. As a showcase for adolescent high-jinks and a censor-pushing barrage of four-letter words, Larry succeeds as well as the average episode of "Jackass;" as a video game, it's a lackluster sequel in a series that once relied more on innuendo than on crude references and penis jokes.
  26. It seemed like High Voltage gathered many good ideas that had been used by other companies and placed them into one game instead of coming up with hot new ideas of their own.
  27. It has to be said though – as a game, LSL is pretty thin. The mini-games are weak and become pretty repetitive. Happily though, the bawdy comedy that plays out while you’re going through the motions, especially during the conversations, do make it all worthwhile.
  28. Magna Cum Laude is a bore to play, repetitive mini-games, constant loading screens in-between locations and no challenge whatsoever makes this experience a very tiresome one indeed.
  29. Being a fan of the series it hurts to see the Leisure Suit Larry franchise brought up to date like this, a lot more thought and effort was needed instead of just relying on the boobs.
  30. A bit like a cross of "Parappa the Rapper" and the film "Animal House." The sleazy humor is fun for a while but gameplay can get repetitive.
  31. The one point of Magna Cum Laude that stands out is the fairly hysterical humor of the game. Borrowing pages from movies such as "Animal House," Magna Cum Laude has some of the funniest lines ever uttered in a video game. The characters and the dialog bring unprecedented humor to the consoles.
  32. The only reason to play Larry is because of the Quarters minigame and the humor. The comedy is absolutely side-splitting in most of the game, bringing back memories of "Road Trip" or "Old School."
  33. Fans of the series will probably gain the most enjoyment but its still not as good as the classic versions all those years ago. Everyone else should look elsewhere for their kicks I’m afraid.
  34. Because of the shallow gameplay, I can't imagine anyone playing through this game once, much less multiple times. It's a simplistic romp into gaming nostalgia that won't appeal to anyone but the most retro of the retro-gamers out there.
  35. GMR Magazine
    50
    It's this constant barrage of humor, both cliched and well written, that saves Larry from flunking out. [Dec 2004, p.122]
  36. Even though the mini-games are too common and unnecessarily repetitive, and the random cartoon nudity isn't worth the effort, the wonderfully insane dialogue and characters are worth taking a trip to Larry's collegiate adventure.
  37. Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
    50
    Ironically, MCL turns out to be a better boobtastic party game than "The Guy Game." [Dec 2004, p.118]
  38. 50
    While it has the series' trademark snappy dialogue, sultry vixens, and more double entendres than a classic Rodney Dangerfield routine, it's missing one thing: the fun. The mini-games dragged after only a few hours, and getting through the game felt like a chore.
  39. It's the sort of game you'll stick with to the end in spite of yourself, and you may even find yourself chuckling once or twice along the way too. [PSW]
  40. 40
    Larry's longevity will be directly proportionate to the amount of laughs you derive from bodily functions great and small.
  41. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    25
    Larry's surreal brand of dong-and-fart humor lost me somewhere between the fifth date-rape joke and the gay-bar sing-along...The meat of the game - the cheesy, lowbrow funny business - goes limp in mere minutes. [Dec 2004, p.148]
  42. Convincing voice-acting and a humorous (if puerile) script cannot do enough to disguise the fact that this is an utterly vacuous game.
  43. One of the worst games we’ve ever seen. As much as we’d like to see more sexual content in games, we’re afraid Magna Cum Laude will do for Mature games what "Showgirls" did for NC-17 rated movies.
  44. Play Magazine
    0
    There's hardly a semblance of gameplay here, and the game rarely even offers a laugh. Smut isn't what gaming should be about. [Nov 2004, p.75]

Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2004
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 29 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 29
  2. Negative: 8 out of 29
  1. Duta
    Oct 24, 2004
    9
    F... those who says this game sucks. Man I'm not sure by myself what's so interesting in this game. But to tell you the truth, I F... those who says this game sucks. Man I'm not sure by myself what's so interesting in this game. But to tell you the truth, I cant stop playing it from 9 pm till 5am.. which make my ps2 goes to the service shop. Full Review »
  2. Jason
    Sep 16, 2004
    8
    Very creative and witty dialogue, but the gameplay gets repetitive after a while. Also when Larry is drunk the game is essentially Very creative and witty dialogue, but the gameplay gets repetitive after a while. Also when Larry is drunk the game is essentially impossible; rather than making things difficult to see, it forces you to have absolutely precise timing. Minor flaws, however, and the game is worth renting at the least. Full Review »
  3. Sep 9, 2023
    4
    Lost many a nut to this one. The dialogue is the best part of the game, the mini-games are fun at 1st but get repetitive. This game is notLost many a nut to this one. The dialogue is the best part of the game, the mini-games are fun at 1st but get repetitive. This game is not good, it’s just here for a good time. Full Review »