Just (Free) Adventures
Larry Vales: Dead Girls Are Easy

Author: Philip J. Reed
Creation Program: AGS (Adventure Game Studio)
Download Size: 1.3 MB
Approximate Playing Time: 4-5 hours

By Audrey Wells

This game is (drum roll please) ... the much anticipated sequel to Larry Vales: Traffic Division, Larry Vales: Dead Girls Are Easy! If you haven't played the first one, be sure to check out the JustAdventure review of Larry Vales I.

Click here to visit the official site of Larry Vales: Dead Girls Are Easy
Click here to download Larry Vales: Dead Girls Are Easy (1.3 MB)

Get ready for a whole new episode of mentally unbalanced humor, pop-culture jokes, and a whole lot of crazy inventory puzzle fests--Larry Vales: Dead Girls Are Easy has been released. Larry Vale's latest escapades are not getting off to a good start, however. Larry's "girlfriend" has been pushed out of a window of the Gates Motel. His traffic division patrol car has broken down, he's about to lose his precious job, and worst of all, he still has his sideburns! It's up to you and Larry to discover the horrendous conspiracy that led up to Larry's girlfriend's murder and set things right, all the while making comical jokes and silly mockeries.

The most immediately obvious difference between Larry Vales 2 and its predecessor is the graphics. The level of detail for general gameplay is much better--though my personal opinion as an art student says that they could have been better still. (There's always room for improvement!) Still, the enhancement is commendable. Though the graphics are nothing to get hot and bothered about (this definitely isn't the latest in graphics technology), the humor of the game really shines through. Once again, the author--none other than the honorable Phil Reed--gives gamers a taste of his side-splitting sense of humor. To get an idea of what it's like, check out the Pitchfork Productions website and read the fake walkthrough included with the game. (Hilarious!) While playing the game itself, be sure to look at and use everything because the commentary is hysterical. If you neglect to do this, you'll be missing out on a greater part of the humor the game contains.

Once again, the interface (powered by Adventure Game Studio) is based on the tried and true Sierra style: icons for walking, talking, etc. Just as in the previous Larry Vales game, the only minor complaint I have is that the author did not program a response for every user inventory action, even a repertoire of generic ones like, "You can't do that." The reason is that sometimes I would try to use inventory on things and couldn't tell if I was hitting the hotspot since the game did nothing. Inventory objects become your cursor when you are using them, but sometimes it became difficult to tell where the actual "pointer" of the object was. However, these things do not really impact the fun factor of the game and may be contributed to by limitations of the development engine. When I'm playing a free game, I usually tend to let thing like this slide. There are some other new enhancements that really score some points, such as an easy-to-use map of the city to get to various locations.

The puzzles in Larry Vales 2 are relatively easy, mostly inventory puzzles. Some of the solutions to these puzzles are pretty bizarre and humorous--yet make sense in a sick and twisted way. For example, early in the game, you have to use nasty face oil from a pimply teenager to replace your patrol car's oil deficiency, for example. There are ample clues, however, to help you along and put two and two together if you are uncertain what to do. There are a few different puzzles later in the game, such as figuring out how to get Larry to win a boxing match.

Story: B+
Graphics: B
Music/SFX: C
Gameplay: A+

Overall, Larry Vales: Dead Girls Are Easy is a hilarious game with nice cartoony graphics. It's fun and free! Rush on over and download it while it's hot. What else could I possibly have to say to induce you to play it?

Final Grade: A