Latest Leisure Suit Larry banned

John Gillooly & Byron Connolly, Atomic

Upcoming game Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude has been refused classification and banned by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) due to its sexual content.

This comes hot on the heels of the refusal of classification last week of the game Manhunt after its initial MA15+ classification was reviewed.

Leisure Suit Larry is based around the bumbling journeys of a suit-clad character Larry Lovage who takes part in "extra curricular" activities at college. Larry attempts to woo and have sex with or play sexualised games with a series of female characters, an OFLC report said.

The game was officially refused classification on 9 September.

The report said the computer game contains "obscured and/or implied sexual activity and obscured and partial nudity involving stylised, animated characters."

These depictions occur in "full-motion video sequences" and include instances such as Larry receiving below-screen fellatio from Koko. "Sucking sounds are heard," said the OFLC.

An OFLC spokesperson confirmed that the title had been banned and could not be imported, hired or sold to the public.

Publisher Vivendi Universal Games has declined to comment on the decision about Leisure Suit Larry, which is a highly anticipated follow-up to a successful series of adventure games during the 1980s and 1990s.

Competing publisher Ubisoft publishes games title Playboy: The Mansion. In this game, players take control of Hugh Hefner as they build the Playboy empire.

Similar to Larry, the game features censored depictions of sexual activity.