by Mike Shelton
Online Games Reviewer
December 19, 1998

LLS is the self-proclaimed "most anticipated internet game sequel of all time."

Whether you solved their original internet puzzle adventure Lenny goes Walkabout, EZONE creators Jamie and Simon Eddis allow us to rejoin our friend Lenny Loosejocks as he solves puzzles on each planet in our solar system.

The cartoon-style plot involves Lenny and his faithful dog Donga transported to a technologically-advanced future to disarm. A race of doomed giant slugs, the Slugees, have planted a series of bombs on each planet in our solar system. Don't let the solar system reference fool you, this is not an educational game.

Lenny Loosejocks in Space is a cartoon adventure in the tradition of Castles of Dr. Creep and Lucasfilm's Monkey Island. LLS sports a very intuitive mouse-driven interface. The clean animation makes us ask "what can't the Eddis brothers do over a internet connection?" LLS's fun soundtrack includes several groovy bass guitar riffs and even the droning moo of purple cows.

The most interesting aspect of the game is cost. LLS is absolutely free. All you need to play Lenny in Space is a fast Internet connection and the Macromedia Shockwave plug-in, also free. Detailed instructions are available at the game's Internet site.

Lenny is equipped with a jetpack, an all-environment breathing apparatus, and a nifty spaceship. However, the most important tool is your puzzle solving ability. Fortunately, the player can not make Lenny do anything that will kill Lenny. Still, LLS is not a cakewalk. Each planet consists of two puzzles: first, a maze puzzle to allow Lenny access to the bomb then a second puzzle to disarm the bomb. Lenny's major activity while finding the bomb is flipping switches to open doors. A helpful map is located somewhere on each planet, or is available by simply clicking the LLS symbol on the top-right corner. Once you have reached the bomb, the disarming sequence is a simple point-and-click puzzle like lights-out or sliding tiles. Major hint:
Write down the number which appears on a disarmed bomb! This will save you much time and frustration on the final puzzle.

Puzzle sections are punctuated by cartoon clips. The Eddis brothers have a clean sense of humor, albeit Australian centered. As Lenny's spaceship passes the seventh planet Lenny utters a possibly unintentional funny, "Eh, look Donga . Uranus!" Hey, I laughed. The sound effects are well timed for humor value such as Lenny's jetpack which sounds like George Jetson's car.

Remember LLS is free, so you just have to deal with some of the negatives of a free Internet game. There is a long loading time for each planet. Even though the boring loading times are tempered with interestingly written notes, they distract from gameplay.

Also, many scenes have no real content. Lenny moves pretty slow, so these empty corridors and long ladders bog down the gameplay. This may be intentional to make you think before running through the maze. When we repeated a planet to find out the disarmed bombs number, we were frustrated by the amount of time it took to get to the bomb.

Speaking of time, there is a four hour clock, so the creators expect you to finish the game quickly. Just moving Lenny through all nine planets takes over one and a half hours.

Experienced puzzlers won't have any trouble with the disarming sequences, and may recognize the puzzles.

Hey, but what do you expect for a free game? We found Lenny Loosejocks in Space to be a funny, original well-crafted game. Take the afternoon off, and check it out!

URL: http://www.loosejocks.com

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