Immoral Study #1: Reiko Shirakawa
Reviewed by Craxton (craxton@erols.com)
 
Publisher: ScooP
Cost: $35.00
Technical: Minimal. Win95 based.
Graphics: Very Good.
Music/Sound: Decent. Voiceovers.
NPCs: Good, though a bit over the top.
Writing: Very Good. Could use some fine-tuning though.
Plot: Good, although short and straightforward.
Interface: Excellent.
Sex: Very Good.
Kinkyness: Seduction, Light Bondage
Overall: Solid, engaging one-evening game... at the price of a solid, 
engaging, three-evening game.
 
As a general rule, I don't like short games. Of any kind. Being stuck on 
a single boss or puzzle for weeks frustrates me incessantly, but being 
able to breeze through something first try doesn't interest me much 
either. So it comes as something of a surprise that Immoral Study, which 
is easily winnable in about forty minutes, turns out to be such a good 
game. But it IS a good game.
 
Most Hentai games are orchestrated more or less like a novel: a sequence 
of chapters occurring more or less in sequence, moving the action along 
towards the inevitable climax. The player gets a sense of progression, of 
moving from one point to the next, to the next, until finally reaching 
the end. However, "Immoral Study" plays more like one of those short 
"stroke" tales you find on internet pornography sites. There is a plot, 
true, but the primary body of the work is in the sex. I have a reputation 
for being against games that do this, however, in the context of Immoral 
Study, it somehow works.
 
The introductory text makes your character and goals quite clear: You're 
a sleazy but highly successful teacher who makes a living as a private 
tutor, and your goal is to seduce your latest student, the innocent young 
Reiko Shirakawa. And when I say innocent, I mean it. The girl's 
personality is almost unrealistic due to the sheer amount of innocence 
and purity she radiates. She even looks shocked and confused when you say 
"shit." 
 
To seduce Reiko, you have to decieve your way around the issue until 
she's sufficiently aroused, all the while avoiding the Shirakawa's bitchy 
old housekeeper. All this is done from a well-designed interface. 
Although the player doesn't have a lot of true freedom, he has a sense of 
being in control.
 
Immoral Study also brings the innovation of video to the Hentai genre. 
Although EVE Burst Error also had animated segments, EVE was also not 
truly Hentai, and thus didn't make use of it's innovation for intimate 
scenes. (Come to think of it, neither did Desire...) Immoral Study does, 
and it works well. The animation is clean and effective, though a bit 
pixelated at times.
 
The two major problems with Immoral Study are depth and price. This is 
not a "serious" game, or indeed one that even has a point. The one time 
the game does try to make a point, it comes off as ludicrous. Make no 
mistake, Immoral Study is pure porno, albeit very good porno. Although 
it's certainly entertaining, I prefer something with a bit more 
substance. And, as I mentioned before, some players will no doubt feel 
cheated to get less play time for the same amount of money as a longer 
game. Replay value is the saving grace, however. A short tale like this 
is excellent for those times when you don't really feel like starting on 
something longer, say "Nocturnal Illusions". ^_-
 
The "extras" included on the game CD imply two more "Immoral Study" 
scenerios forthcoming. I'll be waiting.

	- Craxton <craxton@erols.com>