TURNBERRY MANOR
by DeLaFlunk

Review: BBBen

Basic Plot:

You take over Turnberry Manor, an isolated country mansion, and with it the duty to care for the young women that live there.

Overall Thoughts:

I have mixed feelings on what to say about this game, I guess I’ll just say that I think this game is very good but a little over-ambitious. I think DeLaFlunk’s writing is strong and his characters are good, and I think it’s a little unfortunate that the game’s flaws may have left a diminished impression on players of what could otherwise have been a more acclaimed work.

Puzzles/Gameplay:

There are some puzzles, but I’m afraid they’re a bit obscured by the technical problems. Often figuring out what you are supposed to do is not the problem, it’s more a question of guess-the- command. Still, there is not much to distract from the sex, so it plays well for a romp game nevertheless. There is probably not much here for anyone who doesn't enjoy an AIF romp, but that can be said about many of my favourite AIF games.

Sex:

There is quite a bit, and some of it is quite good and memorable. There are several characters that I really appreciated, particularly Hope, Hannah and Cindy. Some of the sex seemed a little redundant, but there are a number of good scenes that made the experience quite satisfying. Unfortunately, though, I had enough technical trouble that I wasn’t able to see everything in the game.

Technical:

This is, unfortunately, where I have to criticise the game rather more than I would like to. The technical side of the game is fairly shoddy, and I think this can largely be attributed to the large size of Turnberry Manor. If it had been smaller then I think the game wouldn’t have been such a problem, but as it is there are a large number of little niggles and several more serious bugs. Navigating the bugs is in fact something of a challenge, and as I played I was surprised that DeLaFlunk was able to stick with the game so long as it was apparently becoming somewhat unmanageable to write.

I’m not sure if there are game-killer bugs per se, but I certainly got stuck without the ability to continue through the game. Maybe it was just guess-the-command trouble, but I knew what I was supposed to do and couldn’t get through. Though I'm pretty sure I saw most of the game, but not being able to finish or see everything is a pretty serious problem, and a bad blow to the game as a whole.

Intangibles:

The whole rambling, discovering-the-house nature of the game is quite appealing to me – it reminds me of the hentai game Nocturnal Illusion. There is an oddness about Turnberry Manor that may simply be because the story is a little unguided, but I will choose to be more generous about it because I kind of liked the atmosphere.

Final Thoughts:

As I said before, I think this game was over-ambitious. I think it should have been pruned down to a more manageable size by cutting out some of the less necessary bits and focusing more on the strongest characters. I find it a bit difficult to rate Turnberry Manor because I need to reconcile the roughness of the game with the genuinely good elements. As I can’t rate purely for potential, I’ll give this game a rating based on its reality and say that I hope to see more games from DeLaFlunk, as the problems he has encountered will probably be smoothed over by experience.

Rating: B-

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Review: Grimm Sharlak

Basic Plot:
With the luck that can only be born of being a video game protagonist, your grandfather has decided to call in his will early, leaving you a majestic, secluded manor. Turnberry Manor. There is one catch though, and that is to take care of the three orphans your grandpappy had taken in until they are of age.

Overall Thoughts:
Ah, sex romps. In the tradition of Gamma Gals, TM pretty much gives you a house full of horny girls to score with. The actual point of the game is to set up home schooling and the like for your charges, but when you start the game and are banging one of the maids within three turns, you know what you’re in store for.

I think this game certainly puts the “romp” in sex romp, as it never takes itself too seriously. Aside from one (slightly difficult to obtain) encounter, the mood is light throughout. All the various ladies are hot for your body, and you’re hot for theirs. It’s all we need, really.

Puzzles/Gameplay:
Remember how I said you’d be diddling the maid within the first five minutes? That’s about as taxing as Turnberry gets. Most of the puzzles are either saying or obtaining the right thing to get the girls in the mood. The trick is in “unlocking” the girls, either by scoring with others, or calling them to the house for various reasons. The only real struggle I had were with the occasional locked door and un-examinable (but readable) item. There are certainly no instances of guess-the-verb here, as any special commands necessary are spelled out for you.

Sex:
I’m a big fan of the sex in this game. It doesn’t aim to be the height of erotica or anything of the sort, and is instead some simple, hot sex. Some may find that once it gets down to business, the girls in the game become foul-mouthed horndogs, but that’s quite forgivable considering the tone and goals of the game. The game never goes much further than straight-up sex, but there’s occasional bits of voyeurism and lesbianism thrown in for some variety. All in all, a neat little AIF package.

Technical:
Nothing much to report here, aside from one or two very minor quibbles, which I won’t mention here.

Intangibles:
If you’re expecting more realistic characters, with real motivations out of getting laid/getting home schooled, you’re in the wrong place. Essentially it is a game for those that don’t take themselves or their smut too seriously.

Final Thoughts:
The bottom line is I thoroughly enjoyed Turnberry Manor. Along with only a few other AIF games, it’s one I still pull out for a play through when I recall some of its finer moments. There’s not much more to say, really. It’s just straight up fun, with some titillation thrown in. It only loses points due to not exactly breaking the mould of an AIF game, and that it’s in a rather similar setting. It’s down very well, though.

Rating: B+