Sinking Island
Sinking Island: A Jack Norm Investigation is a third-person perspective adventure game that uses point and click game mechanics. Released in France on October 4, 2007. it was developed by White Birds Productions, a company founded and led by Benoît Sokal.
Sinking Island | |
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Developer(s) | White Birds Productions |
Publisher(s) | Microïds/Encore (USA)[1] Micro Application (Europe) |
Designer(s) | Benoît Sokal |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
Release | October 4, 2007 (France) August 12, 2008 (USA)[2] |
Genre(s) | Adventure |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Development
The title's genesis came from Olivier Fontenay, who suggested that Benoît Sokal make police games.[3] Sokal wrote a ten-page draft in 2005.[4] He decided to have a male playable character to offer a change from his Syberia series.[5] The team created a new interface for the game, entitled PPA (Personal Police Assistant).[6] The game was supported by the Centre National de la Cinématographie.[7] A sequel was originally going to be released, offering a second Jack Norm adventure set in New York.[8]
Plot
The plot is centered on the investigation of the death of a millionaire named Walter Jones. The main acting character in the game is Jack Norm, a police officer entrusted with the task of solving the mystery. The events take place on a fictional island owned by the late Walter Jones in an Art Deco-style tower. The plot takes place over three days and follows a classic murder mystery scheme where a detective needs to uncover the identity of the murderer.
Critical reception
Reception | ||||||||
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Jean-Marc Oliveres of Clubic wrote that the game would engross players into its story and history.[11] 4Players reviewer Bodo Naser thought that while the game promised a murder mystery akin to those of Agatha Christie, the title did not deliver.[12][13][14][15] Adventure-Treff's Jan Schneider negatively compared the game's world to Paradise and Syberia.[16] IGN offered a negative review, describing the game as having "weary, stranded-island sleuthing at its soggiest".[17] GameSpot thought the game would appeal to adventure fans.[18] Gamekult derided the game's difficult puzzles, sleep-inducing dialogue, and lack of plot momentum.[19]
See also
- Amerzone (1999)
- Syberia (2002)
- Syberia II (2004)
- Syberia III (2017)
References
- "Encore and Microids sign exclusive publishing agreement for North America". IGN. News Corporation. 17 April 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- "Shippin' Out August 11–15: Madden". CBS Interactive. GameSpot. CBS Corporation. 11 August 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- "L'Ile Noyée : interview Benoît Sokal". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). 19 July 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- "Visite White Birds Productions: Sinking Island". www.atlantisamerzoneetcie.com (in French). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- "Mystery Manor Benoit Sokal French Interview" (in French). Mystery Manor. 16 September 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- Matt Barton; Philip Jong (27 June 2008). "Benoît Sokal - White Birds Productions - Interview - Adventure Classic Gaming - ACG - Adventure Games, Interactive Fiction Games - Reviews, Interviews, Features, Previews, Cheats, Galleries, Forums". Adventure Classic Gaming. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- "Sinking Island - Adventure Game - Microids.com". 30 October 2007. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- Jack Allin (11 October 2006). "Sinking Island coming to Nintendo DS - AdventureGamers.com". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- "Sinking Island". CBS Interactive. GameRankings. CBS Corporation. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- "Sinking Island". CBS Interactive. Metacritic. CBS Corporation. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- Jean-Marc Oliveres (25 October 2007). "Test de L'Ile Noyée : Une Enquête De Jack Norm". Clubic.com (in French). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- Bodo Naser (23 October 2007). "Sinking Island - Test, Adventure - 4Players.de". 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on November 17, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- Bodo Naser (23 October 2007). "Sinking Island - Test (2), Adventure - 4Players.de". 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- Bodo Naser (23 October 2007). "Test (Wertung) zu Sinking Island (Adventure) - 4Players.de". 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- Bodo Naser (23 October 2007). "Test (Pro und Kontra) zu Sinking Island (Adventure) - 4Players.de". 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- Schneider, Jan "DasJan". "Sinking Island - Mord im Paradies". Adventure-Treff (in German). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- Balistrieri, Emily (15 September 2008). "Sinking Island Review". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- "Sinking Island Hands-On". CBS Interactive. GameSpot. CBS Corporation. July 24, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- "Test L'île Noyée sur PC". Gamekult (in French). 22 October 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
External links
- Sinking Island at Microïds
- Sinking Island at MobyGames
- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived June 13, 2007)