Sinking Island

Sinking Island: A Jack Norm Investigation (French: L'Île noyée, lit. 'The Drowned Island') 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.

Not to be confused with Sea level rise.
Sinking Island
Developer(s)White Birds Productions
Publisher(s)Microïds/Encore (USA)[1]
Micro Application (Europe)
Designer(s)Benoît Sokal
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseOctober 4, 2007 (2007-10-04) (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

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

References
  1. "Encore and Microids sign exclusive publishing agreement for North America". IGN. News Corporation. 17 April 2008. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  2. "Shippin' Out August 11–15: Madden". CBS Interactive. GameSpot. CBS Corporation. 11 August 2008. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  3. "L'Ile Noyée : interview Benoît Sokal". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). 19 July 2007. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  4. "Visite White Birds Productions: Sinking Island". www.atlantisamerzoneetcie.com (in French). Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  5. "Mystery Manor Benoit Sokal French Interview" (in French). Mystery Manor. 16 September 2007. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  6. 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. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  7. "Sinking Island - Adventure Game - Microids.com". 30 October 2007. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  8. Jack Allin (11 October 2006). "Sinking Island coming to Nintendo DS - AdventureGamers.com". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  9. "Sinking Island". CBS Interactive. GameRankings. CBS Corporation. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  10. "Sinking Island". CBS Interactive. Metacritic. CBS Corporation. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  11. Jean-Marc Oliveres (25 October 2007). "Test de L'Ile Noyée : Une Enquête De Jack Norm". Clubic.com (in French). Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. Schneider, Jan "DasJan". "Sinking Island - Mord im Paradies". Adventure-Treff (in German). Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  17. Balistrieri, Emily (15 September 2008). "Sinking Island Review". IGN. News Corporation. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  18. "Sinking Island Hands-On". CBS Interactive. GameSpot. CBS Corporation. July 24, 2008. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  19. "Test L'île Noyée sur PC". Gamekult (in French). 22 October 2007. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
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