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2007 · White Birds Productions · Adventure · Point-and-click adventure

Sinking Island

Nintendo console exclusive

This traditional point-and-click adventure game is a classical Who Dunnit. As inspector Jack Norm, you have to investigate which of the suspects might have a reason to want Walter Jones dead, talk to everybody, collect evidence or compare fingerprints. Your PPA (Personal Police Assistant), a kind of inventory/recording device, helps you during your inquiries.

Released: 4 October 2007
Platforms: Nintendo DS Windows
Genres: Adventure Point-and-click adventure Puzzle
Developers: White Birds Productions
Publishers: —
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Third person Bird view / Isometric Text
Themes: Mystery
Country: France
Age ratings: PEGI 12 ESRB T USK 12
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Russian
Time to beat: 9hmain story14hwith extras11hcompletionist

About

Sinking Island (French: L'Île noyée, lit. 'The Drowned Island') is a third-person perspective adventure game that uses point and click game mechanics. It was released in France on October 4, 2007, and in the United States on August 12, 2008. It was developed by White Birds Productions, a company founded and led by Benoît Sokal.

›Story

Walter Jones, a billionaire had planned on opening up a resort for the rich and famous, but was killed before his dream could be achieved. It's up to Detective Jack Norm to crack the case by interviewing the people on Sinking Island to get valuable clues.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Story

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.

Development

The title's genesis came from Olivier Fontenay, who suggested that Benoît Sokal make police games. Sokal wrote a ten-page draft in 2005. He decided to have a male playable character to offer a change from his Syberia series. The team created a new interface for the game, entitled PPA (Personal Police Assistant).

The game was supported by the Centre National de la Cinématographie. A sequel was originally going to be released, offering a second Jack Norm adventure set in New York.

Reception

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. 4Players reviewer Bodo Naser thought that while the game promised a murder mystery akin to those of Agatha Christie, the title did not deliver. IGN offered a mixed review, describing the game as having "weary, stranded-island sleuthing at its soggiest". GameSpot's hands-on preview thought the game would appeal to adventure fans. Gamekult derided the game's difficult puzzles, sleep-inducing dialogue, and lack of plot momentum.