Publisher: Encore
Developer: White Birds Productions
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Pentium III 1.5 Ghz; 512 MB RAM; Windows XP SP2/Vista; 3D Video Card
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Bob Mandel

Benoit Sokal is a renowned French game developer most famous for the Syberia franchise, an emotionally touching set of two games that stunned the adventure-gaming community with their stories, innovation, polish and intrigue. What followed was another PC release, Paradise, which did not match the success achieved by the Syberia series. Now, White Birds Productions has returned with Sinking Island, a new adventure that combines the traditional play dynamics of the adventure genre with those of a classic murder mystery. What with the popularity of “hidden object” games among casual gamers, on the surface it would seem that this combination could provide a winning formula.

The story of Sinking Island is not one of its stronger aspects. Police inspector Jack Norm is asked to investigate the death of powerful and ego-centric magnate Walter Jones, who has fallen off a steep cliff in his wheelchair. Norm flies by helicopter to the scene of the crime—the island of Sangorah in the Indian Ocean—and has three days to identify the killer before the island sinks beneath the waves. Jones was disliked by many people, so there is no shortage of suspects, but as the plot unfolds, there is nothing particularly distinctive or surprising about it, making the sequence of events somewhat predictable and uninvolving.

Because the action largely takes place on Sangorah, there’s not much variety in locales. A continuous, violent storm rages in the background, with hurricane-force rain and wind present virtually all the time, eliminating weather variation. The most interesting sight is a colossal tower, built by Jones, which is used as both a hotel and a palace. Here you can explore its rooms and uncover many clues. Even though the physical environments are limited, moving among them is a pain, as you often need to retrace your steps over long distances, which takes quite a bit of effort. Although your character can both run and walk, this doesn’t relieve the tedium of moving back and forth on the island. Moreover, periodically Norm receives phone calls from his girlfriend (or gets hungry and needs to eat) in the midst of an investigation, and you’re not always transported back to the spot from whence you came, which is quite disorienting if you are not finished exploring and wish to find your way back.

You spend most of the game interacting with 10 suspects. Other than the victim’s family members and their partners, the suspects include an attorney, an architect, and a crusty fisherman native to the island and his beautiful, mute daughter. Jones’ three grandchildren are as different as three people can be. Unfortunately, Norm is so dryly laconic in asking the suspects questions that what could be interesting dialogue, instead turns into sheer boredom. The interface requires you to ask each suspect lots of questions (you seem to have to ask all that are available rather than choose among them), which usually elicit no new information. As you progress, you find that many of the suspects have both motive and opportunity to commit the crime. Because Jones is so repulsive, your passion to find his killer is somewhat lessened; however, none of the people you interview are that much more appealing.