Sinking Island
Preview
Everything old is new again (or so it seems).
by Marcus Mulkins
previewed on PC
In The Beginning
Walter Jones is NOT a nice man. Perhaps being a billionaire has made him less compassionate than others that are less fortunate.Not surprisingly, there are quite a few people that would not mourn his passing on to the Hereafter. (The consensus is that he won't need to pack a sweater for where he's going.) Walter's life dream was to build a world-class vacation resort to attract people just like him - that is, the wealthiest of the uber-wealthy. Towards that end, he staked his claim on the isle of Sangorah, located in the balmy Indian Ocean.Upon this setting he has constructed the biggest Art Deco luxury hotel you've ever seen (in a video game, that is).
It's a pity that the sheer weight of the structure is pushing the entire island down below the waves. A reminder to be careful what you wish for, I guess.
With the approaching Grand Opening, Walter, now a cripple confined to a wheelchair, has invited all the people closest to him to the island. That is, all the people in the world that have the most cause to want him dead. So maybe it's not surprising that Walter ended up in that condition: dead on the beach, while his wheel chair is waaayyy up there on top of a cliff. The leading question is: Was Walter Jones' death accidental, or a deliberate murder? Which is where your character, Jack Norm comes in. (Sangorah? Indian Ocean? What police department has jurisdiction there? One that has "Jack Norm" as its lead detective?) Now it's up to him to figure out whodunit? One of the ten suspects? Was it just a matter of gravity and the fact that Walter couldn't fly? Or just to be weird, how about he did it himself, once he found out that his life's dream was going for a permanent swim?
Time to get working. Tick, tock. The tide is coming in - and it won't be going out once it gets here.
Not-so-great Expectations
Coming from White Birds Productions - specifically, from Benoit Sokal, you might expect a truly great and/or innovative game. Well, as Wesley says in Princess Bride: "Learn to live with disappointment. "That is not to say that this is a bad game; it's just that it is actually just an entertaining diversion for a few days (at most), after which it will be promptly forgotten. The exterior scenes are vibrant, what with the storm blowing over the island, but the interior scenes makes you think the architect's biggest expense was in soundproofing. That is, other than the people speaking, there is nothing to suggest a Real World environment. No background noise; no click-clack of shoes on marble floors; nothing. The architecture is exquisite - about what you would expect in a sterile, 2-D rendering of the architect's concept. The characters themselves are somewhat cartoonish - reinforced by the Saturday morning cartoons voice acting.
Perhaps the most dismaying aspect may be that the PPA makes the case too easy to solve. You simply have to explore every line of conversation and leave no stone unturned. Thereafter, the PPA will catalogue andanalyze the data and render the appropriate conclusion.No brain sweat on your part required.
As far as a preview may go, this may seem far more detailed than you would expect. But as I said at the beginning, this game is "new" only to the USA. One might hope that the game content was tweaked to improve it with each rendition. However, as it was translated from French, to English, to Italian, to... the polyglot languages of Europe, nothing changed in the way of content. So, what it was last October is what is to be expected this time around: a not bad game. But most definitely, also not a great game either.
