Sinkha Review

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Sinkha

Review by Orb

Where Oh Where Has Mojave Gone …

Sinkha is a very creative and unusual fiction title brought to us by the folks at Mojave, who produced this and the extremely playable Secrets of the Luxor, which when mentioned, leads to a scavenger-huntish search to find. Sinkha is a similar sort of title, differing completely from Secrets in execution but nevertheless very cutting-edge for having been made in the middle of the nineties.  It has a style so timeless that it will most assuredly never go out of fashion, but rather become a rare and valued piece sought out and paid top dollar for by collectors. After giving us these titles, Mojave inexplicably and unfortunately dropped off the face of the earth, thus making these ever so much more rare and causing some serious extracurricular surfing by those looking for an unusual and wonderful gaming or multimedia pick-me-up.

Sinkha, not your usual gaming experience, is explained by its creators as being simply a multimedia project. Okay, it’s actually a comic book. Now before I get the raspberries from those that don’t want their reading mixed with their exploration and puzzle-solving, let me just say in Sinkha’s defense that this is the fruition of why multimedia titles were initially created.  This is a seriously cool item.

Produced in five languages, all of them contained on the disk, Sinkha is a creation realized by artist Marco Patrito, a science fiction illustrator, who began work on this project in 1991. His idea was to create a complete graphic novel using 3D computer graphics. It then was transformed into a CD-ROM multimedia project in 1994. The degree of depth and clarity of the images created is absolutely nothing short of amazing. It is possible to zoom in on the image of the main spacecraft in the tale without losing any of the definition. The rendering of this spacecraft also became the splashscreen for Studio Pro 1.5.

The story is of a girl named Hyleyn, who lives with her grandfather on Thalissar, a “desolate city of stricken buildings” on the planet Ogon in an oppressed society, and her driving ambition to escape the joyless existence there. It is written as timeless science fiction, and the story moves as well as any classic science fiction short story—it is actually reminiscent of a number of Bradbury tales; “Invisible Boy” from The Golden Apples of the Sun came to mind.

Sinkha is played out in 23 chapters that are very smooth transition-wise, with nothing more than opening and closing animation and a small tab at the bottom of the screen to signify the end of one and the beginning of another. The title simply has jaw-dropping graphics, both static prerendered pictures and animations. You are moved through the environment by the novel, which only gives up control to the player when there is text to read. To my surprise, despite being a point-and-click fan, I quite enjoyed this. The animations are as clever as any of Lucas’s, and if it hasn’t already been done, this designer should be snapped up by the film community. 

Some serious work went into this, and despite its increasing age, it does not look dated in the slightest. The images are quite simply serene, for lack of a better word. It is not an excessively long piece; rather it is like reading a comic book (to use again an unfavorable analogy) or watching a full-length feature film, which for this is just about the right amount of time.

The music was composed and performed by Fancyfruit, which is made up of musicians Sandro Bruni and Fabrizio Goria. The disk also provides an added songlist and play feature, and it is a very listenable score. The music is very unearthly and ethereal, and the sound effects are entirely appropriate.

There is a sequel mentioned at the end of the story, promised as an “interactive adventure” titled Escape from Thalissar; this has not been released. However, if you go to http://www.sinkha.com/, you’ll find quite a few more screenshots and a larger portion of the story, as well as the promise of Sinkha being the first in a series of stories, with the next release, Meltdown, currently under production. This also looks as though it is being produced to be more of an interactive adventure title than Sinkha. The site is kept fairly up to date, so future releases appear likely.

With stunning animations and awe-inspiring prerendered shots, along with sci-fi design that is truly elevated from the run-of-the-mill, my biggest problem with Sinkha became choosing which of the gorgeous shots I took to include with this review. This title is a must-have for any completist. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Virtual Views Publisher: Mojave Release Date: 1995

Available for: MacintoshWindows

Four Fat Chicks Links

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Screenshots

Click to enlarge Click to enlargeClick to enlarge Click to enlargeClick to enlarge Click to enlarge

System Requirements

Mac: 68K or Power PC 256 colors 2X CD-ROM drive System 7 8 MB RAM

PC: Win 3.1 or 95, 486 or higher 2X CD-ROM drive 8 MB RAM 8-bit sound 256 colors

Where to Find It

Check the Game TZ

      Copyright © Electric Eye Productions.  All rights reserved.  No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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