It's 2007, and we really shouldn't have game characters that are unable to get past such fearsome obstacles as a pile of feathers on the ground. The game engine is fussy and clunky, more akin to the original Sims than the more sophisticated Sims 2. Sadly, the whole doesn't quite live up to the sum of its parts though. There are also lots of fun hints at buried treasure and ancient mysteries to be solved and, if you're so inclined, you can put your escape plans on hold to dig deeper. The early stages of exploration are the best, with a wealth of foodstuffs to find (higher cooking skills mean you can combine ingredients and rustle up such castaway classics as, er, yellowfin tuna with ginger and lime). Although the mechanics of the game are clearly Sim in origin, the hands-on control and emphasis on finding and using objects means it really plays a lot more like an adventure game. To an old Sims veteran like myself, it's all rather refreshing. Then you can decide whether you want to try and find all the objects necessary for rescue, or forge a sustainable life in your new tropical home. There are actually three islands in all, and the aim of the game is to explore all of them thoroughly and reunite with your stranded pals. You can weave new ones from leaves and twine. The more you explore, the more ripped your clothes get. Later developments include farming tools (in a nice recycling touch, you use the accumulated ash from your fires to create fertile soil), and the option of catching and rearing chickens. Spears enable you to catch fish - if you can get the timing right - while stone axes and hammers open up the ability to harvest soft and hard wood, and even tough shards of obsidian for even stronger implements. Soon enough you're able to craft larger shelters, wooden beds and chairs and more effective tools. Goals are supplied by books and journals that are conveniently left at the start of new locations, while successful play grants you access to more plans for things to build. You can name them (I formed a very close bond with one called Heston) and should you become close friends with them, they'll help you out with sporadic gifts of resources culled from around the island. Better still, the island is populated by three chimps who can be won over with bananas. If you want to go where even Tom Hanks feared to tread, you can even get romantic with it. You can chat to your inanimate pal, even argue with them. You could, if you fancy, build a friend from sand and fruit. Loneliness is also a major problem in the early stages, and the game has some amusing ways of satiating this need. When you start out you can only really create a small campfire - on which you can crudely roast whatever food you find - and a rudimentary shelter, which will keep you safe from the tropical rainstorms but won't do much to lift your Sims spirits. A true desert island delicacy.īut to begin with, your priorities are fairly simple: food and shelter. There's no limit to what you can horde, so it makes sense to stockpile right from the start. You can soon start filling up your inventory with driftwood and bananas you find lying on the beach, while a few swishes with your knife will earn you bamboo shoots, palm fronds and other organic building materials. You've got a mat for sleeping on, a pocket knife and an infinite roll of toilet paper for those private moments. The R1 button speeds up time, if you get tired of watching the same animations over and over. Stand next to an object or item and the available options pop up in the bottom right hand corner. Rather than guiding a floating cursor to inspect and interact with things, you're in direct control this time around, moving your Sim with the left stick and rotating the camera with the right. They all get separated, so you start the game proper with just one Sim - you get to choose which one - and must then fend for yourself in this primitive environment. At least, not to start with.Īfter creating a group of up to six Sims, using a rather thin array of design options, the game wastes no time in spoiling their boating holiday by tossing them into the brine and washing them ashore on a desert island. At first glance, it seems like The Sims 2 Castaway (not to be confused with the confusingly titled The Sims Castaway Stories) might be another step along that road since it really doesn't play like a Sims game at all. Back in July I reviewed The Sims Pet Stories, and got a little bit excited at the idea of the Sims engine being used to create different gaming experiences and fresh interactive narratives.
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