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Computer Times
Editors' Choice DS Game The Sims 2: Castaway (DS) Reviewed by Angie Kibiloski
The Sims 2: Castaway (Retail $29.99), from EA Games, is a surprisingly entertaining game for Nintendo DS. The concept is simple: help your Sim to survive after being washed ashore on a seemingly deserted tropical island. Gather food, find shelter, meet your Sim's needs as you explore and discover every corner of your new home. Simple, yet incredibly addictive. You'll be busily foraging for the various plants you have cultivated, spear fishing in the waves, and hunting for bugs under rocks, when all of a sudden you look up and half the day has slipped away. You get sucked into your Sim's new and exciting world and almost don't want to leave it again. If you have ever wondered what it might be like to be cast away on an island, here is your chance to find out, from the safety and comfort of your own home. The game play is your basic tap and select touch pad control. You touch the ground where you want your Sim to move, touch a tree or bush that has fruit on it for foraging, touch another Castaway to talk with, etc. Sometimes objects can be interacted with in several ways, and you will tap the option you want in a list that pops up. For instance, touching a bush will give you the options to Cut Down, Forage, Water, or Use (meaning squatting behind it to…uhm…relieve your Sim). When speaking to another Sim, you might have the options to Talk, Offer Help, Give Gift, or Trade.
As you explore, certain crafting areas will be discovered, like a rock to fashion clothing on, one to prepare food on, and one to make useful items on. You must gather the needed elements for each new crafted item during your exploration, by picking them up off the ground, trading for them, diving in the ocean, spear fishing, or foraging. The longer you play, more items to craft will become available.
Surviving is not as simple as just finding food and shelter and making new items. Your Sim has many needs to be met. She needs to eat, rest, bathe, make friends, keep her bladder empty, and find comfort each day. You can gauge her needs by the handy meter bars in the top screen. As each day progresses, or during certain activities, the bars of each need will go down. If they go down to a critical level, they will flash red and an annoying beeping will remind you to take action fast, or suffer the consequences. Saving the game is easy. Every time your Sim sleeps, you are given the option to save, and 3 save slots to choose from that tell you how far you are into the game. You can put your Sim to bed any time you choose, so you never have to worry about losing your spot in the game. As well as the percentage of completion shown in the save slots, you can track your progress through the game in the multi-functional menu. Your Sim's menu keeps track of the map of the island, which you can use to quick jump to any area you have discovered, the food you have collected, the items you have found, the templates you have unlocked for crafting things, and more. It is a very helpful resource.
The Sims 2: Castaway is an easy game to learn, and hours of fun to play. The Sims games have come a long way over the years, and I am really excited about this new addition. You will have tons of addictive fun caring for your little Sim, finding her food, making her clothes, helping her master the fine art of spear fishing. For anyone who has ever watched Lost or Survivor on television, or the movie Castaway, and thought, "Huh, I could do that," well here is your chance, without all the hazards of sun stroke, island fever, and nasty tropical creatures. And you know, if you starve or die from exhaustion, all you have to do is start over. Piece of cake. Also available for PSP, PS2, Wii, and soon for PC.
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