pixelatedMAYHEM is always looking for new bloggers. If you think you have something to say about gaming, then you are more than welcome to join the team. If you would be interested in joining us send me an email with the subject of "pM Blogger".
The Sims 2:Castaway
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship
Everybody recognizes the opening to Gilligan's Island. It also makes a good (although hackneyed and cliched) introduction to a review of The Sims 2:Castaway.
Full review after the jump.
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship
Everybody recognizes the opening to Gilligan's Island. It also makes a good (although hackneyed and cliched) introduction to a review of The Sims 2:Castaway.
Full review after the jump.
The Sims 2:Castaway is the second title to hit the DS in EA's new "Stories" line of Sims games. Consoles didn't get the original Sims 2 Stories so all of the console versions seem to be getting released without the "Stories" in their name. They are all a part of that line of games, though.
Castaway is a bit of hybrid game. It's part Sims, part adventure game, part collection game. The game starts with a short vignette of how you ended up on a deserted island in the first place. Once on the island it's up to you what you do. It's never terribly clear that the object is to get off the island. (NOTE: I played a rental copy without a box or documentation, so that may be why I missed this detail.) Along the way you'll search the island for items that you can use to make your life here more bearable or to help you eventualy get off the island. You also have to contend with Sims staples such as making sure you get enough to eat, rest, use the bathroom, etc...
The Sims aspect is a bit too simplistic, Yes, you have to tend to your Sims needs, but food is easy to come by. You can use any bush on the island for your hygiene needs. And energy is simply a matter of getting one shelter upgrade and laying down when your meter gets too low. With the way map is set up and the stylus control, you can jump to nearly any location on the island making it unnecessary to worry about the needs to much. Hungry? Hop to a bush, or eat some of the many fruits and veggies you have. Sleepy, your bed is mere seconds away.
The adventure portion has you helping people with their problems (so much for this being a deserted island). All of the issues these people have are of the 'get this for me' variety, and some just don't make sense at all. For instance the first 'quest' the Gardener Sim sends you on is to water her banana tree and bring her bananas a couple of days later. To do this, obviously, you will need to find a way to carry water to the tree and that's great. The confusing part is that the tree in question is mere steps away from the Gardener and the Gardener has a big red watering can in her hand. She has a watering can (that never seems to run out of water) and I have to create some little contrivance to carry water from a stream to her banana tree? Come on. I wanted to pimp slap her and just take the stupid thing, but NOOOO that's not one my options.
There are only 4 other people on the island with you and most of their quests do not take very long to complete. I spent about 5 hours on the main quest and most of that was spent running around trying to find missing pieces to make whatever key tool I needed. It felt like an exercise in futility when sometimes one of the residents actually had the tool I was trying to make, or was holding on to the piece I needed to build it myself. There are no multiple ways to accomplish these goals either. So if you need a handle for a handle, you have to find it or you have to figure out how to make the resident give it to you even though sometimes there is no way to know which resident, if any, has it. I've been around the block enough to know that's the way it is with adventure games, however, I'm used to getting hints as to who may have it or what I have to do to get it.
Castaway suffers from a mild identity crisis. It tries to be two games at once, and unfortunately doesn't completely succeed at either one. As a Sims game it has been stripped of a lot of what makes The Sims a great toy. As an adventure game the quests are too simplistic leaving you with a short main quest. This left me a bit unsatisfied at the end. There is plenty more for me to to collect, but nothing to really push me to keep playing any longer other than the thought of collecting more stuff. Especially since all the collecting tasks from here on out will be repetitions of the same things: raising seeds to maturity, fishing, and trading with the other residents of the island. It's Animal Crossing without the fun after the main quest ends.
I don't want to give the impression I didn't enjoy it. It wasn't really my type of game and suffers a bit from a few issues, but it is a good little game. If you're a Sims fan, you may get a kick of helping to tell your little castaways story, but if you are truly a hardcore Sims fan you won't like the lack of freedom in the Stories line. It's a good one if you travel a bit and need something to play on flights and trains as it lends itself well to short bursts and extended sessions alike. If you are looking for a lengthy story to take part in, there are better games out there, but the collection aspect will keep you busy for a long time.
Castaway is a bit of hybrid game. It's part Sims, part adventure game, part collection game. The game starts with a short vignette of how you ended up on a deserted island in the first place. Once on the island it's up to you what you do. It's never terribly clear that the object is to get off the island. (NOTE: I played a rental copy without a box or documentation, so that may be why I missed this detail.) Along the way you'll search the island for items that you can use to make your life here more bearable or to help you eventualy get off the island. You also have to contend with Sims staples such as making sure you get enough to eat, rest, use the bathroom, etc...
The Sims aspect is a bit too simplistic, Yes, you have to tend to your Sims needs, but food is easy to come by. You can use any bush on the island for your hygiene needs. And energy is simply a matter of getting one shelter upgrade and laying down when your meter gets too low. With the way map is set up and the stylus control, you can jump to nearly any location on the island making it unnecessary to worry about the needs to much. Hungry? Hop to a bush, or eat some of the many fruits and veggies you have. Sleepy, your bed is mere seconds away.
The adventure portion has you helping people with their problems (so much for this being a deserted island). All of the issues these people have are of the 'get this for me' variety, and some just don't make sense at all. For instance the first 'quest' the Gardener Sim sends you on is to water her banana tree and bring her bananas a couple of days later. To do this, obviously, you will need to find a way to carry water to the tree and that's great. The confusing part is that the tree in question is mere steps away from the Gardener and the Gardener has a big red watering can in her hand. She has a watering can (that never seems to run out of water) and I have to create some little contrivance to carry water from a stream to her banana tree? Come on. I wanted to pimp slap her and just take the stupid thing, but NOOOO that's not one my options.
There are only 4 other people on the island with you and most of their quests do not take very long to complete. I spent about 5 hours on the main quest and most of that was spent running around trying to find missing pieces to make whatever key tool I needed. It felt like an exercise in futility when sometimes one of the residents actually had the tool I was trying to make, or was holding on to the piece I needed to build it myself. There are no multiple ways to accomplish these goals either. So if you need a handle for a handle, you have to find it or you have to figure out how to make the resident give it to you even though sometimes there is no way to know which resident, if any, has it. I've been around the block enough to know that's the way it is with adventure games, however, I'm used to getting hints as to who may have it or what I have to do to get it.
Castaway suffers from a mild identity crisis. It tries to be two games at once, and unfortunately doesn't completely succeed at either one. As a Sims game it has been stripped of a lot of what makes The Sims a great toy. As an adventure game the quests are too simplistic leaving you with a short main quest. This left me a bit unsatisfied at the end. There is plenty more for me to to collect, but nothing to really push me to keep playing any longer other than the thought of collecting more stuff. Especially since all the collecting tasks from here on out will be repetitions of the same things: raising seeds to maturity, fishing, and trading with the other residents of the island. It's Animal Crossing without the fun after the main quest ends.
I don't want to give the impression I didn't enjoy it. It wasn't really my type of game and suffers a bit from a few issues, but it is a good little game. If you're a Sims fan, you may get a kick of helping to tell your little castaways story, but if you are truly a hardcore Sims fan you won't like the lack of freedom in the Stories line. It's a good one if you travel a bit and need something to play on flights and trains as it lends itself well to short bursts and extended sessions alike. If you are looking for a lengthy story to take part in, there are better games out there, but the collection aspect will keep you busy for a long time.
Leave a comment