The Sims 2: Castaway (Wii)

When your Sims find themselves stranded on an unexplored island paradise, you must help them to build a new life in this member of The Sim Stories...

Help your Sims build a life from scratch after washing ashore on a deserted tropical island. Overcome the forces of nature to help them become the ultimate survivors and thrive in this undiscovered paradise while unearthing clues that will lead them back to civilization. Build shelters, craft unique items, and discover many useful treasures and ancient mysteries hidden deep within a diverse jungle environment filled with plants, fruits, and even wildlife.

Your Sims change as they take on the challenges of island life and learn to survive in style. Create a new life for your Sims on an uncharted island in The Sims 2 Castaway.

• Stay Alive! ? Help your Sim meet basic needs to survive.
• Discover Diverse Islands ? Explore a variety of new environments: beaches, caves, lagoons, jungle, plains, and volcanic mountains.
• Craft Everything ? Create a new life from scratch. Develop tools, build shelter, craft furniture, create clothing, and make art & entertainment.
• Gather and Collect ? Gather fish, trap animals, raise plants, collect shells, scavenge and decode treasure maps.
• Flourish or Escape ? Build a life comfort on the island or find a way to escape back to civilization.
• Create a Crew ? Choose from a wide range of Sims: Auto Mechanic, Chef, Doctor, Musician, Teacher, Executive, or Park Ranger. Each one brings a unique Sim humor and quirkiness to your crew. Reunite members of your crew and build a thriving community.

With still not a peep out of The Sims 3 on PC, Electronic Arts are certainly keen to keep reinventing the franchise on consoles. This all new game is not for the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 and, as you might guess from the name, involves you being shipwrecked on a desert island. The concept is basically the same as Konami’s Stranded Kids/Lost in Blue series although you start off completely alone with each of the different sims you create washed up on a different part of the island. Obviously your first task is to find something to eat and drink and a place to sleep, with the initial parts of the game recalling the early episodes of Lost (except without the smoke monster).

Soon enough you’re fashioning fish harpooning spears out of bits of bamboo, planting edible plants, weaving your own clothes and making giant tree houses and huts that would shame the average holiday camp. Most importantly you can train your very own monkey butlers to perform your every menial task for you (up to a point). Soon enough your fellow strandees turn up and the game’s more traditional social elements come into play as it becomes less Lost and more Survivor. Once you’re living in some degree of comfort you can then venture out and explore the island and try and find a way back to civilisation (or stay where you are – the game leaves it up to you). In fact it’s probably the most interesting thing to happen to The Sims in years.

Harrison Dent