Product Description

The Sims 2: Castaway DS Help your Sims survive and thrive on an uncharted island! 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1196 in Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Model: 15734
• Published on: 2007-10
• Released on: 2007-10-22
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .64" h x 4.97" w x 5.74" l, .25 pounds

Features

• Help your Sims build a life from scratch after washing ashore on a deserted tropical island
• Build shelters, craft unique items, and discover useful treasures and ancient mysteries hidden deep within a diverse jungle environment
• Explore a variety of new environments--beaches, caves, lagoons, jungle, plains, and volcanic mountains
• Build a life in comfort on the island or find a way to escape back to civilization
• Control everything with the stylus, play music with the microphone and unique mini games

Amazon.com
Help your Sims survive and thrive on an uncharted island and 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.

Features:

• 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.

Customer Reviews

Sims 2 With A Twist
This is definitely a great addition to the Sims line, and the DS system makes the gameplay interactive and fun. The first time I played, I couldn't put it down. I always had to find something new, or get to the next puzzle, or figure out how to help my fellow Sims.

My favorite part about this game is that it's not your typical Sims 2... there are no careers to choose or Simeleons to earn. You're just trying to survive at first (making a leanto to sleep in, foraging for food), and as you progress you can play musical instruments, make clothes, create decorations for your hut, and plant/harvest your own fruit and veggies. It's very much like a mix between Sims and point-and-click adventure games. You still have to make sure your Sim's basic needs are met, but you also have to collect items, put them together to create new items, help out your fellow Sims, and solve puzzles. There are tons of objects to find and places to explore.

My only complaints are that your items/objectives/upgrades screen is occassionally difficult to navigate (took me a while to figure out how to find the screen that told me what I needed to make certain tools), some of the other Sims get cranky with you if you don't solve their problem right away and you have to give them gifts to boost their mood, and some of the objects/tools are really tough to locate and collect.

Overall, though, great game.

A new spin on basic Sims
In the The Sims2 Castaways you get stranded on an island and you have to do whatever you can to survive. You fish, hunt for bugs and build things that help you progress. Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

-it has simple and easy to use controls
-there are actual goals in this game which you have to pass in order to progress
-the goals are challenging but not not enough to frustrate you and make you not want to play
-there are a lot of places to explore and objects to interact with
-as you go along in the game you can meet other people that are stranded on the island
-you can craft tools and clothes and other objects
-this game has needs like the Sims computer games

Cons:

-some of the objects are really hard to find
-its hard to keep friendships with some of the the other islanders

Overall the gameplay is just what the typical Sims 2 player is expecting. All the needs are the same; bladder, hunger, hygiene, etc. What really sets this game apart and makes it fun is that you have to figure out what to do to get what you need, and maybe find a way off the island. It's like Survivor: the sim version. Having goals also makes you feel like there is a purpose to the game. I highly recommend this game to anyone who likes the Sims.

An excellent port of a classic computer game!
I have been playing the Sims line since the original game came out back around 2000, and absolutely adore it. However, I have always been sceptical about trying the game on a console, simply because of how mouse based the play is that I have been used to. That being said, Castaway for DS is one of the best buys I have ever made. The DS is a perfect console for this game because of the stylus based interactions, so close to the mouse style of the computer game. While still maintaining the fun of an open ended game that the rest of the franchise has, this game also combines a feel of the old school adventure games from the 80's and early 90's, a refreshing twist.

If you are looking for a game that you can play for hours without realizing where the time has gone, this is an excellent buy. It is a great way to take the Sims with you wherever you go, and it is entertaining if you have hours to play, or only a few minutes.