Sims 2: CASTAWAY is exactly what you'd expect if you are remotely familiar with the SIMs franchise. Sims 2: CASTAWAY is essentially SIMs surviving on an uncharted deserted isle. Part Survior, part Gilligan and another Tom Hanks, with all the classic scenarios and archetypes of the "LOST @ SEA" genre. CASTAWAY is as addictive as are all SIMs titles. A 3-hour-tour can easily become a 3 day gaming session.
It is obviously a one-shot affair, like the recent "Pet" release so no prior experience with any SIMs titles is required, but like the other titles the SIMs react according how you've constructed the personalities to respond to their situations and your management, too. They need to Eat, Sleep, Socialize, have time appreciate "the Arts" and have some makeshift civilized creature Comforts including island outhouses.
Like most self-contained SIMs games the ability to customize your SIM is more limited than in the PC series. You can morph faces and bodies into your desired characters. Beach and boatwear can be selected along with hats, hairstyles and jewelry. Once you get to the island you can upkeep your appearance with a sewing kit or make clothing from your surroundings, provided you are creative enough. Like other games in the franchise you assign points to your 5 personality traits which influence the way your SIM will respond to your commands as well as how they will respond to each other. You learn by doing and build up skills through effort and application, even fast with skills that are compatible with your SIM's personality. For example: fashioning tools is a mechanical skill and builds up your skill level through uses as simple as building a fire or repairing a radio transmitter.
There are classic genre subplots to become involved in while your struggle to survive and/or escape for the island. There are mysterious caves to explore, airplane wreckage to scavenge, jungles to search, rafts to build and volcanoes to climb. First you must reassemble your "lost" crew of SIMs you can make up to 6 and choose one to start; this must enlist the aid of local monkeys and resources to do this. But, even after you find them you have to develop good relations with them in order to persuade them to "join the Tribe." There are other goals to accomplish with some aid from lost journals and survival texts you can discover. In the mean time there are monsoons, quaking volcanoes and rough seas ahead.
Some suggestions for play: There are no limits on how much inventory you can have so start collecting, you'll eventually use it all. Start making rope and twine early, they have lots of uses, like the sewing kit, which if fabricated early enough can save your original outfits from permanent disrepair (jeans will remain shorts if you don't catch them early, this will keep your "Comfort" level higher as will haircuts, also provided by the sewing kit). Build a shelter and a bed, these will provide longer lasting rest periods and cut down on time lost sleeping. Build a home Tiki in order to assign jobs to your SIMs, so they will help collect or cook with out being instructed to do so. A campfire will provide warmth and cook food, but a island-made grill will cook more longer sustaining food. Build tools to aid your SIMs like fishing spears & poles. Tools like the hoe and collected ash will allow you to plant a garden and limit your food gathering to a trip outside the hut. Build-up your Body skill harvesting wood and collecting resources in order to be strong row a canoe to an outer island or climb across a chasm.
Goodluck little buddies.
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I'm a longtime fan of the Sims 2 franchise on the PC, and in general I've found the console versions of The Sims to be highly unsatisfying. Sims 2 Pets for the Wii was the worst of the lot awkward gameplay, poor graphics, no fun whatsoever.So I was pretty nervous about Sims 2 Castaway, thought it over a long time before even deciding to rent. After one day, I was hooked! It has a much different plotline than any other Sims game, many things to discover, explore, learn and unlock. Graphics are beautiful, and the Wii controls are easy to use for any task your Sim may need to perform. I like that I have the option to complete missions as quickly as possible or to just dink around the island, eating bananas and doing yoga. VERY addictive and enjoyable!
I only started with one castaway, so I'm looking forward to giving it another go with some additional crew members sometime in the future. One thing that another reviewer mentioned and I can't figure out either what is up with that parrot who shows up when you're sleeping and flies away when you wake up? That is ODD!
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The sims 2: Castaway is another cool addition to The Sims franchise. It takes place after your crew of six sims experience a shipwreck and end up on various deserted islands. At the beginning of the game you will have to choose which sim you want to start with; this sim will arrive on a deserted beach were a short tutorial will begin. As you progress one of your goals will be to reunite your crew members and as you do so they become playable characters.There are four primary activities you will be doing: gathering food, cooking food, gathering resources and building shelters.
The game is pretty simple, and a bit short as well (I was able to finsh it in two days). There are only three islands to explore, and although they are subdivided it gives the feeling there isn't much to explore.
It is important to mention that social moves have been dramatically reduced.
It is entertaining at the beginning, and the way the Wii Remote and Nunchuck are used to control the various components of the screen is exceptional; but after you discover the secrets of the Islands, it gets pretty boring.
I would recommend you to rent it first, and to see if you like it and don't mind doing it all over once
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I won't get into the gameplay as it's already covered by the other reviewers. However, this is real important, if you don't live alone or expect to have other members play Castaway on the Wii, do not get this version. There is only 1 saved game allowed to be running at a time. Why EA was unable to program it where other save positions were allowed is beyond me. But I could not find away around this. And if you're wondering it does say this under "Saving" in the instruction book.Good game, but we had to take it back because all 3 of us wanted the ability to play separately.
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Pros:Interesting storyline
Variety of objectives
New maps and hidden areas to discover
Moderately challenging puzzles to solve
Different patterns to collect and craft
Traditional Sim "motives" to keep a sim happy
Make your own home
Cons:
Clunky controls and interface
Bugs still present in published game
Repetitiveness of gathering can become pretty tedious
A little too short for overall playtime
I'm an avid gamer, so when I heard about the Sims Castaway game, I was pretty curious to try it. I pretty much really liked this game, despite it's flaws. Overall playtime: 15-30 hours (took me less than a week).
I discovered a few bugs while playing. My pointer arrow disappeared randomly and I couldn't do anything to get it back. I searched online and found out you can press "1" on the wii-mote and use that to save and reboot. I also had a bug where one of the sims in my tribe became invisible, other sims could talk to it, and there'd be floating food and things, but you couldn't select it. Rebooting didn't help, but after going to another map, my invisible sim eventually came back.
Some of the controls were a little clunky. For example, you can only craft one thing at a time, so if a recipe calls for 20 rope, you open up the menu, select the the submenu, select the rope, select craft... repeat 20 times. There really should be a way you can say "craft 20 rope".
In spite of all that, I actually enjoyed the game very much. I just wished the plot lasted longer, or at least had more side quests, collectible patterns, etc.
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