Lost in Blue 2
I always wanted to play a gem where I could fist-fight a wolf.
Tags: Lost in Blue 2 Categories: DS Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Apr 11th, 2007
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost in Blue 2 (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Strategy | No | ||
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If you get stuck on a desert island it is best to have a light appetite, and a taste for exotic fungi. Jack and Amy from Konami’s Lost in Blue 2, do not have either of these qualities, and it makes for a tedious adventure. The second installment of the Survival Kids series for the DS, LiB 2 is not going to be the game for everyone, but if you have patience and can get into the simulation side of the game, it is rewarding.
The player assumes the role of Jack or Amy, two high school seniors. Both were on a class trip aboard an ocean liner that sank during a storm. You can choose either to play as your main character, but the game doesn’t differ much for either. After washing ashore, the kids band together for survival, and find a small cave to call home. This becomes home base, and you can set out alone, or as a group. In the cave you find the first of many mini-games that this title has to offer, fire starting. Using either the shoulder buttons or the stylus to roll a stick between your hands, and then blowing in the mic to start the fire, this is one you’ll be repeating quite a few times. Gathering firewood for your partner to keep the fire going is another daily chore, if not twice daily.
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Next on the chore list, is feeding yourself. Scattered around your cave are mushrooms, and towards the beach, there are coconut trees, seaweed, and clams. This will be your diet for quite a while, so be prepared to cover the same ground quite a bit. After gathering up the needed food, you head back to the cave to the next mini-game, cooking. Not quite Cooking Mama, this manages to become more irritating than rewarding. There are some bugs in the touch screen response as well, especially when grilling up your finds. Be careful when scavenging for mushrooms, as most are poisonous in some manner. Although there is one poisonous mushroom with a benefit, acting like No-Doz it allows you to run around with out losing energy, and helps you get more ground covered in a single day. The issue with the food situation is that these kids eat a lot, and are still hungry. This and the fire are huge parts of the game, and it is easy to get annoyed.
There is a natural rhythm to he game, you will scavenge for a day or so until you get enough of a surplus to spend a day exploring, get so far, and then be returned to your cave. There are obstacles that only can be done with both players, so you can’t orphan the cave sitter. Across the island you will run into some tough enemies, and new tools to construct. The tools are a rather novel concept, which may leave some players lost. It isn’t easy to find everything you are looking for, and may end up searching the grass for a specific piece for a lengthy period of time. It may waste valuable time that could be spent finding food so be careful. You do have the benefit of a partner who can go out and find firewood or food on their own, and leveraging this will be the only way to dent the dense unexplored reaches of the island.
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There is a two-player function, but it is a competition of mini-games, and lacks any real value. Seeing who can start fires faster, catch more fish doesn’t hold the attention span of many players. Hopefully Konami will make a co-op version for the next installment, but we will see.
Lost in Blue 2 is not an adventure game, it is simulation, and there is an adventure behind the simulation, but it isn’t that straight forward. I would like to see a desert island adventure, akin to Robinson Crusoe, but this isn’t it. This is a good simulation of the tedious nature to survival in the simplest sense, but I think Konami may have over done it. Play this in small doses, to get ahead, and you’ll avoid frustration. The experience may be tedious at time, but it isn’t meant to be approached as a simple obstacle, solve, and repeat kind of game. While there are elements of adventure here, simulation seems to be the main focus. It is disappointing that much of the day-to-day survival needs were made so in depth because it may repulse some players.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ Really works with your natural curiosity to keep you involved + The ability to assign tasks to the other castaway is a big help |
7.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Some of tasks are way too involved for how much you have to repeat them - The AI for the partner is great at finding food, but have them cook dinner, and it is starvation rations for you |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
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A simulation at heart that tries to dress up as an adventure. The adventure and plot are secondary, so may not be for everyone. Meant to be played here and there, rather than straight through. |
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Tags: Lost in Blue 2
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Apr 11th, 2007 and is filed under DS Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
