The Sims 2 Castaway (PS2)
Ages: Teen

For seasoned players of the Sim's game – this one is "all gain – no pain". In spite of the hardships associated with being shipwrecked, this one is a romp in the jungle, playing with chimps, gathering fruits and nuts, making things, swimming and eventually connecting up with other Sims.

The introductory tutorial, trying to get you up to speed on survival acativities, keeps rolling at a pretty fast clip but if you keep your Sim fed, and rested, you can wander around more at your leisure.

This is a quantum shift for the Sims. For years, we have been making Sims happy by buying bigger houses, giant TV's, luxury swimming pools, fancy barbecues. Material things alone did not make them happy and so there were nightclubs, video games to play, music and dancing, intimate snuggles in dark parks.

Here we have a complete turn about - shades of Gilligan's Island. Your happy-go-lucky crew are shipwrecked on a deserted island and now you are down to the basic essentials – food, water and shelter. You needn't just wander aimlessly around, Moneywell's Big Book of Survival provides goals, and you do come ashore with a sleeping mat, a knife and plenty of toilet paper. Once you collect the materials you need – the next steps like lighting fires goes pretty easily. Friendship, at first, comes in the form of chimps since at this point you haven't found your other mates.

The steel band music is great, the scenery is lush and the characters move smoothly. There is no appreciable difference between this and the Wii version except for the controllers and the price. Go – it's the next best thing to Club Med.

Fun Factor: A nice romp in the jungle
Female Factor: Dealers choice
Player Friendly: Lots of helpful info - almost too much

Reviewed by: Editor - 11/07