Lost in Blue 2
Score: 75% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Adventure/ Simulation/ Real-Time Strategy
Graphics & Sound: There's a fine art to fun, isn't there? When a game manages to be fun, it usually slaps you in the face. I can think of a few subtle games over the years that I count as fun and I can think of some very exciting and well-made games that didn't amount to that much fun over the long haul. I can also say that some very sedate games created fun moments and left me with fond memories. Turn-based strategy titles won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I happen to like them. I consider myself a patient man, so why didn't I synch up with Lost in Blue 2? It wasn't the look of the game. Graphics are a strong card for Lost in Blue 2 considering the limitations of the system. It isn't that there are revolutionary approaches here, but there are a diverse range of things you'll encounter while in the game world that keep it fresh. Sightseeing isn't the objective, but exploration is a must. The designers picked up on the fact that a big ugly island won't prompt anyone to go exploring. So you get to see plenty of neat fauna and flora and a mixed topography. I liked the fact that the interface allows you to get up close and personal with objects in the game world. It is one thing to see an object on the ground and hit a button to grab it. The use of touch-screen technology gives you all kinds of ways to manipulate objects and adds to the realism of Lost in Blue 2. Shake a tree to catch a falling coconut, dig through the sand for a clam or oyster, and pick berries or loose objects off the ground. There are similarly realistic sounds to complement the visuals, but very little in the way of music. Unlike a fantasy setting where a soundtrack is a must for atmosphere, Lost in Blue 2 is striving for real-world realism and you don't exactly get Joe Cocker playing in your ear on a desert island unless it happens to be on Lost.
Gameplay: Lost is a good comparison to Lost in Blue 2 for several reasons. The stark necessities of being stranded on a remote island with nothing but two sticks to rub together are very real in this game. You play as a couple of strangers thrown from a sinking cruise liner. Nothing useful comes with you and from the moment you wake up on the beach, you are constantly thinking about survival. The crises in real life are putting food and water in your belly. You'll wish you had strange mysteries to solve rather than worry about where you'll find that next berry or clam or piece of firewood. As the game develops, things get interesting and there are opportunities to stretch out the leash that you feel in the beginning. Venturing away from shelter for just a little while can result in a serious decline in health through loss of energy or liquids. There are ways to replenish your stores and there is ample wood scattered under trees around the island. So what's so hard about lighting fires and scouting food? The problem with the game is that all you'll do for a substantial portion of the game is light fires, scout food, and shuttle back and forth to the creek for a drink. The "two in one" concept is neat as a single player controlling two players. There isn't a squad or RPG concept where you get to easily control both characters if that's your choice. In Lost in Blue 2, you'll have to give your partner instructions and manage him or her through tasks. To the partner it isn't meaningful, but you'll find that your "time saver" is just a virtual time-saver. The other character may not have to work as hard, but you'll have to manage everything you normally do across two players. If it doesn't sound that fun to you, don't go any further. This is a game that will test your patience and your ability to plan, execute and adjust or solve problems. Problems arise constantly and the flow of things on the island doesn't allow for slackers or poor planners. When it is something cute you think you need or want, it may not be critical how or when it arrives. When someone's life is on the line - your life or your partner's - you tend to think things through a bit more closely. I couldn't much enjoy all that planning and thinking and dealing with adversity. If I wanted to do that, I would just stay at work...
Difficulty: I found Lost in Blue 2 challenging. There is a lot of reading that will take out younger gamers and the themes are sometimes too adult for them anyway. Characters make comments like "I'm dying" to tip you off as to their poor state. They spend most all their time exploring and looking for tiny clues to things that may feed them or convey water and food portions. In the moments when they aren't tied up exploring, they are documenting or sleeping or something. As a new player, it is hard to get into the flow of things after being dropped on the island. Small cues and tutorials help most players get up and running quickly, but the real challenge is in monitoring and assisting your poor stranded players. I honestly can't say which is harder or easier, but there are a few mini-games that represent a way to play Lost in Blue 2 without all that nasty survival stuff. Kick on a game of firestarting with a friend if that floats your boat, or shoot fish for points. Harpooning, not really shooting.
Game Mechanics: Managing a resource game like this with the stylus can be challenging. Most controls and the helper text will get you through, but I found the controls awkward. Whether the actual controls are to blame or just how I was using them I don't know. I felt like the character changed as he started getting hungry and became more difficult to control. Nobody is really easy to control since they move around at a pretty slow, pedestrian clip. Some activities are best for a pair, so the mechanics for going together or individually are simple. Touching the screen at certain places can be replaced by typing on the keypad so folks aren't stuck. The stylus is heavily used for all sorts of things in the game, though, so don't lose your stylus. For two kids lost on an island, they come up with lots of storage. You'll tire quickly of swapping things back and forth between the storage shelf in your cave and your backpack. Little features like this create the impression of someone almost intentionally stalling. If there's a long game here, it doesn't make for much of a replay since the girl and boy controls are identical. You'll see some changes depending on your ultimate choice. All the nostalgia aside, it is fairly difficult to have a great time playing Lost in Blue 2. If you played Sim-City or warfare titles and found resource management to be painful, then you don't want to play Lost in Blue 2. You'll spend hours and hours gathering firewood and drinking water before you figure out there just isn't anything for you to do without breaking something... Lost in Blue 2 does something for the folks that like to work at a detail level and feel compelled to keep this as part of their gaming experience. Having what amounts to a real-time strategy game on DS is an interesting move and probably perfect for the ever-expanding demographic of the gaming world. I have a bias against games that make me manage so much I start feeling like the game is managing me! One answer to that problem is to break positions into functional pieces and Lost in Blue 2 does allow you to parcel out work to your partner. More of this collaborative gameplay and some more guided story elements would greatly improve the next joint. Open world and real life works in real life, but doesn't make for an engrossing game experience. The game itself is engrossing and shows nice polish, but isn't ready for my big-time just yet.
-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock
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