The Sims 2: Castaway

The Sims 2: Castaway
The Sims 2: Castaway
Developer(s)	EA Redwood Shores; Full Fat (NDS)
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Series	The Sims
Platform(s)	Keypad-based mobile phones; Nintendo DS; PlayStation 2; PlayStation Portable; Wii
Release	October 23, 2007 NA: October 23, 2007; AU: October 23, 2007 (DS); AU: October 25, 2007 (PS2); EU: October 26, 2007 (DS, PS2, Wii); AU: October 30, 2007 (Wii); AU: November 1, 2007 (PSP); EU: November 2, 2007 (PSP); Mobile; 2008; Windows Mobile; May 7, 2009; BlackBerry; August 20, 2009;
Genre(s)	Life simulation, survival
Mode(s)	Single-player

The Sims 2: Castaway is the third console spin-off of the life simulation video game The Sims 2 for the Wii, Nintendo DS (NDS), PlayStation 2 (PS2) and PlayStation Portable (PSP).^[1] It is also available on mobile phones; Nokia offered Castaway on the Ovi Store.^[2] A roughly similar game, The Sims Castaway Stories, is available for personal computers, but is not a direct port of Castaway.

Story

The game begins on a boat after the player creates a crew of characters. The crew can consist of one to six Sims. After the crew's creation, a slide-show starts of some mobile phone pictures that are taken showing the trip and also showing the storm that wrecks the ship. The player's starting Sim wakes up on First Beach on Shipwreck Island. The Sim finds books detailing the goals the Sim must follow to survive on the islands and escape. Shortly after exploring Shipwreck Island, the Sim discovers a second island, Airplane Island, this one considerably larger and more interesting than the first, and builds a raft to reach the new location. After arriving on the island, the Sim is reunited with some of their lost crew. The player then has the option to form a tribe of Sims if the relationship is strong enough. While exploring Airplane Island, the player finds radio parts that are required to complete a goal later in the game. A third island, Volcano Island, can be reached once the player finds the second beach on Airplane Island and builds a canoe. On Volcano Island, the player will discover the remains of the llama people. The player has the option to return to civilization on this island. They can either build a boat or travel to the volcano's summit and use the radio parts to send an SOS signal to a nearby ship or airplane. The player can also repair a broken ceremonial forge on Volcano Island that will cause a fourth island, Crystal Island, to rise out of the sea, however this isn't a priority and is not required for the player to escape the island. The game contains many optional discoverable secrets, including secret areas such as Hidden Lagoon and the Secret Pirate's Cove. These areas can only be accessed once the player has gathered objects such as hieroglyphics and treasure map pieces, and obtained the necessary skill points. This is a relatively extensive process which requires a lot of exploring.

Reception

Aggregate score
Aggregator	Score
Aggregator	DS	mobile	PS2	PSP	Wii
Metacritic	66/100^[3]	N/A	71/100^[4]	64/100^[5]	73/100^[6]

Review scores
Publication	Score
Publication	DS	mobile	PS2	PSP	Wii
1Up.com	C+^[7]	N/A	C+^[8]	C+^[8]	N/A
Eurogamer	N/A	N/A	5/10^[9]	N/A	N/A
Famitsu	28/40^[10]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Game Informer	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	7.25/10^[11]
GameRevolution	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	D^[12]
GameSpot	N/A	N/A	7.5/10^[13]	N/A	8/10^[14]
GameSpy	N/A	N/A	4/5^[15]	N/A	4/5^[15]
GameZone	N/A	N/A	7/10^[16]	N/A	7.5/10^[17]
IGN	7/10^[18]	7/10^[19]	7.5/10^[20]	5.9/10^[21]	7.5/10^[20]
NGamer	70%^[22]	N/A	N/A	N/A	75%^[22]
Nintendo Life	4/10^[23]	N/A	N/A	N/A	7/10^[24]
Pocket Gamer	3/5^[25]	4/5^[26]	N/A	N/A	N/A
PlayStation: The Official Magazine	N/A	N/A	3/5^[27]	N/A	N/A

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] IGN said of the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, "Designed for everyone's inner Gilligan, The Sims 2: Castaway is an amusing, if somewhat flawed exploration of island life. While it gives an interesting twist on the standard shipwreck concept, the hampered nature of the guidebooks, strange placement of plans in menus and continual micromanagement does hamper some of the fun of the title. However, Sims fans will find this to be a good break from the traditional Sims formula, and one that will keep them entertained for a while."^[20] In Japan, where the DS version was ported for release under the name The Sims 2: Survival (ザ・シムズ2 サバイバル, Za Shimuzu 2 Sabaibaru) on January 24, 2008,^[28] Famitsu gave it a score of all four sevens for a total of 28 out of 40.^[10]

References

^ Enrico S. (August 18, 2007). "The Sims 2 Castaway packshots". QJ.net. Content Holdings, LLC. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
^ "The Sims 2 Castaway". Ovi Store. Nokia. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2009.
^ ^a ^b "The Sims 2: Castaway for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "The Sims 2: Castaway for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "The Sims 2: Castaway for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "The Sims 2: Castaway for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Nick Suttner (December 14, 2007). "[The] Sims 2 Castaway (NintendoDS)". 1Up.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Anthony Gallegos (January 5, 2008). "[The] Sims 2 Castaway (PS2, PSP)". 1Up.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 10, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Dan Whitehead (October 24, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway (PlayStation 2)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Brian Valay (January 16, 2008). "Famitsu review scores". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Bryan Vore (November 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway (Wii)". Game Informer. No. 175. GameStop. p. 148. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Greg Damiano (November 29, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway Review (Wii)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Andrew Seyoon Park (October 24, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Andrew Seyoon Park (October 24, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway Review (Wii)". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Elisa Di Fiore (October 25, 2007). "GameSpy: The Sims 2: Castaway (PS2, Wii)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Michael Lafferty (October 29, 2007). "The Sims 2 Castaway - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Louis Bedigian (October 24, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway - WII - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Jack DeVries (October 23, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castwaway Review (NDS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ George Roush (April 8, 2008). "The Sims 2: Castaway Review (Cell)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Jeff Haynes (October 24, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway Review (PS2, Wii)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Jeff Haynes (October 30, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway Review (PSP)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "The Sims 2: Castaway". NGamer. Future plc. Christmas 2007. p. 50.
^ McFerran, Damien (October 30, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway Review (DS)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
^ Barker, Sammy (November 9, 2007). "The Sims 2: Castaway Review (Wii)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
^ Kath Brice (October 26, 2007). "The Sims 2 Castaway (DS)". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ Kath Brice (January 17, 2008). "The Sims 2 Castaway (Mobile)". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ "Review: The Sims 2: Castaway (PS2)". PlayStation: The Official Magazine. No. 1. Future plc. Christmas 2007. p. 77.
^ "ザ・シムズ2 サバイバル [DS]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved March 21, 2022.