"Call Les Stroud, or maybe Bear Grylls"

Developed by Konami for the Nintendo DS, Lost in Blue is a story about Keith and Skye, who get caught up in some kind of storm the likes of which Shakespeare couldn't even dream of. They soon find themselves washed up on an island needing to find shelter, food and water. The player is forced to explore the island and find a place to escape the storm, as well as construct make-shift tools for hunting, fishing, sleeping and what-not. Not to mention they have to actually find a way off the island. Keith goes out and gathers food, Skye stays in your shelter to cook and make you certain items.

Lost in Blue incorporates a range of game play aspects you need to use to survive. You have a backpack to keep your stuff in, but it only has a limited number of spaces, at times forcing you to make decisions about what to keep and what to discard. Both Keith and Skye have energy, hunger and thirst meters displayed on the bottom screen, so you can check at any time what your status is. In the first few days of your survival horror (not to be confused with Survival-Horror) you can expect to be snacking on nothing but oysters and coconuts. Later on you'll be able to fish and hunt for animals, set traps and improve your cave with some serious feng shui.

You can use the things you find to create new objects, for example tree bark and twigs can be combined to make a crude fire starting tool. Starting the fire requires you to blow into the DS to get it going. With a fire blazing, you can cook (well, Skye can) some of the food you find, meaning that it will fill you up more, and give you more energy when you wake up the next day. If you don't light a fire though, you won't sleep as well, and you'll have less energy to start the day with. You can also make better beds , also giving you more energy from a night's sleep, and things like shelves to keep your extra items on, provided you find the right materials.

Exploring the island yields great rewards, and it definitely feels good to work your way up from eating coconuts and oysters to making a spear and cooking fish. Eventually you'll find yourself developing a daily routine, probably involving gathering twigs to keep the fire going (which can be deposited so that Skye can do it for you, making it so
hat you don't have to constantly come back to keep it going), spearing some fish in the river or the ocean and gathering wild vegetables and mushrooms. The island is surprisingly large and houses a number of secrets that I won't spoil for you, but it certainly drives the plot and makes you want to explore to find out more about the island's secrets.

The graphics are basic (and the character's heads are huge, no wonder they eat so much), but I'm not complaining. High-end graphics aren't required to enjoy the beauty of the island. The sound is surprisingly life-like, from the crashing of the waves to the sounds of the grass moving and the birds singing.

In conclusion, Lost in Blue is a unique game for the DS that's worth buying, possibly renting, although good luck finding it. It utilizes the DS's hardware (ie. microphone, touch screen) in a way that's fun to use, and not a pain in the butt (although your lungs may get sore from trying to start a fire). Dual Screen gaming at its finest.

The good:
In-depth survival game play, likable characters, immersive environment.

The not-so-good:
Gathering may become tedious, difficult in the beginning (yet rewarding later on), slightly repetitive.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/25/09, Updated 03/22/10

Game Release: Lost in Blue (US, 09/27/05)