"This game might make you want to get lost."

With a sea of unoriginal gaming titles permeating the market, many developers are struggling to come up with titles that feel unique yet will catch on with gamers. A lot of these ideas are not completely new, being based on previous IPs, but may get new life on newer, more powerful, more unique hardware, such as the Nintendo DS. Lost in Blue, a follow-up to the oft-forgotten Game Boy Color Survival Kids titles is such an attempt. How did it turn out? Let's find out...

Story: 7/10
Lost in Blue is the story of Keith, a teenager stranded on a deserted island who meets with Skye, a teenaged female that Keith quickly forms a symbiotic relationship with. Throughout the course of the game, depending on how receptive the player, as Keith, is to Skye, the relationship between the two takes different undertones. The story itself is not very unique, but the focus of this title is not really on the storyline. As such, the story exists only to give a backdrop to a number of the gameplay elements rather than ever becoming a reason to play the game. For example, to explain why Skye typically stays in the cave and doesn't leave unless Keith is leading her around, Keith accidentally crushes the very near-sighted Skye's glasses early into the game. Little touches like that at least give some reasoning to why the characters fall into the stereotypical gender roles that they fall into.

Graphics: 7.5/10
As the first polygon-based Survival Kids title, the graphical style is pretty much exactly what one would expect Survival Kids to look like on the Nintendo DS. The graphics never get in the way of the gameplay, so even though they are fairly plain and won't ever “Wow” the gamer, they are functional and do not hinder the player's ability to get through the game. The top screen on the DS is used for maps and status reports, and these are simple to understand as well.

Control: 8/10
The controls for Lost in Blue are the basis for much what separates this title from its predecessors. Obviously, the two previous titles were not on a gaming system which featured touch screen controls, but as with many DS titles, the developer takes a chance that implementing touch screen controls will seem forced or pretentious. Mostly, the game succeeds in doing this, but a few control aspects are questionable. The controls require a lot of switching between using the stylus and using the directional pad and face buttons. Moving is done with the D-Pad, but digging the dirt for items that cannot simply be picked up is done by rubbing the touch screen. It can become cumbersome, and can make one wonder why the game doesn't allow for touch screen movement. There are other alternate inputs used in the game as well, such as the need to blow into the microphone to start fires and quickly drawing shapes to create furniture. Overall, the control system works well, but there is definite room for improvement.

Sound/Music: 5/10
The audio in Lost in Blue is neither great nor terrible. It is really just kind of “there”. The sounds are ambient and fit the mood of the game, but do little to add to the full effect of the game.

Gameplay: 9/10
This is where Lost in Blue really shines. The learning curve for Lost in Blue is rather steep at first, but this may be because many gamers begin playing the game wanting to jump right into exploring. The game does not allow the player to blow through very quickly, because there are things necessary for completing the game that cannot be done very early on. To go further away from the cave, Keith needs to be fed and equipped to bring back more items. The game requires a lot of patience, but it pays off when a new animal is killed or a new food combination is discovered that allows more stamina to be gained.

Replay Value: 5.5/10
Once you've played through the game once, a second quest is opened up where the player is allowed to play the game from Skye's perspective rather than Keith's. In this mode, the greatest difference is that the player must cook the food that is brought in by closing the DS system itself for a specified amount of time to ensure optimal cooking. While an interesting use of the hardware, this mode is not so special that it will make the average player want to go through the game a second time if the player would not have felt the game was worth replaying

Difficulty: 9.5/10
Amount of skill needed to beat the game minus the amount of cheapness is how I calculate this. A lot of skill is needed to beat Lost in Blue, but there are some definite instances where trial-and-error is needed to proceed or one feels dying is too easy. The player needs to be extremely patient playing LiB, not trying to go too far without the necessary means to get back to home base and ensuring the counterpart character stays alive also. The game has a very high learning curve and the player will die on occasion. A feeling of accomplishment occurs when the player has done something new and lived to see the next day.

Fun Factor: 8/10
For all included in the game, it is a lot of fun, but the high learning curve may turn some players off. When the game is fun, it's fun, but when it isn't, it can get quite irritating. I found Lost in Blue to be much more fun than irritating.

Overall: 8/10
Averaging the scores above, it comes out to a 7.4, but overall, I give Lost in Blue an 8, since I feel it is more than the sum of its parts.

Buy/Rent?
If you can rent DS games, this one is definitely one to rent before purchasing. It is not for everyone. However, the game is difficult to find, and one may prefer to purchase the game upon seeing it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/06/06