Lost in Blue 2

"Not the first thing I'd bring with me to a deserted island, but good overall"

Overview-The original Lost in Blue (released September 27, 2005, discontinued in the US, December 2005.) won legions of fans with it's intuitive controls and challenging gameplay. It's sequel, Lost in Blue 2, was on released March 20, 2007, and was followed up by a threequel, Lost in Blue 3, released on March 20, 2008.

Story-7/10
Hmm...Two high school seniors, a boy (Jack) and a girl (Amy), are on a class trip, when their cruise ship goes down in the middle of the ocean during a thunderstorm. They both end up on a tropical island, determined to survive and find a way back to civilization...Not quite a ripoff of Lost, but it feels a little uninspired. More originality would've been nice. Although, how much originality can you stick in falling off of a boat, huh? Oh well, once you start playing, the only thing that runs through your head is survive, survive, SURVIVE!!!

The interaction between Amy and Jack is sweet at times, but they can get frustrated with eachother. They can also be unpredictable. They'll like you one day, then you'll do something stupid, and they'll hate your guts, so for a while, it seems like you're walking on eggshells, which is a big pain when having an extra pair of hands would help. Once you earn their trust, it's great, it just takes way too long, more realistic, I suppose, like living with a moody teenager...

Gameplay-8/10
The game certainly keeps you busy, with a variety of activities to do, from fighting wild animals, to cooking, to exploring, even to diving and hunting, and talking with gorilla! There are many locales to explore, from lush jungles, to grassy plains, even sandy beaches! Nonetheless, the activities you must do every day on a daily basis, gathering firewood, gathering food etc. tend to get boring, fast!

Also, the game isn't very clear with instructions, it'll tell you to do something, but it'll be very vague and frustrating, that's a minus. It may seem like Lost in Blue 2 would be a free-for-all sort of game, having no objectives to complete, schedules to follow, or anything. But in reality, it's actually the opposite. It's very dependent on routine, and there are objectives to complete, in a way. Like you have to build a boat before you can escape, so it's not all fun and games...Also, I might mention one more thing: The game is big on cause and effect. You'll eat a mushroom out of curiosity, and it'll turn out to be poisonous, making you spend three game days to recover, little things like that happen, and can be really annoying. Luckily, there's a very flexible save system.

Graphics-8/10
Definitely a high point. The environments are in full 3D, although I would've liked for them to be done in brighter colors, because you're usually stuck staring at droll gray-green grasslands, or depressing grayish-brown swamps. That aside, I like the graphical update from Lost in Blue 1, which had some grainy textures, they got fixed for Lost in Blue 2.

The cut-scenes are a joy, if not quite up to Square-Enix standards, too bad there's not very many of them. The character models are some of the best I've seen for the DS, they're well-detailed and have a variety of movements, they're not just limited to running around like zombies or sitting down to sleep.

Like I said, the game is all 3D, except when you're talking to your partner, when it switches to a 2D view, with anime style drawings. Very nicely done, with various facial expressions to accompany their ever changing feelings, I might add.

The camera angle also works perfectly, following your character in an over the shoulder, birds-eye type of view. The only complaint I had was that there was some slowdown when the screen gets busy, like during a thunderstorm, not a big deal, though. Overall, a step above the norm.

Sound-8/10
While wandering the island, you'll hear birds calling, waves crashing, and the like. The sound effects are realistic and well done. A little tune plays every time you enter a new area. There are a few low quality, but well done voiceovers to round it all off. They're good, but too infrequent, although they do a great job of really immersing you in the game.

Controls-9/10
The game's crown jewel, a definite high, Lost in Blue 2 has what really makes a control scheme shine: (At least in my opinion) Simplicity. No cluttered screens like I've seen on other games. You can move the characters around using the buttons, the touch screen, or a combo of the two. (Thank you Konami for adding touch screen support, in Lost in Blue 1, you were limited to using only the buttons, a big pain...)

The touch screen control is pure genius, okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it is pretty much perfect. You just point your stylus in the direction you want to go, and off they run! You even have a map, so you don't get lost.

The stylus can also be used in the kitchen and workshop, you can steam food, chop fish, stir fry vegetables, spear fish, and build a raft, all very easily. The only complaint is that sometimes the game will seemingly stall and won't register your commands. It's a rare occurrence, and not a huge deal, though.

Difficulty Level-Hard
You need patience, perseverance, and smarts to get through this game. Its slow paced, sometimes boring and frustrating, draining, even depressing...but that makes succeeding all the more sweet, if you can put aside the feeling that the game developers were trying to cheat you out of any fun you might have...

Although, I must say...the AI issues that plagued the first game are pretty much almost gone, your partner will eat and drink while you're gone (if you tell them), and in general aren't as dumb, although they are dependent on you for some things. (Like food, and, uh...water...but seriously, they're not dumb!) You can even ask them to do favors for you occasionally, like cooking, getting food, water, or firewood, which helps.

The first few days are hard, brutally so, since you have not the resources, nor the strength to go too far, not to mention, the game drops you off straight into the action with barely a sad excuse for a tutorial, even. But soon, after you explore and find more, things start to get easier. Soon, you'll get a rhythm going of how to go through your day.

Your character(s) has three stats to take care of: hunger, stamina, and thirst. Max level is 100%. You can refill them by eating, drinking water, or resting/sleeping. If your thirst or stamina levels reach 0, then your overall HP (life) starts to go down. If it reaches zero, then it's game over for you. The stats seem to go down very fast, so you constantly have to watch them.

It's a pain in the beginning, but soon you won't even have to think about it. It just seems like another one of those things that drains the fun out of the game, unfortunately. I hear that the system is much improved in the newest Lost in Blue game, Lost in Blue 3. (Haven't had a chance to test it out yet) Seven seconds of real-time is equal to 5 minutes of game time. So one minute and 24 seconds of real-time equals one game hour. 33 minutes of real-time equals one game day. Resting and sleeping dramatically advances the game timer, of course. It's not so bad.

Replay Value-8/10
You can play as either Jack or Amy from the get-go, so after you complete the game as one of them, you can play as the other, although it's not much different. They do have different abilities that can help, Amy can jump farther (who would've thought that she could've in a skirt?!), but Jack can climb higher ledges (very handy!), stuff like that. After you complete the game once, Serious Survival unlocks, where you try to survive as long as possible without a partner. Good replay value, I've spent over 50 hours on my copy, which is pretty good. However, Lost in Blue 2 is not a game that you should play for hours at a time, because then it will get very boring and monotonous, and you just might go crazy. (Just a warning! :D)

Buy or Rent-Rent First
This game is not going to appeal to everyone, so I'd rent it first. It's an oddball, but fun game that really tests your patience, planning, and skill! Pick it up today if you like that sort of thing!

Closing comments
This game is a competent but bland sequel to Lost in Blue. The game's big flaws are that it's not substantially different from the first game, the learning curve is steep, and it can be slow paced at times. But it has it's fun moments, and is worth a rental at least. Or buy it if you can find it for less that $20. Really, my main concern is not that this game is too hard, it's quite easy once you get a routine going, it's that it is too slow paced for most people, but if you stick with it, I know you'll have fun! Just go for it! It combines the problem solving and exploring elements of an adventure with the planning and open-endedness of a simulation, a good combo, even if it's not quite balanced perfectly!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/08, Updated 06/11/08

Game Release: Lost in Blue 2 (US, 03/20/07)