Lost in Blue 3

"Enough of letting the series rest on its laurels: It's time for an overhaul!"

Info: Lost in Blue 3 is the third game in the Lost in Blue game series, developed by Konami for the Nintendo DS. It was released on March 18, 2008 in the USA.

Story - 5/10 Lost in Blue 3 follows the same premise as the other games in its series, which is to survive on a deserted island after falling off a boat and eventually make it back to civilization. You can play as either a guy or a girl. The premise, which was pretty good in the first game, and passable in the second, simply falls flat on its face the third time around.

The developers sensed that the premise was getting old and tried to spice things up with extra sidestories and plot twists this time around, (you can play as an amnesiac who doesn't even know who he is) but they ultimately end up causing more confusion. Also, it doesn't really grab at your heartstrings or even make you want to care about the characters' survival. Which is unfortunate, because it is really a good idea for a game.

The four main characters of the game come from different backgrounds and are all tied in well together with each other, but when you're playing the game, you barely have time to even acknowledge the story, much less try to figure out what's actually trying to be said. It's just kind of blah...

Sound - 7/10 Lost in Blue 3, like the other games in the series, is sort of sparse in the sound department, but what's there is done well. The sound of rushing water sounds real, and a little tune plays whenever you enter a new area, or when certain events happen. Personally, I don't think the game really needs much in the way of sound anyway, so it's not a big deal.

Graphics - 6.5/10 Like I've said about the story, the graphics, which were impressive in the first game, and still noteworthy in the second, are just not good enough this time around. There are a ton of environments, all in 3D, but after seeing what the DS is capable of, the graphics just seem underdone. Lost in Blue 3 has more of a cartoony style, in the 3D graphics and character animations. The character art is also extremely cartoony, and even chibi looking, as opposed to the more realistic art style used in the previous games. I personally didn't like the cartoony graphics as much, as it made it seem like the game wasn't taking itself seriously. Overall, they aren't bad, just not great.

Gameplay - 7/10 Lost in Blue 3 has a wealth of things for you to do, and many places to go exploring. You can cook food, explore caves, raft down rivers, and fight wild animals. The game attempts to incorporate action elements (such as fighting wild animals) with adventure elements, (like exploring) and it also dabbles with puzzles, too.

The game is extremely dependent on routine, and you MUST feed yourself and your three companions before doing anything, which often takes up a lot of time. The food fills you pretty well, though, and it is much better than the other two games in the series. However, the game is not clear on giving you instructions, so a lot of times, you have to waste time trying to figure out what to do, which would be fine in a normal game, but when you have to constantly manage your stats, it is something you just can't deal with. Overall, it's a good concept, trying to fit all those things together, but the execution is a little flawed.

Your other comrades on the island will help out if you ask them to, gathering firewood and food and things like that, and that does help. But if you ask them too much, you can make them mad.

Lost in Blue 3 falls victim to the same pitfalls that killed the other games in the series, and that is probably the number one complaint for the series. That being, it gets extremely monotonous, extremely fast, and even when you've spent a whole game day exploring, you feel like you haven't made any progress.

Controls - 9/10 One of the still standing strengths of the game, and of the series in general. You can control the game using the buttons if you so choose, but certain activities (like shaking coconuts out of palm trees) require you to use the touch screen. You can also control the entire game using the stylus, which is, in my opinion, the preferred method. The touch screen is put to good use, and it is done so quite intuitively. (You can carve wood, shoot arrows, and pick vegetables with the touch screen)

Replay Value - 5/10 You can start out playing as either a boy or girl from the start, and after you complete the game, you have the option of playing as either of the two other main characters who appear in the game, for a total of four playable characters. (Actually, I think there's five, because you can choose to try to survive alone, with no other survivors on the island, which, in my opinion, is quite creepy to do) All the variety is tempered by the fact that most people will not want to play through the game more than once, although completing the game takes at least a good 15 or 20 hours at least.

Difficulty Level - Hard You need patience, perseverance, and good planning skills in order to get through this game. Not that needing those things are bad, but you don't feel rewarded at the end when you manage to make it off the island. I think the first game in the series did the best job in that respect.

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 timing system in Lost in Blue 3 is sped up. 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.

Final Notes You should definitely rent this game first, to see if you'll like it. I'm not hating on the game, as I have all three games in the series, and have spent many hours with each of them, but Konami needs to do an overhaul of the series. At this point, the novelty has worn off, and it's just resting on its laurels. It's not as fun as it could be, either, which is a shame because it really is a great idea. I give Konami an A for the idea, but a C for the execution. Having all three games come out in stores within three years (one game a year) is not a good idea. Konami needs to spend some serious time in development next time around.

Overall Score - 6.5/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/26/09

Game Release: Lost in Blue 3 (US, 03/18/08)