"If desert islands were really like this, I'd go get a boat today"

Lost in Blue - Nintendo DS

This is the game that made me buy the DS. I know that sounds weird, but it's true. I saw the video for it a year or so ago and said to myself that I had to have it.

The game itself if you are not familiar is a sequel to the Survival Kids games for Game Boy. You are stuck on an island with one other person (that you know about) and have to try to find your way off, all the while keeping your characters fed and healthy.

The game makes clever use of some of the DS functions, spear fishing is a good example. You build your spear with a stick and a sharpened stone, and go to the waterfront. Press the A button and you are in fishing mode, you see the fish swiming by and you have to physically try to spear them with the stylus. Another thing you have to do is start a fire. After you build your fire starting tool you have to use the L and R shoulder buttons to get the friction worked up, then blow into the microphone to start the fire up. It really ads to the charm of the game.

Graphically, the game is really pretty, you can obviously tell what everything is, which can be kind of hard sometimes, especially viewing 3d on such a small screen.

Soundwise, well..there isn't really a lot of variation. I have a couple times turned the sound off and just listened to my mp3 player. But the sounds that are in the game are all clean and they sound well. A bit more music would of possibly spiced things up, but as it is, the sound fits nicely with the game.

Controls are pretty much spot on. Everything controls nicely, the only problem I had noticed was sometimes I try to pick up an item off the ground, and the character just searches the ground as if there was nothing there. A slight maneuver later and everything was a-ok.

All that being said, this game is not for everyone. There are some dreadfully slow parts, especially at the beginning when you feel like you spend most of your in-game day collecting coconuts to feed yourself until you build your spear. This may also hinder replayability, although there are 3 different play modes to keep you entertained

All in all, a solid release. Konami yet again does not dissapoint. Sure, it's not a perfect title, but it has it's charmes.

If there ever is a Lost in Blue 2, I'll be first in line to get it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/31/06