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LOST IN BLUE: SHIPWRECKED
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6.5 out of 10
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| One would imagine that if you were to be stranded on a deserted island, it wouldn’t be a fun time. Apparently nobody told Konami that, as Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked is the fourth installment of the series and the first one to make it to a console. In the game, you struggle to stay alive on a deserted isle while trying to find a way off...Sounds like it’d be awful in real life but interesting as a game. Unfortunately, ‘interesting’ is probably the best compliment I can give Lost in Blue.
It starts off pretty slowly...You control Aidan, who gets shipwrecked after his cruise ship goes down and he falls off of the rescue boat. But Aidan isn’t alone, he’s got his pet monkey, Hobo, with him as well. He eventually washes up on a small, desrted island, builds a raft, and sets sail to another nearby island in hopes of finding someone there. From there, you’ll meet Lucy and her dog Max and the four of you will explore the island and try to survive on whatever you can find. Once the story starts going, the game plays a little faster...But for the most part, this is a pretty slow-moving game from start to finish. |
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Story-wise, don’t expect the tale of Aidan and Lucy to motivate you to keep playing through to the end. While there is a story, and there are branching points in the story based on your actions, the main focus here is the gameplay. You surviving on the island is the main focus of the game and the story takes a back seat to it. While this is fine, Lost in Blue can get boring sometimes and if it had an interesting story, it could make you feel driven to plow through the boring bits to advance along in the game...As it is, though, a lot of folks might just quit before finishing from being bored with all of the micromanagement.
As far as the actual gameplay goes, Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked is definitely a love it or hate it game. There’s a lot to like in the gameplay; the main island is fun to explore, it’s kind of neat building your own tools, and the mini-games are usually pretty fun and make nice use of the Wii’s controllers...However, a lot of this is bogged down by the tedious micromanagement of making sure that your characters eat, drink, and rest enough each day. The meters that measure your hunger, thirst, and stamina all degrade pretty quickly...So, instead of having some fun exploring the island, you’ll often be side-tracked trying to find food and water or a place to rest. Keep in mind, some folks will definitely enjoy this concept...I just don’t happen to be one of them. |
Graphically, the game looks alright. Some folks will hate the graphics simply because they look like they’d be found on a Playstation 2 title...But when you compare the game to other games found on the Wii, Lost in Blue doesn’t look to shabby. It won’t win any ‘best graphics’ awards, but the visuals are still pretty charming. The audio isn’t quite as charming, though. The music is pretty awful and the spoken dialogue is generally only a few words of the written text shown on screen. I don’t mind that the voice acting isn’t used much, as I don’t mind reading, but I’m sure several gamers won’t be too happy with that fact.
All in all, Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked is a decent game. It’s not for everyone, though. If you think that micromanaging everything sounds like a fun time, you may find some enjoyment here...And the game offers lots of hours of gameplay, and a few neat unlockables for those who can’t get enough of their time on the deserted island. Everyone else should probably stay away from this one, though....Otherwise, you may be building a signal fire of your own in hopes that someone notices it and rescues you from the tedium of this game. -Ape |
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September 23, 2008
December 4, 2008