Another of the surprisingly few reviews of the DS outing of The Sims 2: Castaway, yielding light on Maxis' decision to step away slightly from the traditional relationship focus of the series.
"There are some things in my life that I'm proud of. I have wicked strong fingernails and make a pretty good grilled cheese sandwich. On the other hand, there are some things I'm not so proud of, like my affinity for Duran Duran hits and French fries dipped in soda. You'd call these Guilty Pleasures, and probably have a few of your own. So what makes a Guilty Pleasure game?
Arguably, gaming in general isn't something you always want to boast about. Out in the less virtual world, there are detractors who would call gamers geeky, isolated, and square. But in our hearts, we know we're hip-and the only thing Square about us is our appreciation of the Final Fantasy franchise. Still, not all games are created equally rad . . . in fact, some of the following treasures are frowned upon within our own community. So why are they so damn addictive?"
The Sims was just a natural extension of ideas Will Wright had been playing with since the first Sim City game in 1989. Having incorporated social behavioural models into Sim Ant, and created rudimentary Sims to populate the streets for the otherwise forgettable 1996 effort Sim Copter, crafting a game based around the actions of simulated virtual people was a logical next step.
But while the concept seemed obvious to Wright, it didn't exactly catch the imagination of his fellow Maxis developers, corporate overlords Electronic Arts or even the general public.
"The game is a clear precursor to The Sims, validated by an interview with Will Wright (designer of The Sims) on January 20, 2000"
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There's nothing like your standard "3-hour tour" to ruin the best of vacations. But, what else would you expect from a title like The Sims 2 Castaway? Just like Gilligan and his friends, the number of amazing items your Sim can make with a toothbrush, a piece of bamboo and a pineapple is just amazing.
