The Island: castaway 2
By Trinidadw at January 19, 2012 | 11:48 AM | Print
Travel through time to a land of adventure and mystery. Become one of the people and uncover secrets of old.
Make no mistake Island Castaway will keep you whole heartedly entertained with its easy to learn point and click game play, riveting storyline and charming graphics. After playing game I had to give castaway 1 a try and it was definitely worth it. If you are interested in the story you will definitely want to go play with the first one also. This game gives you a unique mix of elements while still spending the time to explain to you the storyline of each pivotal character you meet. The end result is that you actually have a sense of history and purpose behind everything you do and who you are doing it for. That is a rare and lacking quality in most games. The Island Castaway 2 definitely does this to near perfection. The game is very interactive and has a lot of dialogged. Pay attention and you will get lots of great clues for the tasks at hand.
As you progress through the game you will be asked to collect many items and speak to many people. These items can be strange or simple for example food objects such as oranges, kiwi, bananas, lime etc. Other items include wood, insects and shells. Much of your time in this game you will be collecting and eating food. It feels natural simple and realistic. When you are well fed you run fast and your life points are high.
After walking around a while you start losing hp and you get hungrier and hungrier. Eventually slowing your pace before you sit down and have a snack. This adds an interesting element to the game making it feel all the more real. Mix foods into a whole hearty recipe and pick up as much as you can on your way while you do quests and find people. The game also tasks you to solve some riddles. But if you have been paying attention like I said you should come to the solutions without too much trouble.
Another fun aspect of this game is that you can hunt. There are different types of game and the animals have the ability to chase or attack you. The quail or ducks are a bit harder to take down than the boars and the varying degrees of difficulty adds to the realism. Weapons are upgradeable and as they improve your hunting becomes easier .
You will also be able to make potions. The various potions have different effects, one of my favorite potions is called “protection”. You can use “protection” potion to hide your scent and make it easier to hunt. This potion is also very important for exploring areas filled with aggressive wildlife with ease. Such as snakes and crocodiles. The potions require some collecting as well but then that is half the fun . A lot of the herbs needed for potions can only be seen when using another potion called the “Clear Vision” potion. The running potion is also very fun and is also one of my favorites.
One important item you will use constantly is your map. The locations of several NPCs (non player characters) are all well noted on the map. If you click on them, or on the nearest campfire, you will move directly to that site . Remember this as it saves you lots of time and food. You can also buy potions from the shaman shop. That allows you to easily transfer from one side of the island to another without having the worry about the wildlife or food in between. This is a game whee you will be exploring and experimenting a lot all the while enjoying its beauty and ease of play.
Graphics: 4 out of 5: I was very happy with the graphic style. It was not too overdone and it maintained a high standard. The spirits , the scenery, the characters and everything else were well done. For some reason it felt like I was playing a classic RPG or RTS with upgraded graphics. That is just about the most fun you can have if you are a big fan of this genre of games. The cartoon style was not overpoweringly childish nor did it cheapen the importance of many situations
Sound, 5 out of 5: First off I must commend the voice acting in this game. It gives you the island feeling yet the emotions and clarity of the lines are completely intact. Hearing the characters of the story’s voices which includes those creepy spirits, makes the experience so much better and will touch to the core of your gaming experience. The sound effects are also very relevant are of a high quality. Aside from the game play I think I had the most fun listening to this game.
Game play: 4 out of 5: The game play is great ranging from hunting , exploring, collecting and even shopping. The game play is completely solid. If you are slowed down by your need to be fed do not worry. Gradually as you go through the game you will find better ways to deal with this. There is a lot to discover in this little gem and half of the fun if discovering everything throughout the game.
Replay value: 3.5 out of 5: The different elements of the game make it very user friendly. You will actually have a lot of fun replaying this game. Even those who play the game once through completely will have gotten their money’s worth.
If you are truly in love with this feel free to check out the first game of this series and get pumped up for the next sequel.
Overall score, 4 out of 5: Overall I loved this game. The game is nicely layered and well thought out. It has the feeling of those classic RTS games but is new and fresh. The different tasks and solid common sense mechanics also adds a layer of realism to the game. The storyline is marvelous especially if you have experienced the first one and the game play is easy to get into and easily saved on multiple profiles. I can’t wait for the next installment of this game.
All in all, this is a game that is a big winner. You will want to pick it up, and after you finish it I will not be surprised if you find yourself hunting down the first game in the franchise.