The Sims Castaway Stories
Help your Sims build a life from scratch after washing ashore on a deserted tropical island. Overcome the forces of nature to help them become the ultimate survivors and thrive in this undiscovered paradise while unearthing clues that will lead them back to civilization. Build shelters, craft unique items, and discover many useful treasures and ancient mysteries hidden deep within a diverse jungle environment filled with plants, fruits, and even wildlife. Your Sims change as they take on the challenges of island life and learn to survive in style. Create a new life for your Sims on an uncharted island in The Sims 2 Castaway.
Choose from a wide range of Sims - Auto Mechanic, Chef, Doctor, Musician, Teacher, Executive, or Park Ranger. Each one brings a unique Sim humor and quirkiness to your crew. Reunite members of your crew and build a thriving community. ESRB Rated T for Teen
The Sims Castaway Stories Accessories
 The Sims 2: FreeTime
The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
The Sims 2: Apartment Life
The Sims Pet Stories DVD
The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff
The Sims Life Stories
The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff
The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack
The Sims 2 H&M Fashion Stuff
The Sims Castaway Stories Reviews
This game is completely unique from all the other expansions AND "stories." New interactions, new goals, new game focus. I have not yet tried to install the game and play it on my desktop. I should note that my experiences were based on laptop play. Add to it the ever increasing amount of bugs that continued to pop up as I tried to expand and build. This was my initial impression as I played through the preset Castaway "story." And I have to admit, it sucked me in. As soon as I started to do normal interactions like hiring a maid or having children, the game became glitchy and sluggish. For both the free play and story neighborhoods, you cannot add lots.
Ummm. So. Then I completed the story thinking "at last, now I can really have some fun in this new environment." Sadly, this was not to be the case. No longer does your sim just exist in a house and have a job. It's like the developers never envisioned the players using the free play option. Needless to say, this led to a very frustrating, limiting, and shallow game play. what.
I could sort of understand the no editing commercial lots (it would interfere with the story), but no extra houses. Now he/she must survive. That's pretty much the sad and depressing tale of Castaway Stories. As in, you can't put down extra houses, you can't put down any empty lots, you can't add extra commercial lots and you can't edit the currently existing commercial lots. My guess is that the game engine was not designed to handle more than the preset number of sims. This game is riddled with bugs. yes.
The concept has so much potential.
My laptop had far more than the minimum specs for the game and still these issues cropped up.
From climbing up banana trees to spear fishing to having a pet monkey, Castaway seemingly starts out as that breath of fresh air so desperately needed in the series.
So enter Castaway Stories.
This guess was further supported by evidence when I went into full neighborhood view.
Perhaps this game is not quite so laptop friendly as advertised.
I mean, how hard would it be to make a medieval Sims, you know.
I am an avid Sims player and have been so since the first Sims.
When talking to friends about the game, I have frequently mentioned how cool it would be to have a Sims game that takes you away from the standard "doll house" suburbia scenario.
The game's goals are slightly oversimplified, and the game gives step-by-step hints and actions. The camera angle was a little hard to get used to, given my experience with other Sims games. I liked how the game did not take up the full screen. The new clothes, hair styles, and objects made me excited, since I had not seen them in any other game. Overall, I really enjoyed the game. That said, the story made me chuckle, the dialogue, while uncharacteristic of the typical Sims game, was a pleasant surprise. The end.
This was my birthday treat for myself and it's turned out to be more fun than I expected. It's a known issue. One thing I really wish is that EA would have incorporated some of Castaway Stories gameplay into Sims 2 Bon Voyage. Unfortunately there's little that can be done other than to start over.
I wish that we could add more lots, there's a way to do it with a 3rd party utility called SimPE but it's a rather intricate process. EA has not provided any patches for the Life Stories series like they have for Sims 2. I've been trying to motivate myself to get on my exercise bike more so I thought perhaps it would help if I had something like Castaway Stories to play on the laptop while I exercise. But then Castaway Stories came out, and it had new and different concepts from the prior Sims games. Plus, there are some troublesome bugs. As it turns out, it has been fun.
At first I didn't think the Life Stories would be all that interesting to me, because I already have the Sims 2 base game and all expansions & stuff packs on my desktop. I've been playing Sims games since Sims 1 back in 2000, I'd say I'm definitely a hardcore Sims 2 player. The regular Sims 2 game will always be my first in favorites, but I sure have enjoyed Castaway Stories. But overall it's a fun way for me to get my Sims fix in when I'm away from the desktop computer. I wish we had the lovely ruins and the banana & papaya trees in Bon Voyage too.
My kids have been playing it lately on the laptop and have had trouble with characters disappearing from the family. The kids enjoyed it so much I am planning to buy Life Stories and Pet Stories afterall for them to play on the laptop as a holiday present. There are some limits. The water is so beautiful in Castaway Stories, and I love how they can spear fish. So I passed up the first Life Stories and Pet Stories.
Having a plot was the big appeal for me, not as much fun replaying after beating the game. I have played the sims since the first pc game came out years ago, and played the sims 2 for a few years. I love the option of carrying items, and unlockables, but missed the option of creating new lots or my own neighborhood.
I was able to play within a few minutes of loading it up. It came quickly, though, and worked just fine. No regrets. It's all good. It's not a bad game, but it has an end, and not much motivation to continue on after that end.
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