The Sims Castaway Stories
Encyclopedia
The Sims Castaway Stories is the third and final game in the 'The Sims Stories' line of games. It was released on January 29, 2008.
reminiscent of more traditional Sims games. The player is allowed to design their own Family and start Jobs
as in The Jobs 5, The Jobs 6 & The Jobs 7.
Professor Winford Rhinehart: An old scientist who has done extensive research on the island, hence his vast knowledge about the island's history and culture. Initially, he is very helpful to the main character and the other survivors, but as the story continues, his true intentions are revealed. In the end, his ultimate fate is in the player's hands.
Ron Condor: The helicopter pilot that arrives at the end on an assignment to deliver a top-secret package to Professor Rhinehart. He also rescues the survivors of the Solomon Queen.
Huhana Manave: The Chief's wife and mother of Nanihi. She weaves the main character a sail as a kind gesture for saving her daughter's life.
Nanihi Manave: The daughter of the Chief and Huhana. Mischievous and playful, she is being chased by a pack of wild hyenas when the main character meets her.
Amanaki Tama: The tribe's Shaman, known among the locals as being gifted and wise. He is devoted to the local customs and beliefs and appears to have a quirky personality.
Rohahu Anuata: The Chief's guard. He serves as the messenger between the Manave family and the main character.
Timoti Fekitoa: One of the villagers in the Village Market. He is seen painting at the easel and would like to have company to play chess with.
Akolo Mamanu: One of the villagers at the Village Harbor. He wants to have a jar of fireflies to use for a light at night.
Ahio mata: One of the villagers at the Village Harbor. He is Rainui's younger brother and needs a hand in spearing fish.
Rainui Heimata: One of the villagers at the Village Harbor. She is Ahio's bossy sister and wants someone to push her on the swing.
Oramuma Herenui: One of the villagers in the Village Market. She has a bad memory and is longing for a Singing Stone from Scavenger Fields.
Kiri mata: One of the villagers in the Village Market. She wants the main character to light the trash pit for her.
Tamata Tehea: One of the villagers at the Village Harbor. She doesn't know how to play an instrument and wants the main character to play something for her.
Jessica Knight: A writer who recently took an offer to write an article in Going Places magazine. Little did she know she wasn't "Going" to Club Meet your Mate. She was one of the two characters who could be chosen at the beginning of the game.
Hugh Bailey: A survivor from Solomon Queen. Greedy and manipulative, he takes over Shady Lagoon, the main character's secondary residence, without hesitation.
Sandra Barnham: A survivor from Solomon Queen. She seems to have a slight interest in Hugh and is very homesick.
Gina Gibson: A survivor from Solomon Queen. She is portrayed as a ditsy and daring young lady.
Robby Smith: A survivor from Solomon Queen. He loves to have fun constantly. He eventually decides to stay on the island with Emma Langsford.
Emma Langsford: A survivor from Solomon Queen. She has a huge crush on Robby, and in the end she follows Robby's decision to remain on the island.
Bart Pittman: The Chief Engineer of the Solomon Queen. He is the only survivor found on Volcano Island and is dying when the main character finds him. In his final breath, he reveals the truth about Professor Rhinehart to the main character.
has a score of 73%. PC Gamer (US)
gave the game an 83%, praising the low system requirements, the music, the original setting, as well as the low retail price, but noting that there are a few bugs
and long loading times. IGN
gave the game an overall score of 7.3 out of 10, stating "The Sims: Castaway Stories is the first game in the entire series that really feels different despite being based on the same engine and principles", but also saying that there is little to no replayability. Some critics enjoyed the game less than others, however. PC Zone
said "By peddling this sort of single-minded crud to children EA are creating a new generation of absolute morons who won't be able to think one step ahead of themselves."
Features
The Sims Castaway Stories features the choice of either playing in a story-driven mode titled "Shipwrecked and Single" or a more sandbox "Wanmami Island".Mami Isle
Gameplay on Mami Island is much more open-ended, enabling gameplayGameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
reminiscent of more traditional Sims games. The player is allowed to design their own Family and start Jobs
Job (role)
A job is a regular activity performed in exchange for payment. A person usually begins a job by becoming an employee, volunteering, or starting a business. The duration of a job may range from an hour to a lifetime . If a person is trained for a certain type of job, they may have a profession...
as in The Jobs 5, The Jobs 6 & The Jobs 7.
Comparison to other The Sims series
- The clock format used in the game is represented visually instead of numerically. There are 8 orbs representing the 24 hours of the day, with 1 orb being equivalent to 3 hours.
- The currency used in the game are Resources rather than Simoleons. Sims can choose a career as a Gatherer, Hunter, or Crafter in an effort to earn Food and Resources. All jobs have the same working hours and Sims are to work daily. However, there are no penalties for missing work.
- All of the objects, clothing, and building tools available in the Sims series are designed to fit the Tropical and Tiki themes. Also, most of the icons used in the game are also designed to fit into the theme.
- If a Sim wants to go to a community lot, they must go through a portal and go to adjacent lots, or they can simply use their map for instant travel.
- Unlike the other releases in The Sims StoriesThe Sims StoriesThe Sims Stories is a series of computer games in The Sims series. They are optimized for play on laptops and some slower computers, due to their lower system requirements than original The Sims 2, but can still be played on desktop computers...
series, The Sims Castaway Stories offers one 24-chapter story, compared to the Sims Life Stories and Pet Stories which offer two 12-chapter stories. Moreover, some of the rewards are not directly delivered to the main character. They have to dig at the shore to unlock them. - The Sims Castaway allows multiple player profiles to be saved, saving the need to delete profiles to reset the game. However sometimes this may interfere with one of the other files.
Supporting Characters in Shipwrecked and Single
Waiata: The main character adopts the orangutan as a pet. Initially, he is not very kind to the main character for attempting to take the tiki idol, but eventually he agrees to stay with them.Professor Winford Rhinehart: An old scientist who has done extensive research on the island, hence his vast knowledge about the island's history and culture. Initially, he is very helpful to the main character and the other survivors, but as the story continues, his true intentions are revealed. In the end, his ultimate fate is in the player's hands.
Ron Condor: The helicopter pilot that arrives at the end on an assignment to deliver a top-secret package to Professor Rhinehart. He also rescues the survivors of the Solomon Queen.
Manave's tribe
Fangaloka Manave: The Chief and father of Nanihi. He welcomes the main character to the tribe's Volcano Festival as an honored guest.Huhana Manave: The Chief's wife and mother of Nanihi. She weaves the main character a sail as a kind gesture for saving her daughter's life.
Nanihi Manave: The daughter of the Chief and Huhana. Mischievous and playful, she is being chased by a pack of wild hyenas when the main character meets her.
Amanaki Tama: The tribe's Shaman, known among the locals as being gifted and wise. He is devoted to the local customs and beliefs and appears to have a quirky personality.
Rohahu Anuata: The Chief's guard. He serves as the messenger between the Manave family and the main character.
Love interests
Emobi Whetu: One of the villagers in the Village Market. He needs help fixing the exercise machines as he is not a skilled repairman.Timoti Fekitoa: One of the villagers in the Village Market. He is seen painting at the easel and would like to have company to play chess with.
Akolo Mamanu: One of the villagers at the Village Harbor. He wants to have a jar of fireflies to use for a light at night.
Ahio mata: One of the villagers at the Village Harbor. He is Rainui's younger brother and needs a hand in spearing fish.
Rainui Heimata: One of the villagers at the Village Harbor. She is Ahio's bossy sister and wants someone to push her on the swing.
Oramuma Herenui: One of the villagers in the Village Market. She has a bad memory and is longing for a Singing Stone from Scavenger Fields.
Kiri mata: One of the villagers in the Village Market. She wants the main character to light the trash pit for her.
Tamata Tehea: One of the villagers at the Village Harbor. She doesn't know how to play an instrument and wants the main character to play something for her.
Solomon Queen
David Bennett: One of the mechanics for the Solomon Queen, who mainly took the job so he could go to Club Meet your Mate. He was one of the two characters who could be chosen at the beginning of the game.Jessica Knight: A writer who recently took an offer to write an article in Going Places magazine. Little did she know she wasn't "Going" to Club Meet your Mate. She was one of the two characters who could be chosen at the beginning of the game.
Hugh Bailey: A survivor from Solomon Queen. Greedy and manipulative, he takes over Shady Lagoon, the main character's secondary residence, without hesitation.
Sandra Barnham: A survivor from Solomon Queen. She seems to have a slight interest in Hugh and is very homesick.
Gina Gibson: A survivor from Solomon Queen. She is portrayed as a ditsy and daring young lady.
Robby Smith: A survivor from Solomon Queen. He loves to have fun constantly. He eventually decides to stay on the island with Emma Langsford.
Emma Langsford: A survivor from Solomon Queen. She has a huge crush on Robby, and in the end she follows Robby's decision to remain on the island.
Bart Pittman: The Chief Engineer of the Solomon Queen. He is the only survivor found on Volcano Island and is dying when the main character finds him. In his final breath, he reveals the truth about Professor Rhinehart to the main character.
Glitches
During a "mission" where the objective is to place urns on pedestals, a glitch sometimes occurs where items become un-clickable. The player must then reload from a save point.Reception
The Sims Castaway Stories was generally well received. GameRankings has an average score of 77% based on 7 reviews, while MetaCriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
has a score of 73%. PC Gamer (US)
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
gave the game an 83%, praising the low system requirements, the music, the original setting, as well as the low retail price, but noting that there are a few bugs
Software bug
A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...
and long loading times. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the game an overall score of 7.3 out of 10, stating "The Sims: Castaway Stories is the first game in the entire series that really feels different despite being based on the same engine and principles", but also saying that there is little to no replayability. Some critics enjoyed the game less than others, however. PC Zone
PC Zone
PC Zone was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as PC Leisure, PC Format and PC Plus had covered games but only as part of a wider remit. PC Zone was founded in 1993.The magazine was published...
said "By peddling this sort of single-minded crud to children EA are creating a new generation of absolute morons who won't be able to think one step ahead of themselves."