When it comes to deserted islands, Hollywood's version is almost always romantic and ideal, filled with perfectly-shaped caves just begging to be lived in, and tasty fish that practically leap out of the water and onto the dinner plate. While solitude in paradise sounds great on the surface, I'm guessing the reality of being washed ashore would likely be far less pleasant, filled with nasty, biting insects, unpredictable weather, and the complete and utter lack of Taco Bells. Fortunately, Konami has brought us Lost in Blue, which lets us explore our inner Gilligans from the safety and comfort of the local Starbucks. Ahhhh…civilization.

As every desert island tale must begin, one night a ship is lost at sea, and young high school senior Keith regains consciousness face-down in the sand. After scrounging up some food and shelter, he discovers Skye, a young girl who was on the same ship, washed up on the beach, and the two decide to team up in order to survive. Unfortunately, Keith accidentally squashed Skye's glasses, so she's no good on her own and must stick to the safety of the cave, leaving Keith to do all the exploring and heavy lifting. Before the feminists in the audience start writing hate letters to Konami, rest assured that Skye does pull her share of the weight, by cooking all the meals, making baskets and rope, and tending the fire. (Hmmm…ok, perhaps those letters aren't entirely out of line after all.) Although dedicated players will eventually be able to play as Skye, the bulk of the gameplay rests on Keith's sunburned shoulders. Skye can leave the cave, so long as Keith leads her by the hand, and in fact he needs her help to access certain areas of the island, but dragging her around is so slow and tedious that it's far more efficient to simply leave her at home.

Although the point of Lost in Blue is to ultimately get the hell off the island, the day-to-day goal is simple survival, which means keeping Keith and Skye well rested, hydrated, and fed. One of the display choices for the upper screen are the meters that track the pair's health and wellbeing, but players who use the map instead will be kept apprised of the situation by Keith's incessant whining. He's getting hungry, he's getting thirsty, he's getting tired, blah, blah, blah. Over and over and over again. Although this is a logical and realistic approach to the situation, it's also fairly tedious in the beginning of the game, because until he learns how to catch fish, Keith is stuck gathering clams and seaweed for food, which does a lousy job of keeping the kids fed, making the game into an endless cycle of eating to gain just enough energy to go out and search for the makings of the next meal.

Eventually, Keith and Skye make discoveries that ease up on some of the drudgery of maintaining their health. An empty oil drum is used to store water in the cave, freeing Keith from the responsibility of dragging Skye to the river for a drink every day. Keith also learns to make simple tools, like traps and a bow and arrow, which allow him to snag bigger and tastier entrees. Exploring the island reveals new foods and tools, some whose uses aren't always immediately clear, but which always lead to some new gameplay improvement. A ball of tree sap, for example, can be used in a recipe to make the food taste better and therefore refill a greater amount of the health gauges. Exploring the island is a big part of Lost in Blue's appeal, as Keith treks through swamps and behind waterfalls, uncovering new (sometimes rare) items and gaining new skills. The scenery is fairly standard desert island stuff, with beaches, cliffs, long grass and palm trees, but none of it is really all that nice to look at.

Although the use of the touch screen is somewhat limited, it's definitely creative. After Keith learns how to make a spear, players can go fishing by stabbing the touch screen with the stylus. Building furniture is a little clunkier, forcing players to quickly draw different shapes with the stylus as icons travel across the screen, but it's better and simply more involving than just hitting "build bed" in a menu. The touch screen is also used to shake trees, dig up vegetables or shellfish, and even to milk a goat. Sometimes the sensitivity seems a bit off, as it'll often take several jabs at the screen to pick up an unearthed item, but it's a minor annoyance at best.

Although Keith and Skye are shacking up, Blue Lagoon-style, there's very little interplay between them. She gives him tips every now and again, and there are occasional dialogue choices, but for the most part they act like the average suburban married couple by only being together for meals and sleeping in separate beds. More story definitely would've made the characters more interesting, because as it is, they're little more than tools themselves, him for hunting and building, her for cooking and crafting. Since the emphasis of the gameplay is on exploration and discovery, Keith and Skye don't really need to be fully realized characters, but it would've added a lot of depth to the title if I felt like I was keeping them fed because I liked them and not just because the game would end if I didn't. Character development also would've probably extended game length, which is shockingly and disappointingly short, especially since there's little real replay value.

What's really weird about Lost in Blue is that it's an extremely annoying and frustrating game, but I just couldn't stop playing it. Keeping Keith and Skye healthy is a boring chore, yet I spent an absurd amount of time trying to track down spices and new tidbits in order to improve mealtime. My swearing was clearly audible in the next state when my spear broke, but I felt like The Greatest Inventor Ever when I cobbled together a fishing pole. Know that scene in Cast Away where Tom Hanks pounds his chest and says, "I…have made fire!" Yeah, it really is just like that. Very subtlety and quietly, Lost in Blue puts players in the mindset of a survivor, so that completing the most mundane and menial of tasks becomes an enormous victory. Beat Halo on Legendary? Bah! I trapped a wild deer!

Lost in Blue tries something different by putting players in the sand-filled shoes of shipwreck survivors, and though irritating at times, is oddly compelling and addictive. Whether it's building a snare or starting a fire, there's just something really satisfying about conquering the simple obstacles that face Keith and Skye. Since it's not quite like any other games out there, DS owners should definitely give it a try, although its short length makes it a better candidate for rental than purchase.