The Sims 2: Castaway (PS2)

With still not a peep out of The Sims 3 on PC, Electronic Arts are certainly keen to keep reinventing the franchise on consoles. This all new game is not for the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 and, as you might guess from the name, involves you being shipwrecked on a desert island. The concept is basically the same as Konami's Stranded Kids/Lost in Blue series although you start off completely alone with each of the different sims you create washed up on a different part of the island. Obviously your first task is to find something to eat and drink and a place to sleep, with the initial parts of the game recalling the early episodes of Lost (except without the smoke monster).

Soon enough you're fashioning fish harpooning spears out of bits of bamboo, planting edible plants, weaving your own clothes and making giant tree houses and huts that would shame the average holiday camp. Most importantly you can train your very own monkey butlers to perform your every menial task for you (up to a point). Soon enough your fellow strandees turn up and the game's more traditional social elements come into play as it becomes less Lost and more Survivor. Once you're living in some degree of comfort you can then venture out and explore the island and try and find a way back to civilisation (or stay where you are - the game leaves it up to you). In fact it's probably the most interesting thing to happen to The Sims in years.