Konami gets shipwrecked again in Lost in Blue 2

To paraphrase Mr O. Wilde via The Fast Show: 'To be marooned on a desert island with only a young female companion for company once may be regarded as luck. To be marooned twice? With my reputation?'

Still, we're assuming the next Nintendo DS game in Konami's Lost In Blue series isn't a sequel in the sense that original teenage maroonees Keith and Skye once again find themselves sandy and sans civilisation.

The potentially lascivious boy-girl-setup remains firmly intact though, even if all Keith and Skye got up to last time was some chaste holding of hands.

Differences between the sexes are at the heart of Lost in Blue 2, but they are merely gameplay-related, with the as-yet-unnamed boy better at climbing, fighting and recovering his energy levels, while the girl is more accurate with a bow and arrow, can hold her breath underwater for longer and is more adept at finding ingredients for meals.

Clearly, the day-to-day point of the game remains to stay alive – making sure your water, food and strength levels remain as high as possible – while the more strategic elements involve exploring the supposedly uninhabited island and trying to work out a way to be rescued.

Konami says it's learnt from criticisms of the original game, and will enable more use of the DS touchscreen for tasks such as carpentry, wicker work, and cooking food, and less of the tedious 'life is hard on a desert island' ethos.

For example, you'll also be able to hunt animals for the first time, and we're guessing the girl won't be completely useless as she was in the first game. Terrors such as hurricanes and earthquakes will be thrown into the mix to keep the action unpredictable, too.

We're hoping Konami can build on its existing experience to craft something that fulfils the game's obvious potential. At least we won't have long to wait to find out: Lost in Blue 2 is being prepared for a March release in the US, and it should wash up in Europe soon after.