Stranded II - A beach vacation it's not...

Blank slate or deathtrap?  Probably both...

First of all, let me say I love this type of game and really feel there need to be more of them.  You wash up on a deserted island and...that's it.  Don't die.  This seems like such a basic, stupid concept, and yet you'll be playing for hours and hours.  See, it starts off with basic survival.  Working out how to collect food, starting with berries and such, avoiding the wildlife, and just trying to keep the fire lit.

However, it slowly changes.  First you work out how to combine items to make tools, and suddenly you can build things.  A simple shelter at first, maybe a storage box...then you find out how to grow plants and keep up a little farm.  Eventually, you can build spears, bows, and big wooden palisade fortress wall.  Then it's time to have a little discussion with those damn lions...

JESUS CHRIST IT'S A LION, GET IN THE...OH CRAP.

The best part of this game is the sheer open-endedness of it.  You can build a raft, huts, hunting towers and all kinds of things.  Just hunting up item combinations can lead to hours of amusement (heh, you can make a joint...heh...).  Plus, as you work, plant and hunt, you start getting better and better skills.  You'll go from planting wheat to being able to grow entire trees from a single branch, and even get to where you can recycle your arrows.

This is a game that is easy to hate, especially if you expect to just take off with it right away.  It really takes time, figuring out water supplies, food, flint for fires, item collection, it all comes bit by bit.  Expect to spend a few nights out in the cold, open ground, and even the occasional death to exposure or critters.  Still, it's all worth it once you get up high enough and can start training monkey helpers.  Yes, you read that right.

Go forth, my chimp minions!

One of the major points of this is the editing/modding ability.  It comes with a basic island building editor, which can let you create some BIG islands.  What's more, this game is fully compatible with Gary's Mod, which allows for some serious changes and additions.  The mods run from silly to exceptionally impressive, with some of the "realism" mods being absolutely jaw-dropping.

Is...is that a bowgun?

However, I am honestly not big on the realism.  It's neat, yes, but this game and others like it appeal to me because it's easy to daydream, and imagine how cool it would be to just say screw it and go off somewhere and start over.  Gathering food, watching the stars, raising kiwi birds, and just living.  Stupid, yes, but what else are games for, if not some escapeism?

Jump here for a copy of the game, and here for a list of some of the bigger/more well known mods.  Remember, it takes a little time to get good at it, but if you stick with it, you'll be making farms, kiwi pens, and auto-turret defended fortresses in no time.  Just be careful, as this thing can swallow time like a black hole.

Be it ever so humble...