There's no denying that LOST is a television phenomenon. The characters are well-written, the story is intriguing, and at the end of each episode the viewer is given enough new information to see prior episodes in a new light and wonder what's coming down the pipe next week. If ever a piece of intellectual property was ripe for the adventure game treatment it is LOST. Explore your surroundings? Check. Pick up every little thing you find? Check. Work toward solving a mystery without a focus on combat? Check. How, then, did Ubisoft manage to create such a poor excuse for a game? They ignored LOST's strongest point (the characters and dialog) and replaced it with uninspired puzzles and frustrating mechanics.

LOST: Via Domus covers the first three seasons of the television show as told from the point of view of a new character. All your favorite characters and locales are present and accounted for. There's the beach, the Swan Station, and your own flashbacks to explore. Along the way you'll have brief conversations with Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, and Locke. It is, however, immediately obvious that the majority of the actors didn't lend their voices to the game. The dialog also isn't as sharp as that found in LOST's weekly episodes. Sure, characters mention appropriate things, but they're just as likely to say "I can't talk to you right now."

Mechanically, LOST: Via Domus is a failure. The main character gets stuck on small objects all the time, conversation trees are limited and only serve to tell you where you ought to go next, and traipsing through the jungle is nothing more than one big game of "find marker A with (for no good reason) points to marker A which points to marker C which finally allows you to reach your destination. When you're not fumbling through the jungle you'll be either rewiring one of LOST's many fuse panels or navigating one of several dark caves. The first fuse puzzle was amusing. The second, third, ad nauseum puzzles, however, were unwelcome and left me wondering why everything on the island (including the wreckage of Oceanic 815) used exactly the same types of fuses. Caves are at least appropriate. There are caves on the island to be certain, but unless it's absolutely necessary the survivors seldom venture inside of them. This is why. They are dark. They are full of bats. Your torch or lantern does not throw enough light to make them reasonable navigable. There's no plot-related reason to go in. Sadly, the cave sequences, despite feeling extraneous, are not optional. The Black Smoke is also handled poorly. If you're exploring the jungle and it comes near you'll need to hide in some tree roots. The trouble here is that you're trying to get from point A to point B so every time you hide you'll then need to come out, reorient yourself, hear the smoke, and hide again. Whoever thought this particular bit of gameplay could ever be considered fun is dead wrong.

LOST: Via Domus' only saving grace is the story it tells. You'll find yourself wrapped up in the main character's story. It's worth trudging through the game's dark caves and fuse puzzles to find out what happens next and - via flashback sequences - what happened before. I won't spoil it for you, but non-canonical as it may be LOST fans will still want to experience the narrative.

Apr 30, 2008 | 0 comments
Justin Last