"An ok rental for fans of the show but not worth a full purchase by anyone."
Your character is struck with a bout of amnesia and can't remember anything before the crash, so for the majority of the game you need to help him piece together his past.
There are lots of familiar faces on the beach: Jack, Kate, Locke, Sayid, Sawyer, Charlie, Hurley, Claire, Michael, Sun and Jin all have roles but the first four are the most involved. For the most part the likenesses are spot on (except for poor Hurley whose face is even bigger and rounder than ever), but some of the voices are poor imitations with shoddy lip-syncing too. Mysteriously there are no appearances from any of the passengers that died on the island, make of that what you will.
As was always going to be the problem with this game the gameplay is all over the place. To be fair this is a TV show that doesn't really lend itself to any particular style of play.
Most of the game involves talking to everyone in an area exhausting all lines of conversation until you are allowed to leave.
Early levels involve timing your runs through the jungle to avoid the black smoke monster or finding your way through dark caves with a very short supply of fire stick torches or a lighter. The cave levels are the most frustrating parts of the game often resulting in trial and error to get through.
Like the TV show the game features lots of flashbacks to your life before the crash. Using a camera you focus on a specific area of the flashback and take a picture. Adjusting the framing and the focus is imperative to being allowed to advance further. Some of these areas will let you walk around and find some items of information that flesh things out a bit more.
You will visit the shows locations such as the station under the hatch where you need to fix fuse boards and type in the infamous 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 sequence to avoid the end of the world. There is also an as yet unseen on TV hatch that'll intrigue fans.
The fuse puzzles involve attaching various fuses that alter the voltage and have different directions for the current. Combining them and changing their position to get a set voltage flowing to each area will unlock doors to the next spot. They start off easy but the last few are very tricky.
By collecting items such as coconuts, candy bars, food cans or books you can trade with the other survivors to get torches, a gun or ammo. Prepare to be immensely frustrated when you keep losing all your gear after being kidnapped or locked up. On the other hand you don't really need half the stuff they're selling; you can finish the game by firing no more than three bullets.
The game is divided into episodes and each one begins with a "Previously on Lost" which helps the story remain cohesive. Unlike the show it's all based on the one character, you.
The music is spot-on from the title menu, right up until the end of the game. Graphically the game has its highs and lows. The jungle is reasonable but built in set corridors and the Dharma stations are dull but very accurate to how you remember them from the show. The beach looks gorgeous if you stand at the water's edge, the sea itself looks real and you can find your way around it from memory of the TV version.
Unfortunately, with the gameplay being as basic as it is, Lost: Via Domus never really feels like a video game. It's more like an above average interactive DVD.
Audiences have been slightly dwindling for the show in recent years, no doubt frustrated by the shows refusal to give anything away and sadly the loyal fans aren't going to get any answers out of this game. Overall you never get the impression that anything that happens in this game is going to have any baring on the shows storyline.
The 7 'episodes' can be completed in well under five hours with the only replay appeal is for a few pieces of artwork you may have missed.
The low score for this game reflects on its length and lack of any real gameplay despite some high production values and getting the feel of the show right. I'd recommend it as a rental for fans of the show but it doesn't justify a full purchase.