Lost: Via Domus is more like a 7-episode TV show that sums up most of the incidents from the first two seasons and adds a few new twists to the tale of LOST in the game. You play a journalist photographer, Elliot Maslow who was involved in a sting to uncover some shady business down at HANSO Corporation. The major objective of the game is to unlock his past as he gets amnesia after the plane crash. We get a chance to explore the island not very closely though, coz of ye ol' Smokey, the smoke monster bubbling its way all around the forest. The game mainly involves you searching for items and building up conversations with fellow castaways to learn more about the island and possibly about his past. We explore the island and see the various stations built by the DHARMA Corporation that were shown in the second season of the TV show. But the most interesting thing, I found was to be recollecting memories by taking a snapshot of the broken picture in your own mind which then unlocks a piece of the story and leads the path to the end of the episode. I also liked the way the game was presented like the show itself, like starting with "Previously on LOST" which recaps what happened with your character while playing the game up to that point. This is also coupled with how this is succeeded by the LOST sign board with the same chronic sounds. The game is quite creative and different, is something of a First Person RPG and is based on the suspense genre rather than the action genre because I seriously doubt that the "gunfights" referred to in the game are anything but minor uses of the gun for shooting dynamite or killing the one assailant in the game (for all practical purposes, though, the gun is hardly of any use). The only two stretches of the game I found somewhat interesting where the two chases/runs from the Others and ye ol' Smokey which had an interesting pace to them. We spend most of our time solving meaningless fuse puzzles or typing crap into the computer after taking dumb IQ tests (which btw are too easy). You'll find yourself, going through the game, completing it, solely to find out what happens next in Elliot Maslow's life and not because the game is enjoyable. So, we'll be seeing our self playing this game only for the story rather than the game itself, which makes the whole point of developing this game quite "LOST" to say the least. Clicking photographs to unlock some artwork, well was it worth it?? I'd say, ummm, NO. You'd expect some good stuff after clicking photo after photo of useless things around you!!
But seriously, this game turned out to really disappointing from any fans/ non-fans point of view, after all you'd expect way better stuff from Ubisoft, after games like Prince Of Persia and Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed, each of which had a great PC version too. The game had many technical flaws, the major one of which was the lip-synch (the audio was on track with the castaways most of the time but hardly ever did it seem like it was actually them talking, coz of the unnatural movement of their lips). The expressions of the characters too were very uncharacteristic and I would've never ever imagined Jack to be some kind of a Jack-ass but hey! the developers at Ubisoft proved me wrong, didn't they? Never would I have ever imagined him of all the characters in the show to be like that... Am totally dumbstruck by this change! Also, the graphics using the high resolution textures helps to make things look great but the intermittent loadings in between two small areas is really irritating. I mean the actual area on the island you actually move about is actually quite small and yet, you have such disturbing and unnecessary loading periods for small areas. The whole experience is soured by the unnatural sway of ways, in which the game, totally changes shape and becomes quite tasteless towards the end. It's like a bad chewing gum that loses flavor quite quickly. Not the best way to put it, but quite true. The game does provides you the chance to explore some parts of the island not seen on the show before. And the storyline behind your character is quite the she-bang. The ending, somehow manages to re-enliven the essence of LOST by leaving behind more questions than answers. However, the liquidated gameplay, the boring puzzles and especially the disturbingly droning and slow chases by Smokey (coupled with hiding in between the Banyan trees) and the Others ("Gunfights"--LOL!) make this game a must-not-have experience.
I'm a dedicated fan of Lost. It's probably my favourite show currently. I love it for 2 things: 1. The characters -- they all have amazing depth. 2. The mysteries -- all of 'em are incredibly interesting, intriguing ... Read Full Review
Lost: Via Domus is a game that you can get lost in. The Island with its numerous mysteries serves as the perfect setting for a beautiful lush landscape. At first glance player may think its Crysis but oh no, its not. ... Read Full Review
