"LOST is a Game.com is a fan website created to present my theory that the ABC television show LOST is actually a video game that is similar to THE SIMS.", says the opening line at Lost is a Game, the theory that inspired the name for our first regular feature, It's all a video game!--where we'll look at video games relating to, appearing in or inspired by Lost.
We're starting this with non-other than the Ubisoft developed, official Lost video-game, Via Domus.
Wait, really?
Ok, so the game isn't perfect--and it's received a lot of negative press since it was released. But what Lost-related video-game list would be complete without it in there?
"Over here son, by the banyan trees!"
Besides its ... erm ... technical nuances, the game can be at the very least, an interactive Lost experience for those looking to delve a little more into the universe.
It's not going to thrill the most dedicated of gamers (in fact it would be surprising if it thrilled even the casual gamer), and this isn't helped by some of the worst voice-acting in a game, well ... ever.
Half of the cast are replaced by strange robot-like imposters, which--from an RPG/adventure aspect--completely diminishes any immersion before you can get off the beach and start exploring. Wait, did we say exploring?
You can forget about actually doing any Locke-style island scaling of your own. At least until you've managed to sneak past the all-too-common smoke-monster which seems to lurk in almost every corner of the island. But once you overcome that (with the help of possibly the creepiest version of Locke since season-one's orange-peel moment) you'll find some reward.
Map and a compass, that's all I need
In the game, you take on the role of a (previously unheard of) Oceanic 815 survivor, Elliott Maslow, who--since the crash--suffers from amnesia (original, right?). The objective, simply, is to recollect your story as you discover people and items to jog your memory, Elliott's backstory told entirely via a re-playable version of Lost's flashbacks.
You'll (kinda) scale the island, fight (or hide from) the monster, talk to your favourite Lost-aways, and complete (probably one too many) strange fusebox puzzles. In fact at one point you won't be wrong to frustratingly think that Ubisoft would have had more success if they had shipped a literal fuse-box and neglected to include the instruction set.
Like we said: as game, Via Domus holds very little merit. But as an interactive expansion to the Lost universe? Maybe.
But, it's canon, right?
Well, kinda. Lost producers gave Ubisoft just enough material to create the game, without it revealing too much of the overall story. Physical elements of what you can discover in the game, such as the island's stations, their layouts, and the expanded blast door map, are considered canonical. The story, however, is not.
This raises the obvious question of why you would want to play through the adventures of a non-canonical character, the story of which holds no relevence to the overall mythology of Lost? And it's a good question. We honestly have no good answer for it, and you'll want to seriously consider giving much attention to this aspect of the game, which even the least experienced players will probably find only lasting three or four hours.
Avoiding the bad stuff
You can enjoy the game, to a degree, if you can skip as much of the bad stuff as possible.
- Check out the LOST - Via Domus fansite--they have a great hints and tips page containing secret areas, the DHARMA locations, and even a full walkthrough.
- DarkUFO has a wonderful Via Domus section of his blog. It hasn't been updated since the initial buzz of the game wore off, but there's some cool things for fans to check out, including a neat summary of everything you should know about the game (from a mythology aspect) if you haven't played it.
- If you're still eager to experience the game, yet don't want to play, you can of course watch somebody else playing it on YouTube. The added benefit here, of course, is that you can skip past the awful moments of the game. YouTube user TravelXP created a video walkthrough of all seven episodes of the game, and we've compiled all of those into a playlist for you.
Tech Requirements
If you still want to play it, you should probably know the technical requirements.
The game is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, iPod and iPhone. PC requirements are as follows:
- OS: Microsoft Windows XP or Vista*.
- CPU: 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo / Athlon 64 X2 (or 3.5GHz Pentium 4/Athlon)
- RAM: 1GB of RAM (2GB recommended)
- GPU: At least a 128MB DirectX 9.0c-compliant shader 3.0-enabled video card (256MB recommended)
Supported graphics cards:- ATI RADEON X1300-1950 / HD 2000 series
- nVidia Geforce 6600, 6800, 7xxx and 8xxx series.
- HDD: 5 GB of hard disk space
Let us know how your experience went. Share your thoughts with other readers in the comments section, whether you're just playing now for the first time, or you have played Via Domus in the past.
And if you still haven't made up your mind, we'll leave you with this absolutely wonderful review from Consolevania's Rab.
