Techtite Game Reviews ---

Even with a resolution to the writer's strike, it's clear fans of the hit ABC action drama, Lost, will not get the full season they've waited over half a year for. Such people, if they own a game system, might look at Lost: Via Domus, and wonder if it will fill the void of lost episodes, pun unintended. All I can say is this: as a Lost fan myself, I had a great time playing this. Sure, it's a game made by fans of the series, for other fans of the series...though isn't that obvious? It's a Lost game. If you're not a fan, why would you be playing?

This first element of the game might tick of some people, though not me: you are not Jack, nor Kate, nor Sawyer. You're a totally new character. Why? Well, to be fair: not everyone owns a spiffy new Windows Vista compatible PC. You cannot fairly offer anything "canon" in a video game that cannot be seen by all fans. So: they added a new character. Some fans have complained about this. I think it's brilliant. What have several other survivors been doing on the island all these many seasons? Lost: Via Damus tells such a story...and very interestingly, I would say.

Now, before fans worry if this is going to be another case of those two forgettable characters who were introduced in the series, only to be so boring they were killed off; don't worry. This character is 100 times more interesting than that. I wouldn't say he was as interesting as, say, Mister Eko (why'd they have to write him off?), though his story is interwoven into a whole lot of Lost lore, and that's where the fun begins. You get to explore the jungle yourself. You get to personally play cat and mouse with the infamous cloud "monster." You get to be confronted (and not in a good way) by Ben and Juliet. You get to not only have the classic "flashbacks" of this new character; the flashbacks are totally interactive, allowing for an even more immersive, "interactive TV episode" feel. Cool!

I especially liked the "episodic" format here. Every mission has numerous levels/tasks to complete, though each of these are treated as "chapters," or more specifically, "episodes." Each episode begins with a "previously on Lost" encapsulation of prior missions (a really cool feature, especially if you return to the game in the near future and forgot which chapter was your favorite). Each mission ends with the obligatory "shocking moment," a la the series, with the classic Lost logo appearing on a black screen. The only thing not shown is the credits, which don't appear until the whole game is over. This enhances the whole feel of this being an interactive "season" of the series.

So, okay; the look of the game is Lost (again: pun inintended). What about the feel of the game? Well, admittedly this is where the game loses a star (...and a half. Sorry!). Conversations, for example, are supposedly "interactive," yet few conversations allow you to ask anything more than the typical "Do you know who I am?" or "Let's trade coconuts!" The latter conversation choice is an added piece of interactivity that really shouldn't have been there; a chance to trade coconuts for more important items, like torches and bandages. Not to nitpick, though if someone had the foresight to loot the plane wreckage for bandages, and the skill to make their own torches: why would they be willing to trade these rare items, for all the many coconuts lying around? This makes no sense. You wind up searching the ground for 10 coconuts to "trade" for a torch, when they probably should've just used creative license and had you carry a flashlight that never runs out of batteries. Scavenging for stuff to trade, sadly, is not too much fun.

The rest of the game, fortunately, is extremely fun. I loved the cat and mouse game with the smoke monster, where you must listen for the monster while running to various "safe zones" in the forest (which are coincidentally the same reeds that saved Walt from the smoke monster in one episode). I also liked the moment where "you" get stuck in the infamous hatch with the infamous Apple computer beeping to have the even more infamous "numbers" typed in. Yes; you even get to see what happens if you don't type it in. What's even cooler; you get to tinker with the computer so it turns those blue lights on, so you can see the equally infamous "invisible map" on the blast door. This is everything an interactive Lost experience should be.

While this is mere nitpicking for a video game; yes, not every "voice" is in sync with each character. To be fair, many actors from the series provide their own voices for their characters. The same cannot be said for, say, Jack and Sawyer, whose voices are by voice actor talent, not Mathhew Fox or Josh Holloway, respectively. On the other hand: it's cool when you get to enjoy various scenes with other characters who are voices by their actors from the show, and frankly, theirs are the most important voices to keep unchanged. Benjamin Linus, for example, could be voiced by none other than the series' own Michael Emerson. In flashbacks where you talk to Sun Kwon, her responses are in actual Korean, thanks to the series' own Yunjin Kim providing her character's voice in the game. It's a shame the other actors from the show opted out, though...especially in Sawyer's case. Does he sound even slightly like himself in this game...? Sadly: no.

Some might be put off by the obligatory ending, which completes the story, albeit with an itty bitty hiccup: a plot twist at the end. Yes, this "interactive Lost season" uses the same format of a typical season of the series, right to the very end. That means the obligatory cliffhanger of sorts, which even led to an entry into this web site editor's editorial this month (see: My Two Bits). However; I'm hardly griping. I got to enter the hatch and have a look around. I got to "meet" Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. I got a really cool story with interactive "episodes" where even the flashbacks are interactive. I might've preferred a better voice for Sawyer, though hey; maybe next game.

	Final Rating : Large Crater. Will this game be played predominantly by fans of the series? Of course! That said: while it is a bit rough around the edges, this is a really nice "interactive season" for Lost fans.
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Lost: Via Domus

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