LOST: Via Domus Review - 6/10
LOST: VIA DOMUS
Opportunity lost or found?
Ever since the Lost game was announced, fans of the show have been wondering just how the game would be. Would it be a satisfying LOST experience? Or maybe even just a decent game? Or would it fall into the much-maligned generality of TV/movie game adaptations that the gaming world has suffered through for years?
Sadly Via Domus fits mostly as an answer to the latter question, with its only real redemption being visible in the eyes of avid LOST fans. There are a lot of little in-jokes and objects that only a fan of the series would be able to appreciate.
At this point I think it’s safe to say that if you aren’t a fan of the show, you won’t get much out of this game at all (and probably wouldn’t even be considering buying it anyway). This is mostly because the story is told in such a way that knowledge of the events of the first two seasons of the show is a prerequisite, as things are more often than not just alluded to or mentioned rather than being shown and explained. But hey, it’s LOST right? That’s what they do.
Lost the plot?
The story of Via Domus is told from the perspective of a new character called Elliot Maslow, who is a photojournalist who conveniently finds himself with amnesia after the crash. The game follows Elliot as he tries to piece together his past to discover who he really is and to earn the trust of his fellow castaways in the process. After discovering a compass with the words ‘Via Domus’ written on it (meaning ‘way home’) Elliot is also slapped with the task of finding whether or not said ‘way home’ even exists. Throw in the Others and Smokey the Monster and you would think that all that would add up to some pretty exciting adventure gameplay? Right? Well…sort of.
Backgammon, the oldest game on Earth
The gameplay in Via Domus basically consists of navigating from A to B, speaking to other NPC’s, playing fuse puzzles, solving brain teasers and on-rails run and jump chase sequences, with a smattering of gunplay (and only a smattering).
The A to B sections are straightforward ‘follow-the-flags’ navigation that comprise of no real challenge since there’s even a button to point you in the right direction. The only variations to this theme come when Smokey decides to chase you and you have to hide in some trees until he goes away, then rinse and repeat. A later mission sees you carrying some dynamite through the dark territory, again avoiding Smokey, but no running here or you’ll blow up. It feels slightly odd to be being chased by the insta-death machine and to then simply try and walk to safety. Then there are the on-rails segments (of which there are two), which basically require you to run along a path jumping over and sliding under obstacles as you come upon them.
The dialogue system in the game looks to have a lot of potential, however that quickly fades as you progress through the game. There is no skill involved in the conversations, you simply run through all the options until there’s nothing left to say. No accidental pissing off Kate and she thus refuses to help you. Also there will be times when you will be asking the same four questions to a number of different people, and you only receive slightly varying answers to each of them. It’s all just a little simple and linear for something that could have been so much more.
Tacked on to the dialogue system is the trading mechanic, the island is scattered with coconuts, papayas and a range of Dharma food, all of which has a cash value assigned to it. Again there was potential for the trading in the game, but since the only things you really ever need to trade for are torches and a gun. Also whenever a deal is made a jolting cash register ‘ka-ching’ sucks you right out of the LOST world, a bad decision in my books.
There are various computers scattered around the various ‘hatches’ in the game, with some requiring you to solve small logic puzzles such as sequences and whatnot. As a whole there were enjoyable and a nice addition to the game. The fuse puzzles on the other hand are practically the only real puzzles in the game. They require you to place fuses of varying types (which are found all over the Island) into a fuse board in order to redirect the flow of electricity to put all meters in the green zones. What this requires is often nothing short of algebra, while sometimes sheer dumb luck will work as well. It’s a repetitive and at time frustrating system that only needed to be included once or twice, not over 10 times.
The last bit of gameplay (and the smallest) is the gunplay. Now those hoping for shootouts with the Others and capping Polar Bears will be disappointed, because while they do shoot at you it is often just bullets flying out of the jungle with no one to be seen, and all Polar Bears in the game are already dead. For me the gunplay was one of the biggest let downs in the game, over the whole game I fired only 2 shots in anger, which kill instantly (you can get hit 3 times before dying), and the targets just stand there pointing their gun at you. Again not much of a challenge.
Previously on Lost
The game plays out over 7 episodes ranging in length from 10 minutes to 45-50 minutes. The whole game will take a normal gamer only about 5-6 hours to finish, which is half the time that all pre-release previews suggested. Each episode starts with a ‘Previously on Lost’ segment recapping the previous level, followed by a hook, then the story, then a flashback, and then a cliff-hanger. So it’s much like an episode of LOST, and this is one of the better handled aspects of the game which helps to envelop a fan into the LOST world.
The flashbacks start with a torn up photo shown on screen, you must then recreate this photo in the flashback segment in order to ‘remember’. Once you have remembered then you can walk around in Elliot’s memory finding items and clues to help piece things together. Overall the flashbacks work well, but it would have been nice for there to be a bit more depth to them (such as having to take several photos rather than just the one).
I’ve looked into the eye of this Island
Graphically the game looks a treat for the most part. Running on a modified version of the GRAW 2 engine, the Island and its locales all look authentic, the jungles are lush and the hatches are dark and murky, much as you’d expect. Where the game fails somewhat are the character models. Most capture a likeness to their real world counterparts (Sayid, Kate, Jack) whereas some just look, well, odd (Claire, Charlie, Michael, Hurley). It would have helped the whole experience a lot more if the same amount of effort was put into the characters as it was into the environments.
The biggest downer on the whole experience is the audio. With only a few of the main stars lending there voices, the majority are just soundalikes. Some of them are passable, such as Jack, Sayid, Hurley and Kate, but others are just abysmal, Charlie is the main culprit here as his is so bad I avoided talking to him so as not to hear it. The stand-ins can be distracting to the point where you doubt the quality of the real voice-overs in the game. Some only provide a line or two, such as Claire and Desmond, where as Ben, Juliet and Tom all have longer parts in the game.
The music however is a highlight, being provided by Michael Giacchino it helps to add tension and mood to the game throughout. It’s particularly helpful when trying to avoid Smokey as it usually kicks in with a certain cue when he’s close.
Conclusion
As a game, Via Domus plays out as a pretty basic adventure game, with little to no skill or challenge required to beat it in a matter of hours. The presentation is let down by audio discrepancies and the gameplay is often repetitive. Those hoping for huge revelations and answers will have to continue to watch the show as there’s nothing to see here bar a few interesting coincidences and easter eggs. A fan of the show of the show should be able to make their way through the game, maybe even a few times, but a general gamer will most likely bore of it quickly and forget about it.
Post Review Mumblings
Okay so that’s my objective view of the game, as a fan of the show I was personally able to look past a lot of the faults (except Charlie…god that voice was bad) and just enjoy being in the world of LOST and running around the island. The first couple of episodes are shockingly short but as the game progresses they spread out a bit, if there had been more expansion on things (such as side missions and whatnot) it may have been a fuller and more enjoyable experience. The only real revelation in the game is what’s behind the magnetic wall in The Swan, which is kinda cool to actually go there but it’s also a little predictable. As a whole I enjoyed the game, even if it was the tale of a red-shirt, and a tad on the short side, I’ll probably play through it a few times to try and find all the little in-jokes that must be hiding somewhere…
Submitted by robo3687
29/02/2008
20
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