Lost: Via Domus (PC)

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Not that the "action" portion of the game fares much better. You get a gun in Via Domus, and you use it a total of maybe three times over the course of the game. Maybe that's for the best, since the aiming controls are a bit suspect, but it's a little depressing that the most action you get out of the game involves a pair of chase sequences that last a couple of minutes each. In these, you're running at full speed, jumping over and ducking under obstacles as they come. Not exactly complex, but at least a bit reflex-oriented. The rest of the time you're playing hide-and-go-seek with either the mysterious black smoke monster that periodically shows up to terrorize the survivors, or the Others, who either chase you around or sit in treetop guard posts to pick you off from afar. Avoiding these threats isn't too tough, since there are hiding spots all around the jungle, but having to continually retreat to these hiding spots among the trees does tend to lead to a lot of disorientation.

While we're discussing the Others and their treetop guard posts, let me pose a question to fans of the show: Can you possibly tell me exactly at which point in the series the survivors ever had to hide from gun-toting Others in treetop guard posts scattered throughout the jungle? No? You can't? I wonder if that's because it never happened. This is just one of many goofy liberties the writers of the game took with the show's storylines and characters.

To a degree, the changes are understandable, since trying to make a game out of "Lost" is hardly an easy task. By the same token, if you're trying to insert your game into a series as detail-oriented and patently insane as "Lost," wouldn't it behoove you to not completely murder the existing canon? The game's climactic encounter actually had me screaming at my television because of how little it fit with what viewers have experienced watching the show every week.

Not to mention that the game's characters frequently diverge from their behaviors on the show. The Locke you meet here has way more in common with the severely unhinged Locke of the current season, even though the game ends before Season 3 even begins. Characters like Kate and Sawyer are relegated to annoying caricatures of their on-show selves, and even Hurley, who is known for his comic relief on TV, is just flat-out dull here. Part of that is probably the fault of the voice actors. Not all of the cast is on-hand for the game, and the sound-alikes for characters like Locke and Sawyer are flat-out terrible. Even the actors who did bother to show up sound bored and disinterested. The writing certainly isn't top-flight, but the actors really sink this thing.

The only truly positive thing I can say about Lost: Via Domus is that it does a pretty good job of recreating the island itself. The visual engine creates some lush and beautifully lit jungle scenes, and you'll have the opportunity to explore all sorts of familiar locations, from the beach camp to the infamous hatch. There are even a couple of new areas you'll get to explore, at least one of which is sure to be a location of much interest for show fans. Then again, considering how out-of-line the whole game feels with the proper storyline, it's tough to say exactly how well any of these potential Easter eggs will really line up with the vision of the show's writers.