Another preview of the game, this time by GameSpy. It seems that to most of the critics the lack of real voice-actors is the game's biggest flaw.
Before I get into the meat of this preview, I should note that there will be some spoilers for anyone who is just getting into the television show "Lost". I'll do my best not to ruin anything for those fans that have just grabbed the first or second seasons on DVD, although I'm not going to promise anything. When the Lost game was announced last year, everyone wondered how it would fit into the deep mythology crafted by the show's writers. Would we be playing as one of the main characters, or would the game's hero be one of the random survivors seen in the background of every episode? While our recent trip to Ubisoft didn't provide all of the answers we were looking for, we do feel a bit better about the game itself.
Lost: Via Domus tells the tale of Elliott, a photojournalist that was on the ill-fated Oceanic Flight 815. The game kicks off with the crash, although it appears that it may have actually saved our hero from an assassin that was onboard. You see, Elliott has some powerful enemies, thanks largely to his work uncovering the truth behind some notable atrocities. He may or may not have been the cause of his former girlfriend's death at the hands of those enemies, although he's got a little problem with his memory. Namely, he can't remember anything before the crash. It's up to you to piece together Elliot's shattered memory, learn the truth, and find a way to deal with the assassin that also survived the crash.
The first thing longtime fans of the show will notice is that Via Domus' presentation is ripped straight from the actual program. For instance, the first thing we saw when starting the game was Elliott's eye opening, which was the same way we were introduced to many of the characters. The game itself is about 10-12 hours long, and it's broken up into seven different "episodes" of varying length. As is the case with the TV show, the beginning of each episode will feature brief "Previously on Lost..." synopsis, and the action will abruptly end with that familiar black screen and "closing" sound.
From what we saw, it looks like Via Domus will be closer to a traditional adventure game than the action/adventure title that many of us expected, although that may not really be a bad thing. After all, the show itself is more of a mystery with intermittent snippets of action, and the game captures this perfectly. For instance, during the moments we saw, Elliott had to talk the Losties we all know and love into helping him in some way. In order to gain the upper hand on them (and, by extension, get what he wanted), he attempted to access some lost memories via flashback.
As we all know, flashbacks play a huge part in "Lost," serving as a way to give the viewers an idea of who the survivors really are. However, rather than just presenting Elliot's flashbacks as cutscenes, the developers decided to incorporate them into Via Domus as gameplay mechanics. Basically, you'll be presented with a scene that plays over and over again, and you'll need to use Elliott's camera to glean the relevant info. For example, when he wanted to get help from Kate, he looked back in his memory and used his camera to snap a photo of her shackles. Once he knew she was a prisoner (remember, this was right after the plane crash, before anyone knew the truth about her), he was able to blackmail her to get what he wanted.
Once we were done with Kate and had found our way to the beach, Jack asked us to help out at the crash site. We had to figure out how to best re-route an electrical current in order to, um, do something. All of the game's puzzles revolve around this mechanic, although we found that they definitely got tougher as the game progressed. Essentially, you've not only got to figure out the best path for the current, but also be able to use some rudimentary math skills to make sure the voltmeters are in the green. While the puzzles are reminiscent of those seen in BioShock at first, it quickly becomes clear that these ones are a good deal tougher.
While it appears that the majority of the gameplay revolves around standard adventure elements like collecting items and solving puzzles, we did get a chance to check out one of the action sequences. At one point, Elliott had to run away from the Black Smoke on a path through the jungle. Unfortunately, this segment was a bit simplistic, as all we had to do was jump over the occasional branch or duck under a tree trunk. We're hopeful that there are some more exciting sequences in store for players, though we realize this isn't the main focus of the game.
Although there's no denying that Lost: Via Domus looks better than we expected (it is a licensed game, after all), there's one glaring issue with the game. Unfortunately, only six actors signed on to voice the virtual versions of their characters. This means that Locke sounds like a grizzled old prospector and Kate sounds like some random girl from the Midwest. It's a shame that not everyone signed on for the project, as this would have helped make it feel much more like the show.
Thankfully, this editor's favorite character will be in the game and will be voiced by his real-life counterpart. As Desmond would say, here's hoping Lost: Via Domus turns out well, brutha!
Source: GameSpy
Lost: Via Domus tells the tale of Elliott, a photojournalist that was on the ill-fated Oceanic Flight 815. The game kicks off with the crash, although it appears that it may have actually saved our hero from an assassin that was onboard. You see, Elliott has some powerful enemies, thanks largely to his work uncovering the truth behind some notable atrocities. He may or may not have been the cause of his former girlfriend's death at the hands of those enemies, although he's got a little problem with his memory. Namely, he can't remember anything before the crash. It's up to you to piece together Elliot's shattered memory, learn the truth, and find a way to deal with the assassin that also survived the crash.
The first thing longtime fans of the show will notice is that Via Domus' presentation is ripped straight from the actual program. For instance, the first thing we saw when starting the game was Elliott's eye opening, which was the same way we were introduced to many of the characters. The game itself is about 10-12 hours long, and it's broken up into seven different "episodes" of varying length. As is the case with the TV show, the beginning of each episode will feature brief "Previously on Lost..." synopsis, and the action will abruptly end with that familiar black screen and "closing" sound.
From what we saw, it looks like Via Domus will be closer to a traditional adventure game than the action/adventure title that many of us expected, although that may not really be a bad thing. After all, the show itself is more of a mystery with intermittent snippets of action, and the game captures this perfectly. For instance, during the moments we saw, Elliott had to talk the Losties we all know and love into helping him in some way. In order to gain the upper hand on them (and, by extension, get what he wanted), he attempted to access some lost memories via flashback.
As we all know, flashbacks play a huge part in "Lost," serving as a way to give the viewers an idea of who the survivors really are. However, rather than just presenting Elliot's flashbacks as cutscenes, the developers decided to incorporate them into Via Domus as gameplay mechanics. Basically, you'll be presented with a scene that plays over and over again, and you'll need to use Elliott's camera to glean the relevant info. For example, when he wanted to get help from Kate, he looked back in his memory and used his camera to snap a photo of her shackles. Once he knew she was a prisoner (remember, this was right after the plane crash, before anyone knew the truth about her), he was able to blackmail her to get what he wanted.
Once we were done with Kate and had found our way to the beach, Jack asked us to help out at the crash site. We had to figure out how to best re-route an electrical current in order to, um, do something. All of the game's puzzles revolve around this mechanic, although we found that they definitely got tougher as the game progressed. Essentially, you've not only got to figure out the best path for the current, but also be able to use some rudimentary math skills to make sure the voltmeters are in the green. While the puzzles are reminiscent of those seen in BioShock at first, it quickly becomes clear that these ones are a good deal tougher.
While it appears that the majority of the gameplay revolves around standard adventure elements like collecting items and solving puzzles, we did get a chance to check out one of the action sequences. At one point, Elliott had to run away from the Black Smoke on a path through the jungle. Unfortunately, this segment was a bit simplistic, as all we had to do was jump over the occasional branch or duck under a tree trunk. We're hopeful that there are some more exciting sequences in store for players, though we realize this isn't the main focus of the game.
Although there's no denying that Lost: Via Domus looks better than we expected (it is a licensed game, after all), there's one glaring issue with the game. Unfortunately, only six actors signed on to voice the virtual versions of their characters. This means that Locke sounds like a grizzled old prospector and Kate sounds like some random girl from the Midwest. It's a shame that not everyone signed on for the project, as this would have helped make it feel much more like the show.
Thankfully, this editor's favorite character will be in the game and will be voiced by his real-life counterpart. As Desmond would say, here's hoping Lost: Via Domus turns out well, brutha!
Source: GameSpy