Lost: Via Domus
From Television Wiki
| Lost: Via Domus
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| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Montreal |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Engine | YETI[1] |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 |
| Release date(s) | USA February 26,2008 AUS February 28 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T OFLC: M PEGI: 16+ |
| Media | Blu-ray Disc, DVD |
| Input methods | Keyboard and mouse, Gamepad |
Lost: Via Domus (Incorrectly translated "The Way Home" in Latin; also known as Lost: The Video Game in Europe) is a video game based on the ABC television series Lost that was released for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 27th 2008. The game was officially unveiled at Comic-Con 2007.[2]
A Lost game was released for mobile phones on January 16, 2007 and fifth-generation iPods on May 23, 2007. It is not related to Via Domus, nor created by the same developer.
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Development
On May 22, 2006, Ubisoft announced that they had licensed the rights from Touchstone Television to create a video game based on Lost planned for release at the end of February 2008.[3]
Although it was speculated to be in development hell for some time, as there were no updates on the game since its initial May 2006 announcement, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse stated in the official Lost podcast of April 16, 2007 that the game was in production and that they had seen playable footage of the game.
Trailers
A trailer was released on the GameTrailers website on July 27, 2007, showing the island and some of the main characters. In the later released Xbox Live trailer for the game, at 1 minute 8 seconds (23 seconds from the end), just after the character gets slapped and before the ship blows up there is a hidden frame which says "Find us and we will show you the way" on the calculating computer. Also at 1:20 on the Xbox Live trailer the blast door map shows up in red.
Plot
Elliot wakes up and finds himself on the island and starts to explore the jungle. He finds an unlucky passenger of Flight 815 dead caught in some branches. But even more shocking is a woman standing beside the body. Elliot starts having flashbacks about a dead body and the woman's face. She suddenly disappears and then reappears nearby.
Elliot follows her until he meets Kate. They have a brief conversation and then when Kate gives him a bottle of water, Elliot has a flashback when he is on the plane and sees the marshall and Kate in handcuffs.(In the game, Elliot appears to be the first castaway to find out about Kate's past) Elliot follows Walt's golden retriever to the crash site. Jack, who is seen trying to revive a man, tells Elliot to shut off the fuselage so that the engines don't explode. Later, Elliot tells Jack he can't remember anything. Jack diagnoses him with amnesia. Jack recommends that he try to find any of his belongings. Kate tells him she found a backpack where they met and left it near the end of camp. Elliot then gets attacked by a mysterious man. (Later in the game, known as "Beady Eyes")
Elliot wakes up to "A New Day" and sees Jack, Kate and Charlie running from the monster. All Charlie says about it was "Monster!". Elliot talks to Kate about why Jack is guarding the only entrance to the jungle. Kate tells him that he doesn't want anyone in the jungle after the encounter from the Black Smoke.(When Elliot is talking to Kate, beside Kate's right shoulder, is Lisa Gellhorn) Elliot then remembers to go to the cockpit when the flight attendant stowed away his laptop. He thinks that the laptop might restart his memory. Elliot then sees the woman again at the edge of the beach. Elliot has a flashback when the woman, in a bikini, wants to go to a nearby island and tells a lie to steal the boat. Elliot then goes to Jack and tells a lie that Claire is fainting and while Jack rushes to her, Elliot uses the opportunity to go to the cockpit. He then avoids the "Black Smoke Monster" to the cockpit. He gets knocked out by Ben, Juliet and Tom.
Gameplay
The player is cast as a previously unseen survivor, Elliott Maslow, a photojournalist with amnesia. Gameplay involves Resident Evil-style fetch quests and puzzle solving. The use of flashbacks as a storytelling device, which are integral to the television show, is part of the game play. Also, owing to the main character's amnesia, they are often just as revealing to the character as they are to the player. The game's timeline coincides with the first 70 days portrayed in the television series. The player explores locations seen in the show, such as the beach camp, the dark territory, The Pearl Station, The Hydra Station, the Flame station, the Black Rock and the Swan Station. The player also interacts with some of the major characters of the television show; Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Mikhail, Ben, Juliet and Locke, among others. Elliott must also avoid the "Black Smoke" monster. Trading with other survivors and taking photos with a camera are also part of the gameplay. There are certain hints relating to Maslow's Hierarchy that the game may have alternate endings based on your performance. The game can be seen as one large test.
The game is split up into seven "episodes". These episodes are "Force Majeure", "A New Day", "Forty-Two", "Hotel Persephone", "Whatever It Takes" and "Worth A Thousand Words". Each episode was plotted by the show's executive producers, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.[4]
Characters
- Elliott Maslow - Elliott, the main character, is a photojournalist who suffers from amnesia. He doesn't know his own past and must work to regain his memory and to find a way off the island.
- Lisa Gellhorn - A reporter, before the crash Lisa had a brief affair with Elliot while she was working with him on a very big story. She died some time before the events of the game, after being shot in the head by Zoran Savo.
- Zoran Savo - The president of the Chenchey Institute of Research. Because of his institute's humanitarian work, he has been named an International Union Goodwill Ambassador of Peace and Tolerance. He is on a diplomatic mission to Sydney to promote a human rights amendment to the IU Charter of Rights signed by over 50 nations.
- Beady Eyes - One of Savo's loyal bodyguards, Beady Eyes has been with him since the early days. He was initially involved in the illegal arms trade before Savo approached him to act as a liaison with the criminal world. As their relationship developed, the henchman became Savo's right-hand man, making sure that his boss - and primary source of income - was protected from every threat.
Additionally, the main characters from the series are also present in the game. They include Jack Shephard, Kate Austen, Claire Littleton, Hugo Reyes, James "Sawyer" Ford, John Locke, Desmond Hume, Ben Linus, Juliet Burke, Sayid Jarrah, Charlie Pace, Sun Kwon, Jin Kwon, Michael Dawson and Tom among others. The actors for Ben Linus (Michael Emerson), Sun (Yunjin Kim), Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), Claire (Emilie de Ravin), Tom (M. C. Gainey) and Mikhail Bakunin (Andrew Divoff) all provided voice work for the game, while the rest of the major characters are provided by stand-ins.[5][6]
System Requirements
The Windows version requires the following:
- Windows XP or Vista
- 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo / Athlon 64 X2 (or 3.5GHz Pentium 4/Athlon)
- 1GB of RAM (2GB recommended)
- at least a 128MB DirectX 9.0c-compliant shader 3.0-enabled video card (256MB recommended)
- 5 GB of hard disk space
- The supported cards are
- ATI RADEON X1300-1950 / HD 2000 series,
- nVidia Geforce 6600, 6800, 7xxx and 8xxx series.
Reception
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Lost: Via Domus received generally negative to mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. Based on 34 reviews, the Xbox 360 version currently holds a percentage of 58% at Game Rankings,[7] and a score of 56 at Metacritic, based on 13 reviews.[8]
Critics believed the game is most enjoyable to die hard Lost fans, with 1UP.com commenting that "Via Domus is fan service through and through".[9] They also believed that the game was short, with IGN citing completion in 4 to 6 hours,[10] and Gamespot claiming that it is too short to justify full price.[11] Several reviews also criticized the stand-in voice actors. For example, IGN claimed Locke was played like an "old timey prospector", while Sawyer sounded like "Huckleberry Hound".[10]
However, Eurogamer believed that the game did a good job of "creating a new character [that is] able to exist without disrupting the [series'] timeline or feeling like an aberration",[12] and the game's graphics and presentation received praise. Ultimately, IGN summarized that Via Domus "is a game for the fans, which only fans can appreciate. But at the same time - in a strange bit of paradox - this is a game that will disappoint almost every Lost fan."[10] Nonetheless, the game fared better with fans, receiving from users a B- on 1UP.com, and a 3/5 on Amazon.com.
References
- ↑ Xbox Interview: Lost - The Videogame - ComputerAndVideoGames.com
- ↑ Elusive 'Lost' Game to be Unveiled at Comic Con
- ↑ Sanders, Kathleen (2006-05-22). "Lost Finds Its Way to Videogames". IGN. http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/709/709575p1.html. Retrieved on 22 September 2006.
- ↑ Magazine Watching: New Lost details found in EGM
- ↑ Lost Video Game Preview - Writer Taunts Me With Knowledge Of Black Smoke And Four-Toed Statue
- ↑ Geek Magazine Interview
- ↑ Game Rankings: Lost: Via Domus (Xbox 360)
- ↑ Metacritic: Lost: Via Domus (Xbox 360)
- ↑ 1up - Reviews: Lost: Via Domus
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 IGN - Lost: Via Domus Review
- ↑ GameSpot - Lost: Via Domus
- ↑ Eurogamer - Lost: The Video Game Review
External links
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