Lost: The Video Game (PS3)

Lost the videogame is here and it's a mix of good and bad.

You play as a survivor named Elliott. You're a photographer and must piece together your memory by completing quests on the island and getting your memory back by taking some photos and collecting evidence through a series of flashbacks. What this game is good at is using the structure of the TV show. In fact, all the chapters have cliffhangers and recaps and it really is great fodder for lost fans. All your favourite characters are there too but the soundalikes are sometimes off the mark. It's good to see most of the character models looking spot on, particularly John Locke -baldies have always been easier to model than hairy dudes. And the environments are gorgeous. The whole game really is a visual treat as sea laps on the shore and light bounces through tree canopies.

Unfortunately, someone forgot to put any actual gameplay in here. Most of the game is adventuring. There's some exploration through the forest using markers to get to your next waypoint and through caves, keeping torches lit so you don't get killed by something lurking in the dark. There's not much in the way of combat and there's also a strange trading system that isn't really needed at all. The only puzzles you'll face are placing fuses into a circuit board in the correct order and you have to do this about 7 times throughout the game. This, along with the flashbacks, makes for a very disjointed game constantly interrupted by loading screens between scenes.

All that said, Losties will still get something out of this. It does go some way to explaining a little more than the TV show alone and there are some proper heart in the mouth moments like when you have to enter the numbers in the hatch or are being chased y the scary black smoke. Of course, if you don't watch Lost you won't have a clue what I'm on about and should stay clear of this. PS3 owners should get Uncharted instead. Xbox 360 achievement point junkies will also benefit as it throws almost the full thousand gamerpoints at you with ease in under five hours of gameplay.

Only recommended if you love the show and if you rent it out as you can complete this in an afternoon and once you finish it you probably won't play it again.

Despite its mediocrity as an actual game, I saw it as a nice compliment to the TV show so I'm going to give Lost The Video Game a generous 6 out of 10.

This is so far the worst game I have played in my entire life. I can't say one positive thing about it. I couldn't wait to die to have an excuse to turn the rubbish off!!!!

It is quite frustrating that a great TV series like Lost can be turned into without doubt the worst game ever and I'm sure my view will be paralleled by the majority of people who buy this travesty. As said in a previous review 'there are no words in the English dictionary to describe how bad this game really is' and I couldn't agree more, there are however a few words not included in the dictionary that I would use to describe it if allowed.

After buying 24 The Game and it being very accurate in terms of comparison to the actual TV series, I thought Lost Via Domus (which is actually wrongly translated as well!!!) would be very much like the TV series and even though it includes the characters, settings and of course the 'monster' for fans of the show the perception of certain characters may be ruined and for this reason I implore that fans don't buy the game.

The fact that the stand-ins were used to provide main character voices (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Hurley and Sayid among others) makes total sense because the actors of the programme probably refused to be a part of something that was in their opinion going to be an absolute disgrace as proved to be the case.

I could write a hell of a lot more but can't be bothered wasting anymore of my time.

In my opinion the biggest waste of £29.99 so don't do the same thing!

In lost you play as a brand new character, a reporter that was on flight 815 but you've lost your memory and it's you job to go out there and recover it.

Now me personally I like how the levels are set up, true to the series. You see each level/ stages is played as though you were watching a episode at the beginning of a stage you get a small clip then the lost title comes up, after you've completed the first stage at the beginning of every stage after this your treat to a "previously on LOST" clip which shows all the important bits from the previous stage. During each stage you also experience a flash back to help you regain your memory. I don't know what other people thought of this but I personally thought this was a good idea it's as if you really are playing through an episode.

The game play is split into two parts really, on the island, and in the flash backs. On the island you go round talking to the other characters in the game (the main characters from the series) who can help point you in the right direction to help you recover your memory. Now you will notice on the island that only the main and biggest characters on the show make an appearance so instead of having a beach full of survivors you will only have 2 or 3 people around at a time. It would have been nice to see more saviours around even if you couldn't talk to them or if they threw out a couple of one liners or pointed out where you can find the main characters. I don't know maybe I'm asking too much but as you are at the moment in the game you just feel alone as there isn't many people you can interact with.

While on the subject of the characters you are not treat with voice over's from the original cast instead your left with some really bad voice acting that in places is just laughable so don't expect any Oscar winning performances here.

Out in the Jungle when travelling from area to area you get to dodge the dreaded smoke monster or people shooting at you can hide in trees but they are easy enough to dodge and run past, there are also caves you can explore which can be dangerous, if your left in the dark to long the darkness will get you, or you could fall down a hole and die. You have stay in the light at all times when in a cave, putting your torch out when pass under water or when bats attack so save its lifespan. Don't be cheap like me and only use you lighter that you get for free ... It doesn't work that well.

Also on the Island you can go round looking for items such as empty bottles/ fruit to collect, these act as your currency on the island and can be later traded for more useful items such as torches, flash lights etc.

The flash back parts of the game require you to take a photo of a moment in your past the only clue you have to this is 2 or 3 pieces of a torn up photo, once the correct photo is taken you'll get a small clip revealing some more of your past and why you where on the flight. There are then a couple of other clues you can find in whatever environment you're in such as newspapers, recordings etc that may help as well. Taking a Picture sounds easy but finding the right angle/ position and focus level can be annoying.

To wrap up this game certainly isn't for everyone its way to short can be frustrating at times, the acting is laughable, and there is little action in the game not that this game is about that. However the game can be interesting in places, the graphics are actually really good and if you're a fan of lost then there are parts of the game that you will enjoy and find familiar that will keep you playing to the end and solve the mystery behind this survivor. Not worth the full retail price, rent or look for it really cheap as I did.

Their are no words in the english dictionary to describe how bad this game really is. The devolpers have made a total fubar with the gameplay, (I was in the first level and I got my charachter stuck behind the engine, it would not even move which meant I had to reset the game). I was very disspointed. However if you are a fan of the series you will truly like it.

Totally not for me, I wished I never even bought the game....

I love the series, as anoying as it is.
This game on the other hand dredges new depths of what makes an utterly awful game. Perhaps 20 years ago in the age of monkey island adventure games, this game would have had it's place. Although, even then it would have been bad in the light of it's competitors.
It was so bad that I didn't even bother finishing it because I got to the point where I simply didn't care what the outcome was, because to get there was so painfully tedious and boring. If you really want to watch the tediously short game episodes, go to you tube.
In the game you do exciting things like collect coconuts to trade for torches to use in the caves, which are always blocking the route to your destination. You can't get the torches wet or let bats fly into them or else they will deplete. This would be fine if every single dorway in the caves didn't have a waterfall in it, after which a flock of bats attack you. There is no way to escape these things making any degree of interactivity and avoidance impossible, putting you in the position of a bored observer desperately trying to press square to reignite your torch before something kills you in the dark. As soon as you have reignited your torch you fall down a hole and die. This means you have to do the whole tedious task over again. Once you have completed this section you will invariably find a fuse box which you have to reconnect in order to get to your next quest item. episode over.
Oh yes and you also have to take pictures in borning flashbacks and have no clue what you are supposed to capture whithin the shot, while fiddling with your placement, focus and zoom. You have a stupidly small amount of time to do this but just long enough to make you want to spit fire and kick in your TV when you have to repeatedly do the whole thing over and over and over again until the game is finally happy.
I have never writen such a long review but this game is that bad it deserves it. Even at £1.99 in a bargin bin I would avoid it and buy a happy meal instead.