Disappointing, even for fans of the show
Lost: Via Domus is a very disappointing game. I'm a very big fan of the Lost TV Show. I've watched every episode more than once. I've bought books about the show. I've checked out websites to get more details about the show. Even with the negative reviews of the game, I took a chance because I thought my love of the show would be enough to make it worth my time. Unfortunately the game is just too much of a mess.
As mentioned in other reviews, the game feels empty. In the TV Show, almost all of the scenes out on the beach are filled with characters, some important, some not. In the game you're lucky if there are half a dozen people in an area. So instead of making it feel like you're "playing the TV show," you just get reminded of what you're missing.
Certain game conceits, the things done to provide you with some game play, directly contradict the show. You character walks around finding water bottles lying around island, but the show made a big point of how scarce those bottles were. They were hoarded by certain characters, not scattered across the beach and the jungle.
There are annoying cave sequences that feel tacked on and not in the spirit of the show.
The passage of time feels inconsistent. Events that occur weeks apart apparently happen during the time it takes to walk from the beach to some location in the jungle. Also, some events almost certainly didn't happen within the Lost continuity, which feels like a cheat, since part of the reason of playing the game is to learn more answers about the island.
There were some good things. I liked exploring some of the locations from the TV Show, as they felt pretty true to the sets used on the show. The graphics were decent. It definitely doesn't push the game system, but it looks better than it probably could have on the previous generation's consoles (PS2/XBox/Gamecube). Some of the voice work is good, though some of the characters don't sound anything like their TV show counterparts.
My biggest problem with the game is that is just isn't very fun. I played the game for the story, and while it was pretty good, it is surrounded by a system that makes it a chore to play. I think fans of the show should just find a summary of the plot details online and skip the game entirely
