Well Lost wrapped things up this year and its final season is now available giving me a somewhat weak excuse to write a review for a game that came out in 2008 rather than more ps2 games. I am a fan of the show and to avoid pissing people off about spoilers I am going to assume that if you are reading this you know a few things about the show itself. No I will not give away any important plot details for the show or game but I will mention things like what the monster on the island looks like.
The Setup
This is basically a retelling of the earlier bits of Lost. Oceanic flight 815 crashes with and you wake up in the jungle suffering from some plot convenient amnesia. You then must traipse about the island and figure out who you are, why are you here, why should you care, and if this camera you have is yours or did you just steal it. I don't really understand why most people who seem to get amnesia in games and movies don't have their wallets, I always have mine when I'm out and about. But anyway you're now stuck on this very very green island and you have to make nice with your fellow survivors to...well survive through the game's seven little Lost episodes.
The Gameplay
You control your memory deprived survivor man Resident Evil 4 style aka Gears of War style aka third person over the shoulder as you wander about and talk to people from the show. Really that's what most of the game is. No I'm serious. Christ there is a lot of walking about and talking to people in this game. Granted that is also what the lion's share of the show is, but this is a game! Only some of the cast actually did their own voices for this and the ones that didn't were replaced by voice actors who seemed to intentionally miss the mark.
To acquire items you must barter with the terribly voiced Sawyer. Basically each item you find, such as papayas, coconuts, and water bottles, have set values and you then trade them for whatever you want from him. So you will lump a wheelbarrow load of fruit and water on top of him and you'll get a lantern and a hand gun. You can buy torches instead but the game basically tells you that they go out even if you just think of water, and if they do go out while you are in the dark you just die apparently. Having geared up you are now all set for a fun filled romp thru the jungle and learn about the island and your past. Only not really.
Why I Feel This Game Let Me Down
It's my own stupid fault. Lost always always set itself up to be more grand than what it ends up being. Sure the story about your character is somewhat well done but I was hoping for some exploration, some discovery, maybe some clever puzzles. What I got was various sets from the TV show, no real exploration incentive or rewards, and the same damn puzzle of rerouting electricity over and over. The game let's you spend the time to acquire a hand gun and ammo but you only need to use it maybe twice in the entire very short game(4-6 hours). Sure it's fun the first time you go into the hatch and have to input the code into the computer. Sure running oh so slowly from the smoke monster in the jungle so you don't detonate the dynamite in your backpack is intense if not an exercise in patience and hilarious explosions. But really this game's sole appeal is allowing fans to run about on the island they're so curious about and talk to the characters they love (Hurley) and the ones they hate (Charlie). So I guess the question is "Is that enough?"
Is That Enough?
No
But The Title of This Said Something About a Silver Lining...
There is one thing this game does so fantastically that I think it's even better than what the show did. That one thing is the ending. This game ends in such a spectacular way the only word I can think to describe is, pardon my French, mindfuck. I finished the game and while I watched the ending I actually said out "What the fuck?" timed perfectly with that hated Lost title card that pops up an the end of each episode. No I'm not gonna tell you what it is because it was the perfect combination of surprise and confusion that was the essence of the show when it did its job right. I thought the ending just about made up for the rest of the game but I cannot in good conscious recommend it just for that. Almost though.
This being the 4th review I've written one would assume I would have figured out how to add pictures correctly. Sadly no, I'm working on it.
The Setup
This is basically a retelling of the earlier bits of Lost. Oceanic flight 815 crashes with and you wake up in the jungle suffering from some plot convenient amnesia. You then must traipse about the island and figure out who you are, why are you here, why should you care, and if this camera you have is yours or did you just steal it. I don't really understand why most people who seem to get amnesia in games and movies don't have their wallets, I always have mine when I'm out and about. But anyway you're now stuck on this very very green island and you have to make nice with your fellow survivors to...well survive through the game's seven little Lost episodes.
The Gameplay
You control your memory deprived survivor man Resident Evil 4 style aka Gears of War style aka third person over the shoulder as you wander about and talk to people from the show. Really that's what most of the game is. No I'm serious. Christ there is a lot of walking about and talking to people in this game. Granted that is also what the lion's share of the show is, but this is a game! Only some of the cast actually did their own voices for this and the ones that didn't were replaced by voice actors who seemed to intentionally miss the mark.
To acquire items you must barter with the terribly voiced Sawyer. Basically each item you find, such as papayas, coconuts, and water bottles, have set values and you then trade them for whatever you want from him. So you will lump a wheelbarrow load of fruit and water on top of him and you'll get a lantern and a hand gun. You can buy torches instead but the game basically tells you that they go out even if you just think of water, and if they do go out while you are in the dark you just die apparently. Having geared up you are now all set for a fun filled romp thru the jungle and learn about the island and your past. Only not really.
Why I Feel This Game Let Me Down
It's my own stupid fault. Lost always always set itself up to be more grand than what it ends up being. Sure the story about your character is somewhat well done but I was hoping for some exploration, some discovery, maybe some clever puzzles. What I got was various sets from the TV show, no real exploration incentive or rewards, and the same damn puzzle of rerouting electricity over and over. The game let's you spend the time to acquire a hand gun and ammo but you only need to use it maybe twice in the entire very short game(4-6 hours). Sure it's fun the first time you go into the hatch and have to input the code into the computer. Sure running oh so slowly from the smoke monster in the jungle so you don't detonate the dynamite in your backpack is intense if not an exercise in patience and hilarious explosions. But really this game's sole appeal is allowing fans to run about on the island they're so curious about and talk to the characters they love (Hurley) and the ones they hate (Charlie). So I guess the question is "Is that enough?"
Is That Enough?
No
But The Title of This Said Something About a Silver Lining...
There is one thing this game does so fantastically that I think it's even better than what the show did. That one thing is the ending. This game ends in such a spectacular way the only word I can think to describe is, pardon my French, mindfuck. I finished the game and while I watched the ending I actually said out "What the fuck?" timed perfectly with that hated Lost title card that pops up an the end of each episode. No I'm not gonna tell you what it is because it was the perfect combination of surprise and confusion that was the essence of the show when it did its job right. I thought the ending just about made up for the rest of the game but I cannot in good conscious recommend it just for that. Almost though.
This being the 4th review I've written one would assume I would have figured out how to add pictures correctly. Sadly no, I'm working on it.