Lost Via Domus Spoliers

You'd think a television show such as Lost would be above whoring itself out to sell a couple of bucks but here are.  I'm pretty sure ABC owns the actual rights to the Lost name, or else this game probably would not have been made.  But after spending the afternoon with Lost Via Domus on Xbox, starting at Noon and finishing around 5:30pm, I'm glad it was made.

Lost Via Domus is a pretty decently put together fan fiction spanning 7 episodes taking place during Seasons 1 and 2 of Lost.  Each episode lasts about 30 to 45 minutes and centers on main character, Elliot Maslow.  Elliot finds himself on the island with no memory of the past and a mysterious man out to kill him.  Inklings of his past start to trickle back to him, when Lost characters confront him about his past.  Elliot must piece together his past in flashbacks while using this information in the present to progress further.

The writers of Lost Via Domus have a very good grasp of Lost lore.  Each Lost character confronts and deals with Elliot and his problems in a very stereotypical way for their character.  Jack doesn't believe you.  Sawyer doesn't care.  Hurley's your buddy.  Locke leads Elliot through the woods to find himself.  Michael yells Walt a couple times.

Each episode is meant to take place during the storyline of Lost, but in time breaks it and then breaks it completely wide open.  In the beginning, I was completely with Elliot fitting into Lost.  His character was out of the real story and in his own.  But eventually, Elliot starts to do things that he shouldn't be doing.  Like opening and closing blast doors from inside the hatch.  And using dynamite to blow open a secret area of the Swan hatch and neutralize the magnetic reactor.

The story does not fit into Lost, but the themes and style are pretty well put together and are very Lost.  The themes of your past eventually confront yourself on the island, and you have the choice to diverge from those themes and learn from the past, or doom yourself to repeat it.

Aside from that, the environment and graphics are absolutely beautiful though.  If you've ever wanted to walk around on the set of Lost, all you need to do is pick up this game.  You walk around the beach, the Swan hatch, the Hydra station, the Flame station.  You can even find the mediical "Staff" station and "Pearl" station to walk around to, if you can find them.  Each setting is absolutely perfect in the game, and taking pictures of various Lost props gets you achievement points.

Overall, I think Lost Via Domus is a very unique gaming anomaly.  It's an interactive fan-fiction totally made by and for Lost fans.  As a Lost fan, I can respect this product and think it succeeds at its goals.  As a gamer, the game isn't really all that bad.  It's well put together, but very simple.  If this game had a story completely of its own, I would probably like it on its own and look forward to what the team was doing next.

But, even after all these kind words, I would recommend it as a rental only for Lost fans.  Once you finish it, that's it.  It's just 7 episodes of fan-fiction...  nothing more.