Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Action adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Michele White

I could’ve used this game during the long hiatus, but if two hours a week isn’t enough for you, Lost: Via Domus (“the way home”) might be just the fix you need. One really cool aspect is that whenever you load a saved game or complete an episode, it starts off with the trademark “Previously on Lost…” and a brief recap of the story so far, which we’ve all grown so accustomed to through the years.

For those that have never seen the show, Oceanic Flight 815 was on its way back to the U.S. from Australia when it crashed. Some pieces went down into the Pacific and others, miraculously with survivors onboard, crashed on “The Island.” These survivors have spent the past few months trying to find a way off the island while battling the strange phenomena and the “Others” that reside there.

Lost: Via Domus of course begins with the last few minutes of Oceanic Flight 815. The plane crashes and your character finds himself alone in the dark jungle. There are a couple of trails available, but only one leads clearly toward daylight. That’s the path to take. Along the way, a pop up appears that asks you to examine the plane seat. That’s pretty much how you’ll gather all of the information you’ll need. As you travel, you just “happen” upon objects that might or might not provide clues. (Advice: examine everything.) As you examine objects, sometimes a dialogue box will pop up. In the case of the seat: “I crash landed in that, but where’s the rest of the plane?” That’s how you’ll get information on what you’re supposed to be looking for. Whenever you ask yourself a question, you can be pretty sure that there’s something in your quest log that needs checking. In this case: find the rest of the plane.

It turns out that the daylight isn’t coming from the beach at all; it’s merely a small clearing that allows the sun’s rays to penetrate. (We’re farther in the jungle than I thought.) There’s more wreckage in the clearing, but nothing you’ll be able to interact with, so keep moving. In the distance stands a person, however, so at least there’s something here that can be investigated. As you approach: “Ewww!!!” The camera closes in on a body hanging from what looks like a propeller in a tree. It’s here that you’ll get your first introduction to the quest log, but no information about the dead guy. “I’m wounded from the plane crash, my head’s dizzy. I need to find other survivors and get help.” (Duh, that’s what we were doing when we got interrupted by the body.)