Lost: Via Domus is a bit like fan fiction. The game isn't part of the canon. It's not really made by J.J. Abrams or anybody remotely responsible for cooking up the hit show's convoluted back story. If you're the type of fan who would claw through the Cloverfield monster's droppings for a hint at his origins, relax and have a Slusho. Lost: Via Domus isn't a treasure-trove of new clues and riddles. Instead, the game offers a glimpse into what it would be like to be one of the survivors of Oceanic flight 815. Players interact with their favorite characters, run like hell from the island's many dangers, and explore a handful of the game's mysterious locations. Is being shoehorned into one of network TV's most beloved series fun, though? Only sorta.

Look, Ma! I'm on the TV!

There are more than a few things that Lost: Via Domus does right. The game isn't hard. It isn't long. Think weekend rental. It does a decent job of recreating the vibe of the show. Cut together with dramatic stings, pre-commercial bumpers, and “last time” re-caps it really feels like you're playing an episode of the show – a shabbily written, poorly acted episode of the show. See, only a handful of the original actors provided voice work for the game. Even if they did show up to the recording studio, they'd have laughed at the lame lines the game-makers forced them to cough up. The amnesiac main character is the worst offender. The guy spews clichés like he's getting guild minimum for each chestnut. Still, there's a lot of vibe happening in this game. Wandering through the wreckage of 815, exploring the stuff beyond “the hatch”, and running like a bat out of the hell through the jungle feels immersive and cool -- especially when lame gameplay issues don't blow the mood.

J.J. Abrams Ware: Smooth Moves

The game-play in Lost: Via Domus feels somewhat adrift. It's an adventure game for dummies. The puzzles are lightweight, the fetch quests super-simplistic. Characters from the show toss quests and helpful items your way, helping you push the story along. There's not a lot of busy work, which is a good thing. Though you're eventually armed with a gun, you really only need to shoot three or four people. In retrospect, this was a good decision. A short, okay game is much better than an okay game prolonged by excessive gun-play (see Uncharted: Drake's Fortune). The sucky sections don't suck for long, because there's a good bit of variety to the experience. With caves to navigate and some ruins to explore, there's lots of cool scenery. Two different kinds of chase sequences pass for action. The fast-paced races through the jungle work well enough, but the parts with the Black Smoke are a straight hassle. There's even a photography mini-game. The game's protagonist gets his own back-in-the-real-world flashbacks. To fully remember what went down, he has to snap a shot of a key moment. It's a clever little mechanic that really taps into the feel of the show, but the game should be a bit more forgiving about what picture you need to snap.

Salvageable Disaster

It's tempting to lay into Lost: Via Domus like Hurley attacking a package of DHARMA cookies. Games based on TV shows and movies are supposed to suck, right? Thing is, Lost: Via Domus sucks unlike any movie or TV tie-in you've ever played. Sure, the game is rotten with graphical glitches. The acting and writing are on-par with the dramatic offerings of most of video games. In other words they stink. Yet Lost: Via Domus never manages to earn outright hatred. The game doesn't overstay its welcome. It mixes things up and it only rarely frustrates. Oddly enough, the game makes a decent starting point for people who haven't seen the show before. Some of the island's characters and locations are inherently spoiler-iffic. But there's nothing in the game that you haven't already heard blabbed around the water cooler. Besides, if you play the modest mess that is Lost: Via Domus you'll never again wonder if the TV series has jumped the shark. It can't possibly get this muddled.

Review by: Gus Mastrapa