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Lost: Via Domus

(2008, Video Games - Action/Adventure, Rated T, Play it on: Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Based on TV show -- has good story, weak play.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 14 and Up

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Not an issue.
  • Messages:

    We see characters conniving and lying, but this behavior isn't promoted or glorified.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    A small amount of shooting is involved, and there are a couple of explosions. A few objects are blood stained, and a pool of red can be seen under the head of someone who has been shot.
  • Sex:

    The only part of the game even remotely sexual in nature is a woman walking on a beach in a bikini posing for a picture.
  • Language:

    Characters occasionally use minor profanity, including "hell," "damn," "piss," and "bitch."
  • Consumerism:

    This game is based on the TV show of the same name.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Alcohol is never consumed on-screen, but beer cans are among several objects scattered about the island that can be collected by the player and traded with island survivors for various goods.
 

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Lost: Via Domus was written by Chad Sapieha

Parents need to know that this game is an offshoot of the TV show Lost. Like the show, there are moments of moderate violence and terror: characters are shot, blood is shown, and the player gets chased by a scary "smoke monster." Profanity is limited to what you might hear on primetime network television. The only part of the game even remotely sexual in nature is a woman walking on a beach in a bikini posing for a picture. Parents should also be aware that, while the game targets a casual gaming audience, there will be moments of frustrating difficulty resulting from unclear in-game instructions.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about the importance of camaraderie in survival situations. If you were stranded on a deserted island, who would you like to have with you? Whom could you trust? Families can also discuss how well or poorly the game ties in with the TV show. Did the designers and writers do a good job of making the game's plot run parallel with the first two seasons of the show, as they intended? If someone who has never seen the Lost TV show were to play this game, would they understand what was going on?
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More on Lost: Via Domus

What’s the Story?

Based on Lost, a popular TV show about a group of plane crash survivors inhabiting a mysterious and perhaps supernatural island, LOST: VIA DOMUS is an action/adventure game starring a heretofore unseen survivor who wakes up after the disaster with amnesia. Players control him from a third-person perspective as he speaks with other survivors, solves puzzles, explores the island, and goes into the past to relive his slowly returning memories. The game is a mixture of puzzles, exploration, role-playing, and short bursts of action that involve, for the most part, avoiding the attacks of various people and creatures. Players eventually get their hands on a gun, but it's very rarely used. Close

Is It Any Good?

The most interesting part of the game is how its story runs parallel to events that fans of the show have seen on television. For example, after exploring the jungle, players will often return to the survivor camp on the beach to find people talking about events that took place on the show but are not shown in the game, such as the first time the "Others" -- hostile island co-inhabitants -- attack the survivors' camp. Of course, the downside to this novel method of storytelling is that players who are unfamiliar with the show are unlikely to have any idea what the rest of the survivors are talking about.

However, while the narrative ought to engage people who enjoy the show, the actual game may not. The problems start with navigation. Finding your way through the jungle depends heavily on watching for signs and flags that show you the way. The problem is that these waypoints are so poorly distinguished from the rest of the foliage that you'll often walk right past them. Even when you aren't in the jungle there are times when you'll have difficulty figuring out where to go or what to do or how to do it, which could wind up making some players -- especially the casual gamers toward whom the game is geared -- start banging their heads in frustration. The climax is perhaps the best example of the game's obtuse objectives: It first tasks the player to make a choice without actually explaining what that choice is, then provides no clues on just how to enact your choice once you've made it. We had to experiment a dozen times before figuring out how to proceed -- which, as one might expect, rather extinguished the dramatic tension that had been building up until that point. Still, if you're a Lost fan, the story -- especially its bizarre but strangely comprehensible conclusion -- is worth checking out.

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Publisher’s Details

Released on 2/26/2008, price $59.99, not online enabled
ESRB rating: T (for Alcohol Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Tobacco Reference, Violence)

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    Lives in California
    I rate this title off for age 2 and give it 0.0

    the worst game ever

    i hate this game it stinks! i say dont play it it is not worth ur time!it is the worst game EVER!

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Arizona
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 2.0

    Disappointment

    While Ubisoft Montreal has made some good games (Splinter Cell, Assassin's Creed), this is not one of them. The gameplay is linear, boring, and contributes nothing to the television program's story. All you really do is follow a set path, talk to some characters, and take pictures during flashbacks. There are items to collect and trade but rarely do you need to. Although you never feel as if you have been on the island for more than a few days, the television characters are doing a lot off-screen as they seem to progress through the whole first two seasons of the show. That's remarkable when you can complete the game in under six hours. Saving takes place at checkpoints and if you do have to reload you are usually stuck watching a series of clips that you are not allowed to skip over. Lost is definitely not for anyone other than those who watch the television show. It is also difficult to recommend to fans of the show, as there is nothing memorable about it once the experience is over.

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