Lost: Via Domus

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.