Lost

Lost - (Xbox 360, PS3)
Developer: ABC Studio
Format: Xbox 360, PS3
Genre: Arcade Adventure

A game that we're glad we found

We love Lost. We love pretty much everything about the concept. The tropical island not on any map, the interwoven character plots, the random environmental hazards such as The Others, the polar bear, the smoke monster. Hell, we even like the flashbacks.

This love for all things Lost may therefore have an impact on our review slant. As long as Ubisoft have made a decent stab at developing the Lost atmosphere we're going to be half way happy. Do justice to the licence and you do justice to the audience. Fortunately the veteran publisher has done just that and more which makes us happy bunnies and should also appease the casual gamer looking for a decent puzzle-based title - a rarity on either console.

The story takes place from Season one until Season two. The game is designed to run like an independent series, the action is split into seven episodes of approximately 90 mins each - totalling 10 hours of pure Lost gameplay. The story runs independently to the actual plot to Lost. The narrative centres on a brand new character called Elliot Maslow, an investigative journalist in possession of a major scoop, but he's also got one major problem- amnesia.

Amnesia is convenient as puzzles include many flashback sequences that play a trademark cornerstone to the whole Lost experience. In addition there's also a whole host of more physical elements such as having to find your way through a dense jungle; which is both realistic to the premise and a testament to visuals on display, which are typical top drawer quality. This is no better demonstrated than when looking at many of the cave sequences where the gamer relies on the use of flame-lit torches to navigate through a maze of booby-trap laden caves where pitfalls can literally rest around each corner.