Video Games: May 2008 Archives

LOST Via Domus Review

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LOST Via Domus

Let's not waste any time: as a videogame, LOST Via Domus completely sucks.  I have learned this because I have played the game to 100% completion, not once, but twice, on two game consoles.  Yet there may be a small minority of people out there who will enjoy playing the game.  Crazy people.  Like us.

Reading the previews about this game, I was very excited.  The LOST writers contributed a lot of good things to the game, helping to create a brand new character, Eliot, a survivor of Oceanic Flight 815 that we've never seen before.  The main problem is that Eliot has amnesia and people are trying to kill him.  This is really cool, because Eliot has his own flashbacks that you play through and his own mysteries that will be uncovered.  He has connections to Locke and the Widmore/Hanso conspiracy.  Eliot will explore many key areas of the island that we've seen in the first three seasons of LOST, from the Black Rock to the Hatch to the Others camp.  Due to what he learns about the Hanso foundation, Eliot is driven to escape the island and triggers a wild ending that appears to be approved by Damon and Carlton (Lost's showrunners).  Damon remarked on an ABC podcast that the Via Domus ending is not a dream sequence.  It echoes some of the time-bending island aspects that we've seen in Season Four.

However, the game play really sucks in LOST and it won't be worth it for most people.  Eliot really does not have very many moves in the game.  He shoots a gun, very briefly, in 2 scenes toward the end.  He runs through the jungle a lot.  Eliot can interact with the famous LOST cast members (Jack, Locke, Ben, Juliet, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley), but only a few of them are voiced by the real actors.  In order to barter for things like torches, lamps, guns, etc., Eliot has to collect stupid things like coconuts, papayas, and candy bars.  There are many levels in the game that are extremely frustrating, such as navigating through waypoints in the forest and ducking into banyan trees whenever the smoke monsters is around.  Navigating through dark caves, which you do twice, is also miserable, because there are no clues of where you need to go.  In order to get through the flashbacks, Eliot has to take pictures with his camera, at exactly the right angle and the right moment in time.

I am such a die-hard LOST fan that I just had to play it as soon as possible.  Gamefly had it readily available for the Playstation 3 and I received it a few days after it came out.  It was frustrating, but with the help of an IGN strategy guide, I made it to the ending.  Then I realized, this game may be one of the few that I can get 1000 achievement points on XBox 360.  I rented it for that console and in a few hours did receive the magic 1000 point achievement of my dreams.

Bottom line: if you are not crazy, don't buy it.  If you have to play it, then rent it.  Nuff said.

LOST Via Domus ending on YouTube

IGN LOST Via Domus Review

IGN LOST Via Domus Strategy Guide

LOST Via Domus XBox 360 Achievement Guide

Mirror's Edge, First Person Platformer

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Wow...look at this game clip from Mirror's Edge.  It's Prince of Persia in first person viewpoint.From DICE and EA, IGN says coming 2008, let's hope so. 

Nuff said.

Iron Man Rules at Box Office, falls apart on game consoles.

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Looks like the whole nation was infected with Iron Mania.  Shellhead's silver screen debut raked in $100 million for the 3-day weekend, above the projected $70-80 million.  This is good for everyone: Marvel, comic book fans, and Hollywood.

Marvel already projects higher earnings as a result.  They are also planning on an Iron Man sequel in 2010 along with a possible Thor movie.  Will it be the Ultimate Thor or the classic Dr. Don Blake Thor?

Over at Entertainment Weekly, Ken Tucker actually proposes that Downey deserves an Oscar for Iron Man.  Wow...Downey's career has been fully resuscitated.  Don't go mad and fall off the wagon, Robert!  Good things are in store for Mr. Favreau's directing career as well.

Not everything in the Iron Man universe is so rosy.  The Iron Man videogame looks to be getting terrible reviews.  I played the XBox 360 demo a week ago and found it to be a justifiable rental, if you are an Iron Man fan.  The game demo consisted of a level based on the movie where you fly around Afghanistan, blowing up terrorist camps using Stark technology.  Mostly you fly around and use repulsor rays to blow up shit.  The full game is supposed to deviate from the plot and puts you in combat against infamous IM villains.  You can also unlock classic versions of IM armor.

Here's an interesting behind the scenes look at the game.  Looks like good fodder for XBox achievement points, but a clear rental.  Nuff said.

XBox 360 Chatter

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This page is a archive of entries in the Video Games category from May 2008.

Video Games: April 2008 is the previous archive.

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