A game that manages to alienate both gamers and fans of the show alike.
So how do they get around this? Well they try to incorporate explorative elements into the game. The game comes off as meant to be a journey of discovery, which basically translates as boring. There are elements of the game whch show a bit of promise, but these don't last. If more time and effort had been put into this game it probably could've been quite good, but in the end it's simply a quick cash with no enjoyment to be had.
Firstly the good bits, well the passable bits (all three of them). The trading system is a good idea. You trade items with your fellow castaways, each worth a certain amount of money on the island and so you trade whatever you need to up to the value of the thing you want. For example if a gun is woth £150 on the island you can trade a book you found, some beer cans and a chocolate bar which'll add up to the same price. This actually works pretty well but it seems that they've missed out on an intersting gameplay point here. When you pick up the beer can the info on it actually says "Sawyer would like this" or something similar. However you can just as easily trade it with Juliet for the same value. If different items were worth different amounts to different people it could've been an interesting idea that would've put the player's Lost knowledge to use.
Then there's sections where you have to walk through the jungle. To keep these interesting (if that's the right word) you'll either be shot at by the Others or attacked by the Black Smoke Monster. Running and hiding from the Monster in particular is actually quite cool, as you have a real snese of fear and have to keep an eye out for it. There's also a section where you have to sprint away from it on a set path whilst dodging tree branches and other obsticles which is the closest thing to "fun" the game has to offer. Of course as soon as you complement something the game manages to mess it up. At one point you have to carry dynamite through jungle to blow open a door(not the hatch from the season 1 finale, but a different one). As in the show the dynamite is very unstable and so if you run with it it'll explode. That's fine until you have to get past the Monster. Here if you run the dynamite will blow you up and if you walk the Monster will catch up to you. This is clearly bad design, but it's not the worst example in the game.
Now onto the really bad stuff. There's a couple of times where you have to walk through a dark cave and make sure your torch stays lit or you'll somehow be killed in the dark (it refuses to tell you by what). Despite this being very boring (like the rest of the game) even with a light it's hard to see which way to go and on several occasions I managed to get turned around without realising it and ended up going out of the tunnel the way I came in. The game seems to lean towards exploration but the game's very linear and so that just doesn't work. There's not even a jump or climb button to allow you to climb to more interesting areas or anything, it's simply walk from one area to another. Then to another and another with nothing to enjoy about the experience.
Of course this game is clearly meant for all those crazy Lost fans who simply can't get enough of the show and could tell you the names of every main character as well as the order they appeared and died on the show. As I fall into this category I can tell you that this game is not for the fans. Firstly very few of the main cast lend their voices to the game (another thing both Buffy and 24 have over this game then). Considering the size of the cast on Lost it's understandable that they couldn't get everyone, but even those that are in it don't have a big part in the game. The characters you interact with the most are Jack, Kate and Locke. While Jack's stand-in does sound quite like Matthew Fox the other two are rubbish. As far as the graphics go most of the character models are pretty good, but some are fairly woeful. Hurley in particular looks far too plain and his hair cuts through his body which is hugely noticable. But the lack of the proper actors and some dodgey models isn't the worst thing about the characters. The worst thing is that most of the characters simply aren't like their TV counterparts. They seem to think that just randomly throwing in a classic line from the character will automatically work, even when it's out of context. So basically they don't sound, act or really look like the characters they're meant to be which makes the whole thing very unnerving. Also the timeline is completely off. In the second chapter you go into the jungle and from the events on the beach it would be about the 2nd or 3rd episode of the first season. Except by the time you get back to the beach someone's been killed which was about the 15th epsiode and you certainly were not away for even close to that long.
The point I'm trying to make here is that despite the fact that apparently the showrunners of Lost were involved (although I'm guessing very little) this is a game that has been made by people who are at best casual fans of the show. As it'll be the hardcore that buy this these mistakes are simply unexceptable. The one thing that possibly comes close to saving it is that your character's story is vaugley interesting. It's nothing compared to that of those on the show but it does the job.
From a presentation perspective there are some good things. Despite the overall poor voice acting the sound design is really good. I thought that a lot of things from the show would be lost when transferred to the game (the whispers particularly), but they aren't. The Monster is the main thing that stands out as you can really tell where it is from the sound effects. It also sounds perfectly like its TV counterpart which really helps sell it. Most of the graphics are also quite impressive. The greenery and foilage looks very realistic and moves wll as your character walks through it. There's also somethng to be said for getting to explore areas of the show such as the Swan and Flame station which does feel quite legitimate.
However these small good things about it can't shake the fact that this game is a complete waste of time. If you do insist on getting it simply rent it as it only lasts about 6-7 hours. I suppose the game could be credited for not dragging things like running through the jungle out to prolong the longevity, but that just implies to me that they felt sorry for anyone who bought this and didn't want them to suffer anymoire than they needed to. So if you really want to see the ending (which annoyed me intensely) then go for it, but whether you're a Lost fan or not you simply won't like what this has to offer.