Preview: The Lost
The Lost
Developer/Publisher: Irrational Games
Projected Release Date: Quarter 3/4 2001
Platform: Playstation 2
Genre: Survival/Horror/RPG/Adventure
Concept Art
Irrational Games is the developer of the highly acclaimed System Shock 2, which was released in 1999. They have studios in Boston and Australia. The creator of SS2, Ken Levine, is the design team chief for The Lost, and his commitment to this production is exciting. It bodes well for another successful product.
I don’t know if this game will be exciting, spellbinding, or horrifying. I will put my money on exciting or spellbinding but in fact I have no clue what to expect when I hear that when I play The Lost I will explore a fully animated 3D version of Hell. Okay, Harriet, take a deep breath and then let’s continue. I doubt seriously if any previous Bible study or Sunday School experience will have prepared me for what The Lost will have to offer.
Hell is not the place that many of us want to go to. It is thought to be the dwelling place of Satan, devils, and wicked souls condemned to eternal punishment, pain, and torment. When most of us think about it, we have a mental image of fire, smoke, heat, stench, and utter terror. That probably sums it up fairly well.
When you play The Lost, your role will be that of a young medical student and mother whose name is Amanda Wright. That is the good part of your personal Amanda bio. The bad part is that you are forced to work as a waitress to keep the economic wolf away from the door. That takes time from your child and your studies. Your lover has abandoned you, and your parents have disowned you because you will not live by their standards. Your grades are falling and your creditors are howling. Tell me, can this get worse? It must, because Hell isn’t here yet.
All ye who enter here, beware. Things do get worse. Amanda’s daughter is dead. That has to be the greatest loss of all and, not surprisingly, Amanda is not able to bear up under her grief. Her desolation is complete and she decides that she will do anything to have her child returned to her. I suspect that you have read about bargains with the greatest undead of all, the power of Hades. Amanda decides to make a contract with this evil ruler, and you can guess where we will go next–into a 3D world filled with fire and brimstone. And we will wander through environments unknown and unimaginable as the Amanda persona expands to include Light, Shadow, and Corruption. The journey is long and is generated by Monolith’s Lith Tech 3D engine for the PlayStation 2. Can you survive this struggle? Will you find your daughter? Can you free the lost souls that you meet along the way? I guess that you will need to play the game to find your answers.
Features:
- Full range of motion in an environment filled with detail
- Four unique characters that you can move between, each with her own strengths and weaknesses
- Third-person perspective
- Player-controlled camera
- Indoor/outdoor environments
- Character models composed of 10,000 polygons
Most of us probably believe that we will journey to a Heaven that is fill with light, love, happiness, and joy. But perhaps not. Maybe the fates have another destination in store for some of us. It might be nice to get a glimpse of Hell, albeit imaginary, before it is too late to mend our ways. From this perspective The Lost might be therapeutic. I wonder …
