Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: The Lost

Written by Chris Reiter on September 26, 2001

First Impressions: Excuse me, where the hell am I?

Hell's one of the last places anyone would want to be. But, if you're going to save your only daughter, you might as well take the chance, right? Crave and Irrational Games present a new type of adventure game where hell is present, and life is limited. In the bowels of Hell it's you against evil, one against many, and chances are slim to none. Think you're ready for one hell of a scary time?

Enter Amanda Wright, a young, single mother with a job, college, and a 4-year-old daughter to tend to. In Amanda's busy life, she's so caught up in everything. After Amanda's boss shortens her hours at work, an event she wasn't expecting to happen does...Amanda's only child dies in a car crash! Time passes, and Amanda stuck to her depressive fate, saddened by her lost Beatrice's soul, considers suicide an as an option. It's just by luck that someone was listening. A supernatural force appears before the young lady, and offers Amanda a second chance to save her daughter. The question of asking if Amanda would actually travel into the depths of Hell to rescue her daughter is the breaking point. Willingly, Amanda accepts the spirit's offer, and takes a journey into the very place of impending doom.

In Amanda's search for her daughter, she'll find out that souls that should have lifted into heaven already are bound for hell. Her conscious being nice enough, decides to help out these souls and at the same time free her own daughter's soul for the ultimate rescue any normal person can dream up. This intriguing story is based on a classic novel titled Dante's Inferno, where a man's journey into hell is told. The game on the other hand, while based on the piece, will be more of an original design.

You may be asking yourself how ordinary people are going to take a trip into hell and survive on their own. Well, Amanda actually won't be alone. With the power of summoning four different types of spirits -- Shadow, Light, Instinct, and Corruption -- Amanda will be able to embark through several locales with help at her side. Light and Corruption are total opposites. Light, for instance, is the good. When in battle, Amanda is able to use it for a curing effect. Corruption, though, is a useful tool for a full on attack against other enemies. Using Corruption's power is sort of like transforming into a demon yourself. With it, Amanda is able to use weaponry attacks. Instinct, like Corruption, is based on fighting...only Instinct is done with hand-to-hand combat. Shadow, the last one, is possibly the most unique. The Shadow summon magically translates Amanda's abilities into stealth purposes. To go along with these skills, Amanda's own natural ability of being she will also come useful, if none of the above can.

Transforming into the above four is no easy task, however. You'll find out that you'll need to battle enemies in order to collect mana, used for the transformation process. I found it interesting that Irrational has decided to use these four powers into a purpose far more helpful than you might imagine. If you were to use the stealth power throughout most of the game, you'll find yourself imitating this one ability more often than not. This is why using each of the four powers will balance the abilities overall, and Amanda will be able to withstand certain objectives, rather than not. Also, when using a certain summon, Amanda's power will not only change, but her appearance changes along with the effect. Instinct's red leather outfit and Corruption's demon-like appearance are some of the changes Amanda posses in her attire, for example.

One thing's for sure, the graphics are looking great. Having the qualities of a supernatural PC game, compared to the power of the PlayStation 2 hardware -- this title will be some kind of extraordinary eye candy. Amanda and the enemies alike will look unique. Her ability to change into these different forms allows an awesome graphical feature. Enemies will look just as great. Monsters, like jawless women, tentacle creatures, and spider demons are modeled to look sick and disturbing. If you're picturing the game's interpretation of Hell as just fire and brimstone, think again. Earth's remnants in history, like Las Vegas, Roman structures in rubble, or even a World War II battlefield will be strewn into the game's massive universe. A few other spots like exploring a mansion and caverns also makeup a good portion of the game's depth.

Controlling your character through these worlds will comparably be very sleek. Having the ability to transform with various abilities will make solving puzzles all the more interesting. Some puzzles may consist of dodging cameras or machine-gun sentries. The stealth mode will likely come in the handiest for such objectives. Battling enemies is another set of tasks. One example would be using Corruption's claws. The weapons useable in The Lost range in form from a knife, to using a grappling gun. Just by looking at these few examples, you can probably tell there'll be a lot of switching from one ability to the next. It's suspected that The Lost is actually related to the likes of Resident Evil. But rather, you won't find any dynamic camera angles in this side of the burner. Using the analog sticks are going to allow free roaming present. Everywhere you go spanning the camera angle will be useful rather than not, by allowing you to see what's coming ahead. Controlling Amanda in a 3D environment can be beneficial, and very much unlike Resident Evil. Whereas in Resident Evil, you'd move a character in a remote control fashion, but in The Lost's world, moving in directions is free and easy.