[#5] I Can't Find The L Key So I Can't Write Ost D:

LoST is a game created by m11dsauce

Beast4321 here! I'm back for another review, this time of a featured classic shooter called Lost by M11Dsauce (After what happened last time I tried to decode a strange name, I'm not going to risk it again.) M11D reviewed one of my games a while back; given the fact that, to this day, it is my only review, I figured I owed him a favor. He's is a member that isn't exactly famous on sploder, but he's recognizable. He sticks to the classic creator and he has a couple of features. I will now analyse this game in great detail, before answering the all important question; is Lost feature worthy?

Story

The story to Lost is not written in the description as is so commonly seen; instead, it is presented in a clever way that I've never seen done before; numbered messages are scattered around, which tell a story, but because Lost's main theme is exploration, you're likely to find the messages in the wrong order; to get the whole story you need to write down each of the message then put them in order, something I think is very nice; it is a detail that only the most determined gamer will find, and it is very rewarding watching the story come together.. I've collected all of them here, but if you'd rather try and find all the messages yourself, I recommend you don't read the following.

I was once sad and lonely. Having no one to comfort me, so I wore a mask that always smiled to hide my feelings behind a lie. Before long I had many friends. With my mask I was one with them, But deep inside, I still felt empty, like I was missing a part of me.

And then the story suddenly stops.

I thought this was very clever and executed well, although, when this is red together, there' not much flow, and I'm not a fan on how it just suddenly stops... Having said that, it' very creepy and enigmatic, and the random caps add to that feeling. The entire story just emits atmosphere, something which is incredibly hard to do; because of this, this is one of my favorite back stories on sploder (although it doesn't really explain whats happening in game.)

Gameplay: (because lots of factors go into gameplay, I will now analyse them all, before explaining the combined effect.)

Placement/Level Design:

The game's placement was pretty good. Enemies were placed correctly, as were blocks. He game uses a natural sort of style and all of the edges are kept jagged and uneven, and this style is consistent throughout, which is excellent; it really annoys me when a style in a game is suddenly replaced by something else for seemingly no reason; it is a common mistake and I'm glad it wasn't present here.

Likewise, placement was pretty good. There was some very strategically placed enemies; at one point, I was trying to cross a mud poly to get a flag, but there were turrets surrounding the area, and as I couldn't move quickly, they were doing a lot of damage. Another example of good placement was in a sequence were the player must race across an icy poly to get a flag, return it home, then go back to get ANOTHER flag, with disruptors and bugmeisters placed well around it. The only negative thing I can say about that was that after the third flag, the sequence was really annoying me.

Health was placed interestingly; occasionally there was just a solid line of small health, which was placed well; occasionally I would be being chased by heavy cruisers and have to get to the health before I was blasted. The first few times I played this, I was struggling to survive, but as I got more used to the game, I could find all the health, knocking down the difficulty and leading me to think there was too much of it; overall, placement and level design was done well.

Puzzles/Traps

There were little puzzles and traps in Lost, and even less that were necessary to win the game, but there was a enemy barrier on a rock that can be shot with rockets to gain access to a small area with a variety of power ups such as mega mines and mega rockets. That's the only puzzle, however, there were several action sequences that required strategy, and while that isn't a puzzle, it does make the player think; there was one area where there was a mud poly, a flag at its center, with turrets nearby. Over eager player would charge into the mud poly and be blasted by the turrets until they exploded; the tacticians among us would circle round, destroying the turrets first.

Difficulty/Level Progression

Level progression is pretty much impossible to do in an exploration game like Lost; players choose which area to explore first. However, difficulty still plays a large part, and it was executed well; it is impossible to complete the game without gathering some health; there are simply to many enemies and hazards. Success lies in taking as much health as possible. At first, this was hard to do; I couldn't find enough of it so I was exploded, but as I got more of a feel for the game, I knew where everything was, and I found it much easier. I finished the game with little less than a full health bar.

Gameplay as a whole:

It's alright. As Lost is an exploration game, and it is hard to implement quality, Adrenalin action sequences in an exploration game, I think that M11dsauce did really well with the area with the ice poly, disruptors and bugmeisters; that was crazily exciting, if a little repetitive after a while, and I feel that M11D should have added more things like that. I also liked how some sequences required strategy, but that's about it.The rest of the game is just simple, average, fly about, shoot speeders and cruisers while collecting crystals. Yes, there was some clever scenes, yes, it was enjoyable, but the action sequences where either ruined by receptivity or there not being enough of them, so the gameplay was merely interesting, nothing more. That would be acceptable if there were lots of puzzles, but there isn't. M11D, I feel that the gameplay's good, it just needs a little more to ensure it's enjoyable.

Scenery:

Scenery was pretty meh. There were a couple of trees scattered around and that's about it. I know, that sounds boring. The only thing that stopped the game looking like something a two year old did was that the level design was very well done; but seriously, M11D, bleep more trees, stones would work in the game two, and mud polys; the game just feels empty. Also, although this isn't really about scenery, if you'd had a link to a spooky sound track in the description, it really would have enhanced the game; working out the story would have been particularly creepy. Overall, disappointing.

Ratings:

Because I'm in a Halloween mood, I'll rate this in Halloween sweets, because they're tasty.

Story: ****.5/***** lolly eyes (Very tasty)

Placement/Level Design ****/***** Spider sugar webs (Um, yummy)

Puzzles/Traps: ***/***** Vampire sugar teeth (Sugar... SUGAR!)

Difficulty/Level Progression: ****/***** Door Knockers (technically nothing to do with Halloween, but still tasty)

Gameplay: ***.75/***** Cats (The best one yet!)

Scenery: **.5/***** Fluffy Bunnies (I'm sorry Lordeldar... I really am... the bunnies are JUST TOO TASTY!)

Rank:

Feature Worthy Game: ****/***** (Mattys Land)

Decent Game: ***/***** (Escape The Lava Island, Ultra Ball, Chasm)

I rank Lost as decent.

Conclusion:

Lost is a good game. It has some great level design, and the story could be revolutionary; sadly, there are several errors present that, if not there, would add to the experience. For now at least,

Peace out.