With the price of oil surpassing $100 a barrel, the apocalypse imagined in Frontlines: Fuel of War may not be so far away. In this vision of the future, the world’s remaining superpowers, split between two factions, clash in a winner-take-all war for Earth’s last oil reserves. Lucky for us, this makes a great backdrop for some intense multiplayer skirmishes.

On each map, teams of up to 32 players scuffle for control of capture points, which connect to create a frontline that divides the map between friendly and enemy territory. In order to win a match, a team must take control of the entire map by either moving the shifting frontline to the end of the level or killing enough enemy troops. While the premise is similar to Battlefield’s, the frontline concept prevents lone wolves from infiltrating enemy territory and capturing points away from the action.

In addition to selecting a weapon, players choose one of four roles, each of which comes with unique abilities that must be unlocked. An air-support player can call in air strikes, while a ground-support player can deploy mountable turrets. Our favorite role is drone technician, which gave us control of remote-controlled mini cars and helicopters to zoom around the map. These killer drones which can self-destruct were perfect for fishing out snipers hiding in the ruins of a fallen skyscraper and blowing up APCs filled with enemy troops.

Of the nine maps included, we favor the ones set in abandoned urban metropolises because they better accommodate infantry combat. Frontlines lets you pilot helicopters and jets too, but only one map was spacious enough for fun aerial dogfighting.

While the combat here feels solid, widespread bugs prevented us from joining servers, and glitches often crashed the game. Lack of joystick or voice-com support is unacceptable, and squad management feels like an afterthought. But if you can bear these frustrating shortcomings, Frontlines will adequately scratch your multiplayer itch until the next Battlefeld game is released.

click for more: Frontlines: Fuel of War

Television show tend not to get the computer game treatment as frequently as feature films do and there’s probably a good reason we never see desktop adaptations of Coronation Street or Antiques Roadshow.

As it happens, however, the desert island drama Lost lends itself well to games. Anyone familiar with the show will know that it follows the misfortunes of Oceanic Flight 815’s survivors as they deal with the tropical trials and tribulations of life after a plane crash, along with the perils of secret hatches, gaseous cloud monsters and, of course, “The Others”.

The game’s so-called episodes slot neatly into the show’s timeline somewhere during the show’s first two series. Perhaps wisely, Lost’s creators have steered away from putting you in control of any of the main characters, although most of the original cast can be seen here in computer-generated glory.

Instead, you play a hitherto unseen member of the ill-fated aircraft’s passenger manifest, a photographer suffering from amnesia. The gameplay is easy to pick up and follows an action-adventure theme, with puzzle solving, exploration, basic combat and a lot of interaction with other characters. Memory loss plays a big part, as you piece together your past via flashback sequences.

While some of the computer-generated characters appear more convincing than others, the jungle looks amazing. Sound effects, voice acting and music, all authentic to the TV show are also good. Though fun while it lasts, the game is neither very challenging nor particularly lengthy. Whether you enjoy your time on the island will largely depend on your feelings for the show itself: public opinion of the show seems to be split between fervent appreciation and utter bewilderment. As such, Lost: The Video Game is likely to have a niche appeal and is unlikely to win the series any new fans.

Web: www.lostgame.com