Lair

"Lair: A guide on how to review a game"

Many considered Lair to be the IT game for summer 2007 on the PS3. Hell, did the PS3 even have another exclusive for the summer? It doesn't matter though as the critics bashed the game and Sony only added fuel to the fire by releasing a guide for critics on how to play the game. Is Lair really that bad though?

The world has been torn in two by different beliefs. Dragons are used as war machines. As a young knight it's your duty to protect your kingdom. As the plot advances we learn why the world is the way it is and what side is really the correct side. Is there even a correct side? Our hero must make choices that can affect everything he knew. Sadly the plot really doesn't do much. Yes, it is captivating enough to push you through the game but ultimately it goes nowhere and delivers an ending that is just under 4 minutes long and really has no true conclusion to anything.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but Lair is one of the most gorgeous games to be released. I originally started this game on my SDTV but to be honest it was all kind of ugly. I lugged my PS3 downstairs and hooked it to the HDTV and the amount of detail that is present in this game is mind blowing. The dragons are breath taking, putting the crap we got in the film "Eragon" to shame. The water effects are simply impressive. Blow up a ship and the water creates realistic waves to go with the explosion. Just the amount of detail that went into everything is amazing and if for nothing else this game is a must rent to show off the visual abilities of the PS3.

Voice work really isn't all that important in this game. It's used a lot during missions to tell objectives but the actual plot stuff is very limited. But the good news is that the voice work is actually rather good. There was a few times where the voice work was blotted out by the music.

Speaking of music this game has one of the most beautiful orchestrated soundtracks I've ever heard. I actually found myself replaying missions to hear the songs again. I think my favorite song is during the spotlight mission. The vocals in it created a haunting atmosphere as you go in what is almost certainly an impossible mission in the heroes mind. Thankfully the game offers a music player under the extras and I hear the soundtrack is coming out soon as well.

As for the sound effects they are also rather nicely done. Explosion sound great but it's the roar of the beasts in the game. The room shook with the sound of these mighty beasts lashing out at each other.

I really dread this part of the review because it's where everyone seems to hate the game. Lair forces the player to use the PS3's six axis control. What this means is that even though you have two analog sticks they are never used except during ground attacks and for some dodgy camera work.

The first rule of controlling this game is to remain calm. I can't stress that fact enough but in the later mission I had to pause the game because I was losing control of my dragon as I was getting way to frustrated.

See, to control your dragon is simple when you think of it. You tilt your controller up to fly higher, down to fly lower. Tilt to the left or right to turn in that direction. It's very responsive if you take it nice and slow. Think of it as a casual plane ride.

Some problems arise though when you try to do a 180. This move requires you to raise the PS3 controller. It really isn't difficult and once you understand the gesture that is needed it works perfectly. Same goes for the speed boost. Thrust your PS3 controller forward to execute a forward burst of speed.

Again I must state that if you stay calm it works perfectly. The dragon does turn a little slow but if you use the braking system (the L2 and R2 buttons) then you'll realize the turns become quicker. It's all about learning to control your dragon. For those not willing to give this a chance or who hate six axis control you can plug a PC USB controller in or if you have a PSP you can play Lair through it. Lair is the first game to offer the ability to play it on your PSP but due to limited buttons some moves aren't accessible like the sky battle ramming.

The game is split up into 14 missions plus a training mission of sorts. The main goal is to destroy something, protect something or do a little of both. What I liked though is that each mission felt fresh as it changed just enough little things to make it feel like a whole new objective.

The game offers two types of combat. The ariel combat and the ground combat. Ground combat is the easiest to describe. You pretty much breathe fire onto enemies, bite them, claw them or even eat them. Eating them nets you some added health. You really don't do a lot of ground work unless you're trying to take out large groups of soldiers at once.

The ariel combat is where it's all at and there are a few forms of it here. The most typical is to lock onto an enemy and shoot fireballs at them. Very easy but a few problems arise in this style. The lock on seems a little broken as you need to be close enough to something to lock on. However the game features an auto lock-on as well. This kind of homes your attacks in and makes the game a lot easier but it doesn't work. When using the manual lock-on though it can get a little finicky and lash around, not sure what it wants to lock onto and it does create some problems.

The other form of ariel combat is the more interesting kind and its two different types. While locked onto an enemy if you hit circle you will initiate close quarters ariel combat. This can be one of two things. A button sequence that requires maybe a controller thrust to the left and then a hit of the left analog and then another thrust. By doing so your guy will latch onto the enemy with a hook, hop on the dragon and cut off the enemies head and then hurt the dragon so it falls to its death. Not a pleasant way to go, that's for sure.

The other form is very close quarters combat. This has you in a one on one ariel battle. You can shoot fire, block, bite and claw. The enemy can do the same and what it boils down to is a type of rock, paper, scissors but you usually win. This type of combat is harder than the rest but it's also the most rewarding with a major health boost at the end.

The game offers you three lives in each stage which is nice because you'll need them at first. The missions don't usually offer checkpoints so 15 minuets can easily be lost. The harder missions offer checkpoints and if a mission has a boss they also work as a checkpoint. So the game keeps it a little fair at least.

Although short, the game does offer some challenging missions that will require a few play throughs. Also the game features a medal system and while it's easy to net a bronze and even a silver medal, the gold almost require perfection and requires a lot of carnage, no lives lost and a fast finish. The game also offers leader boards on-line but nothing else yet.

Lair isn't as bad as people would like you to think. I was actually really entertained by the game and I found the controls to work great for me. While it does suck that you're not given an option on how to control the game, what you're given does work and there are ways around it. Lair does have its shares of flaws and it isn't the blockbuster game that Sony wanted but it's a damn fine rental and if it was a little cheaper I would have bought it instead of renting it. If the game interests you in the least then you owe it to yourself to rent it.

Story - 7/10
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 10/10
Control - 7/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 6/10

Final Score - 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/11/07

Game Release: Lair (US, 08/30/07)