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Lair Review

Posted by Zonk on Fri Sep 21, 2007 03:31 PM
from the i-want-to-apologize-to-my-dragon dept.
PlayStation (Games)
Nothing disappoints me more than having my expectations met. I managed to see The Matrix without knowing what to expect, and as a result it was a fine moviegoing experience. Lair, one of the first in a series of high profile PlayStation 3 games due out this year, met every expectation I had when I picked up the controller. If you haven't been paying attention to games sites of late ... that's bad. Pushed for time and under pressure from higher ups at Sony, Factor 5 has poorly rehashed the same formula that made for a couple of very playable GameCube games. The difference? Lair is, in some places, literally unplayable. It's disappointing, and a frustrating way to begin my relationship with the PS3. Read on for my thoughts on Lair, and what might have been.
  • Title: Lair
  • Developer/Publisher: Factor 5 / Sony
  • System: PlayStation 3
  • Genre: Flight Shooter
  • Score: 1/5 - This game is unfinished/unplayable. It is not worth the trouble of purchasing, or renting.
The World of Asylia

Before you ever enter into combat, before the game proper begins, Lair displays a lot of promise. As Roan, you play the part of a dragon rider standing as guardian over a theocratic civilization called Asylia in the northern part of the world. The globe has been torn apart by geological instability, and the only other real bastion of humanity left in the world is your technology-using neighbors to the south. They've been having difficulties you haven't, though, and the game starts amid a conflict between your culture and the Mokai ultimately spurred on by scarce resources.

As the game progresses, we get hints of deeper elements to the story. The two groups are not mono-cultures; there are factions on both sides manipulating events to their own ends. Some of the voice acting isn't bad and while the plot itself isn't the most original tale ever told, it's competently woven. Julian Eggebrecht was the writer for the game, and the same hand that guided storytelling successfully in the Rogue Squadron games does a fine job here.

The game's attempt to evoke a place is greatly helped by the fact that it's visually stunning. It's an old saw now that this generation is no longer 'next-', but screenshots really don't do the game justice. Seeing the dragons in motion is a treat, and the digital actors are better than average. The landscapes really stand out as well, with everything from craggy seascapes to verdant pastures beautifully rendered by the PlayStation's raw horsepower. One early level has you facing down opponents while flying around a massive rock tower, which itself features pieces that are turning in place. It's a complicated environment, but thanks to the detailed graphics it's an easy one to understand. Whatever else should be said about the game, it's important to note just how beautiful Lair is.

The Problems: Everything Else

The reason, of course, that it's important to note that ... is that is just about the only nice thing I can say about the game. I moved past the controls introduction stage, and played through the first level, with no problems. I fought some dragons, killed 'em, landed and slaughtered some troops, and everything was good. There were little things that bugged me, but I assumed it was just because I was new to the controls. So I pressed on.

Bam. Immediately in the next stage, I started hating the experience of playing Lair. The fundamental elements of playing the game are simply poorly executed. That first level, which allowed me the chance to fly up close to dragon opponents, was the best possible light for the game's incredibly weak 'lock on' system. At any range, the vague red glow - which is the title's only indication you've locked onto a target - is essentially invisible. Your best bet is to continuously hold down the lock on button and fire repeatedly. I found that ... occasionally ... hits enemies while in the air. The alternative, free firing at your enemies, is essentially not an option. They're either far enough away that they're dots on the screen, or up close and moving too quickly to draw a bead.

The way you control your steed has drawn the most frustration from critics. Indeed, the PlayStation 3's motion control system is incredibly unsatisfying here. I regularly found myself tilting the controller hard left, only to see my dragon happily smash into a wall. A few times when I tilted left or right the thing would actually go in the opposite direction, which would seem to defeat the point of having the player provide input in the first place. In short: it only sometimes works. Given that this is the very first thing you do in the game (turn left, or right, or fly up), and that the gimmick hinges on one of the back-of-the-box PS3 features, I would have figured this to be a mandatory 'get it right' situation.

Instead, the control experience feels nothing short of 'mushy'. Above and beyond turning, any attempt to complete a 'special move' has a very low chance of success. In order to do a 180 the player is instructed to pull back sharply with the controller in an upwards movement. I think that motion resulted in my dragon executing such a turn only twice in the time I spent playing the game. Other ways that my dragon interpreted that command include: ignoring it, turning slowly in one direction or another, diving, rising, and then diving again. My personal favorite reaction to that controller input was 'speed way up', which invariably ended up with my dragon and I slamming into a wall or enemy.

The title's showpiece stage, the conflict between two armies on a bridge, has been used at numerous events to highlight the game's features. Instead, for me, it was where the game turned from a title I was struggling to enjoy to a game I was actually angry that I had to keep playing. You're constantly bombarded by new objectives, and your only means of ascertaining the location of these targets is a big blunt arrow. It's just as unhelpful as it sounds, and can easily result in blameless failure as you go on a futile hunt for 'those guys you just saw' in the thousandth cutscene this level. Not only does the game remove your ability to choose what you're doing by making you rush back and forth across the map, but once you're there you are forced into solving the problem a specific way. "Dark Dragons" have to be killed via the horrible wave the controller back and forth minigame. Giant bulls must be slain by waving the controller up and down vertically in another (equally unfun) minigame.

The whole experience is disappointing and (ultimately) kind of degrading. We as consumers are left with the distinct impression that we're not entirely playing Factor 5's game. Having played Rogue Squadron titles before, I know for a fact that they can deliver a tightly tuned control scheme and a satisfying flight/shooter experience. They're hardly blameless, of course, but you have to look at what's changed since those halcyon GameCube days. What's changed is, of course, their new backers.

Conclusions

I really wanted to like this game. I set my expectations (mentioned above) very, very, very low for this title. I figured that if I assumed the game would be utter crap going into it, there was almost no way I could be disappointed. Instead, Lair precisely met my dialed in crap setting. Beyond the first few levels the opponents (who are not hampered by the game's poor interface) become oppressively hard while the story takes a back seat to 'yet another excuse for a dragon-to-dragon dogfight'. Even the graphics stop looking that great when you've been staring at a stage's backdrop constantly for the last hour or two, literally fighting with the controller to get it to do what you want.

That right there is what makes this so sad. If they had allowed you the opportunity to use the controller's thumbsticks, this would be a completely different game. The lock-on system and lack of a proper radar would still be frustrating, but at least the game would be playable. That said, I can't wait for the rest of this year's PlayStation 3 offerings. I'm really looking forward to Ratchet and Clank, and even more to Drake's Fortune. This game, though, is a devastating blow for a title-starved console whose owners (including me) are ever trying to justify the high price we paid for entrance into Sony's version of the 'HD era'.

Related Stories

[+] PS3's Lair Playable Via Remote On PSP 84 comments
Next Generation has confirmed with Sony a rumor working its way through fan boards: Lair is playable via remote on the PSP. That is, you can load up the game on your PlayStation 3, and then actually play it on the PSP's small-but-beautiful screen. This is functionality that Sony has been hinting at since the PS3 was announced, but up until now remote play has been restricted to music and movies stored on the console. Kotaku notes in their writeup that you need to play through the tutorial first on the console proper if you want to do this. The PSP doesn't have the buttons the game uses to brake.
[+] Sony Dismisses Critics of Lair 55 comments
Despite some very public, very negative criticism of Factor 5's dragon/shooter Lair, Next Generation notes that Sony remains unfazed. "Outgoing SCEA PR boss Dave Karraker told Next-Gen in a phone interview that despite poor critical reception, the flying lizard game isn't necessarily grounded. 'At the end of the day, I'll be interested in the consumers' response, because the consumer awareness for this title was so huge.'" Meanwhile, MTV's Stephen Totilo notes, with more than a touch of seriousness, that Lairs production may have been a touch cursed.
[+] Ken Levine Defends Lair's Control Scheme 72 comments
A recent Gamers with Jobs podcast (well worth listening to) features co-hosting duties performed by Ken Levine of Irrational/2K Boston, makers of the title BioShock. During the podcast, Levine comes to the defense of Factor 5's Lair , saying that the folks over there may not have had much choice in how to proceed with their game. "Let me speak in these guys' defense for a minute as a game developer. I'm sure somebody came to them at some point and said, 'We have this motion control controller, and we have to make a go of it. And we really think you should try to make your game exclusively on that.' I think you're seeing a lot of this lately. Aren't there a lot of games where you're just like, 'Dude, can I just use the d-pad or the analog stick?' Ever since the DS came out I feel that there have been a lot of games like that. They've been so impressed by their control mechanic that they just really, really want you to play with that." It's still really, really bad.
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  • screw games anyway (Score:1)

    by deftones_325 (1159693) on Friday September 21, @03:43PM (#20702643)
    i'll probably check out grand theft auto 4. i think i'm too old for this sh1t

  • Really not that bad (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Bugs42 (788576) <superjambob@gmai ... minus herbivore> on Friday September 21, @03:45PM (#20702693)
    I've read all the reviews of Lair, and I'm starting to wonder - did I get a broken copy? It works PERFECTLY for me. The controls respond just fine (I can count on one hand the number of times my dragon didn't respond the way I wanted it to, and I've played quite a bit), the lock-on system works fine, and call me crazy but the game's actually FUN. It's really met all my expectations as a good, enjoyable game. If you enjoyed any of the old Star Wars: Rogue Squadron games, then you'll probably like Lair.

    Oh, and to the reviewer - the main character is "Rohn", not "Roan."

  • Makes me wonder... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by riskeetee (1039912) on Friday September 21, @03:45PM (#20702711)
    ...if the control issue is the fault of the game developer or the hardware? Are there other games that use the sixaxis feature with precision, or is it just a clunky piece of hardware they tacked on to the PS3 "because Nintendo is doing it?"
    • Re:Makes me wonder... by Swordopolis (Score:2) Friday September 21, @03:55PM
    • Re:Makes me wonder... by imsabbel (Score:3) Friday September 21, @03:56PM
    • Re:Makes me wonder... by hchaudh1 (Score:1) Friday September 21, @04:08PM

    • Hopefully it's a system level issue... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by trdrstv (986999) on Friday September 21, @04:22PM (#20703587)

      ...if the control issue is the fault of the game developer or the hardware? Are there other games that use the sixaxis feature with precision, or is it just a clunky piece of hardware they tacked on to the PS3 "because Nintendo is doing it?"

      It was a peice of hardware bolted on since "Nintendo was doing it", but I don't think it's the Hardware per se. Lair by all accounts controlled badly, and no game I played (Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Motorstorm, or The Super-Rub-a-dub demo) handle with the correct ammount of sensitivity and I end up turning it off whenever possible. Heavenly Sword's "Twing Twang" sections were far more playable using the analog stick, and Warhawk even has the motion controls disabled by default if that's any indication for you.

      Not to sound trollish, but It can be done if you look over at the Wii side. Nintendo can get very accurate and sensitive readings from the motion controller over BlueTooth, so there really is no reason why Sony can't.

      Maybe Sony went cheap on the motion chip in the SixAxis, or maybe it's the developers not using the tools properly, or issues with how the system itself receives and sends the signals from the chip. Since this seems to be the case across games I'm betting (and hoping) it's a Sony issue with how they interpret commands. I'm hoping it's their problem not because "It's more egg on their face" but because they could fix it in a firmware update and fix the problem for all these games.

      [ Parent ]
    • Re:Makes me wonder... by gr3kgr33n (Score:1) Friday September 21, @04:31PM
    • Re:Makes me wonder... by supertex2000 (Score:1) Friday September 21, @05:27PM
    • Re:Makes me wonder... by 427_ci_505 (Score:1) Friday September 21, @07:23PM
    • Re:Makes me wonder... by Simian Road (Score:1) Friday September 21, @07:59PM
    • Re:Makes me wonder... by MrCopilot (Score:2) Saturday September 22, @12:31AM

  • Sad that this has to be asked...but... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Cutriss (262920) on Friday September 21, @03:50PM (#20702807)
    (http://slashdot.org/)
    What firmware version was your PS3 when you played Lair? Reports are somewhat widespread that the newest firmware greatly improves the control experience.

    Granted, shipping a game that bad and then patching it later is inexcuseable, but it would be a good datapoint to know if you had difficulty with the game pre- or post-patch.

  • Nice review but I need a point of reference. (Score:2)

    by FatherOfONe (515801) on Friday September 21, @03:53PM (#20702865)
    I appreciate your feedback on this game, but to help me and others out it would be great to hear your opinion of some other PS3 games you have played and your overall opinion of them.

    On a similar note I was thinking about picking up this game but unfortunately it is too violent for me to play around my family, and now am considering Heavenly Sword (T rating), and I can't wait for Eye of Judgment because my son loves Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh, so that game is a no brainer.

    Again, what did you think of other PS3 games you have played? I am sure that someone who writes the review you did have played about all of them and it would help set some reference points if you and others (me) felt the same way on other games.

    Thanks, and I can't wait to play GT5 Prologue this year.
    • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.

  • The Solution? (Score:1)

    by morari (1080535) on Friday September 21, @03:54PM (#20702891)
    (Last Journal: Thursday June 14, @11:03PM)
    For Sega to work up an installment of Panzer Dragoon for the Wii.

  • motion controller (Score:2)

    by theMerovingian (722983) on Friday September 21, @03:54PM (#20702909)
    (Last Journal: Tuesday October 23, @02:06AM)

    Warhawk gives you the option to use that 'controller-tilt' thing to steer the airplanes. I played around with that for quite a while and finally just gave up on it. Thumbsticks are so much easier.

    I wonder if the controller-tilt feedback sent to the PS3 is not very high quality (as in, game programmers have a hard time converting whatever signals are sent from the controller into game events), or if people just aren't used to playing with it. Any PS3 developers have an opinion?

  • Forget Lair... (Score:2)

    by toriver (11308) on Friday September 21, @04:29PM (#20703773)
    ... get MotorStorm and enjoy PS3 gaming properly. Or Virtua Fighter 5 if that's your thing.

  • A lot of piss-poor games (Score:3, Informative)

    by photomonkey (987563) on Friday September 21, @04:35PM (#20703935)

    I've been noticing a lot of crap on both consoles recently. I haven't had much time for videogames, but I did pick up MOH Airborne, and it blows. The multiplayer is the same crap that's seen in every FPS game these days, the storyline isn't much fun and the Super Nazis at the last few missions really kill the feel of the game.

    Besides that, the single player campaign is all too short (5 hours to beat it on Normal, with more than one hour of that dedicated to beating the Super Nazis at the end.

    Overlord was a good game, but the brewery glitch is a real killer, and precludes you from finishing the game. Last I checked, there was still not a 360 patch out there.

    And Lair. Great graphics, shitty, shitty gameplay.

    When the next generation Xbox360 and PS3 hit, it was expected that some games wouldn't do anything more than win oohs and ahs for the graphics. They've both been out for a while now. Where are the games?

    Some guy in the raytracing story today said that 80% of all games have always been stinkers across all platforms. Maybe that's true, but there were a lot more games available too. That was a bigger 20%.

    I don't own a Wii, but it's going to be short in coming if I don't find some games for Xbox360 or PS3 that can hold my attention for more than a few hours. At $60 a game, this is getting kinda ridiculous.

    We'll see what Halo looks like next week. My guess: a re-hash of the same old game.

  • I disagree. (Score:3, Informative)

    by Maudib (223520) on Friday September 21, @05:12PM (#20704689)
    I have to disagree with the reviews. I found the game really enjoyable, including the sixaxis controls. I was better able to handle the controls in this game then most console titles, as I find dual analog stick to be impossible.

    I think that there has been an awful lot of band wagoning around this title.
    • Re:I disagree. by blahplusplus (Score:2) Friday September 21, @11:43PM

  • "unfinished/unplayable" ... so then ... (Score:2, Troll)

    by oGMo (379) on Friday September 21, @05:17PM (#20704783)

    Score: 1/5 - This game is unfinished/unplayable. It is not worth the trouble of purchasing, or renting.

    So after reading all the reviews on the internet and in print saying this exact same thing---weeks ago, mind you---with the myriad of evidence to back it up, you still decided it was worth playing and reviewing here? What a waste of time and bandwidth.

  • Get Heavenly Sword - Its Brilliant. (Score:2)

    by Jackie_Chan_Fan (730745) on Friday September 21, @05:37PM (#20705089)
    Lair was expected to be a piece of shit since it was delayed so many times and the original PR screen shots were nothing more than lies.

    Heavenly Sword on the other hand is brilliantly acted / performed, and the game is very well executed. It is short but sweet. The dramatic performances mix well with the action to provide an experience that is really the best seen to date on the PS3. I know thats not saying much, but Heavenly Sword really does shine as a great game and it will for a long time.

    Try it.

  • What tech drives the SIXAXIS? (Score:2)

    by grumbel (592662) on Saturday September 22, @12:27PM (#20711973)
    While at the topic of motion control, does anybody know what tech actually drives the SIXAXIS? With the Wiimote its, easy, you can find the exact chip used, what data is returned and such, but with the SIXAXIS I have a really hard time finding any hard information. From what I could gather it seems to have more then just an accelerometer, i.e. it seems to have at least one kind of gyro-sensor to sense yaw rotation. However I couldn't find exact details and I am still puzzled on if it can also sense pitch and roll directly or only derive from the accelerometer.

    Does anybody have details on how many axis it actually supports and if it returns rotation independed of acceleration and if that data is absolute or just relative?

  • Maybe lack of quality control on SIXAXIS? (Score:2)

    by gamer4Life (803857) on Saturday September 22, @02:32PM (#20713127)
    Perhaps some controllers respond better than others, that's why you see some people with better reviews of Lair than others.
    • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.

  • Re:Grammar alert! (Score:1)

    by moderatorrater (1095745) on Friday September 21, @03:41PM (#20702587)
    I imagine that your situation is like those dreams where you get up to speak at graduation and you're naked.
    [ Parent ]

  • Re:Grammar alert! (Score:2)

    by Angostura (703910) on Friday September 21, @03:42PM (#20702609)
    It's OK for you. I got as far as the first two sentences and my brain shutdown with an "unrecoverable non sequitur" error
    [ Parent ]

  • Re:Grammar alert! (Score:5, Funny)

    by entmike (469980) on Friday September 21, @03:43PM (#20702625)
    (http://www.omgwtflol.com/)
    You need to get laid.
    [ Parent ]

  • Re:who gives a... (Score:1)

    by TheMadcapZ (868196) on Friday September 21, @03:53PM (#20702879)
    "Anyone who is wasting their time on this crap is truly frying their brain. I can see getting into War Craft or something but wasting your wealth on video game systems is pointless and makes obvious your reduced IQ"

    So becoming a zombie on Warcraft is ok, but 30 minutes to play around of golf on Tiger Woods is the devil???

    What software have you "eveloped" lately? What ever it is I am sure it has a bitter GUI and provides the result begrudgingly.

    [ Parent ]

  • Re:Grammar alert! (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21, @03:58PM (#20703003)

    Weaved??? The term is WOVEN, jerkoff.
    According to http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/weave [m-w.com] both are acceptable.
    [ Parent ]

  • Re:Grammar alert! (Score:1)

    by haggus71 (1051238) on Friday September 21, @04:40PM (#20704049)
    Would you like to comment on the actual review? Someone who starts a sentence with, "Jesus fuck", has little leeway to criticize another person's writing style. Besides, only an English major would comment on the diction of a gaming blogger. If you are an English Major....how's that serving job at Chili's?
    [ Parent ]
    • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.

  • Re:Gosh Zonk, thanks for sharing. (Score:2)

    by compro01 (777531) on Friday September 21, @07:57PM (#20706643)
    the first one was good, just the 2nd and 3rd ones utterly sucked.
    [ Parent ]

  • Re:Welcome to four weeks ago... (Score:2)

    by Mathonwy (160184) on Friday September 21, @08:25PM (#20706873)
    So wait, I'm confused. Is Heavenly Sword your example of an awesome game they should review as a counter-example, or a "why not review sucktastic heavenly sword, while you're piling on the hate"?

    I honestly don't know...
    [ Parent ]

  • Re:Grammar alert! (Score:1)

    by architimmy (727047) on Saturday September 22, @12:09AM (#20708211)
    (http://www.architimmy.net/)
    While "weaved" is a word, I have only heard it used in description of the movement of large bodies. To describe the past tense of weaving fabric "wove" or "woven" would be correct. "He weaved through traffic" would be acceptable where "He weaved a shirt" would just be downright odd. So in the context of a dragon flight game I believe "weaved" is probably ok.
    [ Parent ]

  • Re:Grammar alert! (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by MrCopilot (871878) on Saturday September 22, @12:40AM (#20708329)
    (http://www.mrcopilot.com/ | Last Journal: Tuesday August 02 2005, @10:10AM)
    OffTopic, HE's Offtopic, I'm OffTopic, This whole thread's offtopic.

    I'm outraged at this moderation, It is most definately Funny. Laughed my ass off.

    Oh and offtopic.

    [ Parent ]

  • Re:Grammar alert! (Score:2)

    by Is0m0rph (819726) on Saturday September 22, @10:26AM (#20711043)
    You might want to try decaf
    [ Parent ]
  • 10 replies beneath your current threshold.

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