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Developer: Factor 5 Publisher: SCEA Release Date: Sep 4th 2007 Genre: Action Sub Genre: Third Person
Lair
This article has been read 23,980 times

Lair Review

Posted on September 3rd, 2007 at 13:29 EDT
Lair is definitely a stupendous game with astonishing gameplay, beautiful graphics, and a soothing soundtrack. The only thing that dents Lair from becoming all that it potentially could have been is definitely the temperate replayability that arises from the linear gameplay. Despite all these issues, the game inculcates a sense of visceral excitement to anyone who gets his/her hands on it.
Pros
  • + Unparalleled graphics
  • + Astonishing storyline and incredible soundtrack
  • + Great Sixaxis controls and precision aiming
Cons
  • - Linear gameplay makes for a slight tease
  • - FMV's instead of live real-time cinematics
  • - Moderate replayability
  8.5
Awesome
Recommended!
Rate it!

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User rating: 7.9
(based on 44 votes)

Dragon’s seem scary. At least, they seemed that way according to mythical stories of fire breathing giants, known only for their plight and destruction upon the different human civilizations of the middle ages. The dragons in Lair, however, are different. Looking pleasing with stunning visuals and some clever uses of the Sixaxis controller, Lair sets the mark for the best dragon oriented game of all time and underscores an important factor of realism that past games failed to achieve. So, get on your dragon and let’s take a ride together in the kingdom of Asylia.

Lair is a game where the story is nothing short of fantastic. The world was once peaceful, and everyone was united. But soon the peace was taken away when volcanoes began to erupt, threatening the lands of the Mokai. The Asylian civilization was protected from the hazardous lava spews by mountains, endangering the Mokai instead, a culture that primarily advocated change through new theologies that seated on the natural disaster in respects to their two facets: envy and war. It was commonly thought that the group that controlled the skies would be the world’s owners. The Asylians, as a response to this threat, mounted their dragons and sorted all their soldiers together in a brawny defense to protect their land from invasions.

Lair makes you battle large mantas, huge wasps, and dozens of diverse dragons in brilliant 1080p resolution, which requires you to use Sixaxis controls to navigate your creature through the skies. With Lair, players will be asked to take a stand in Ayslian leadership and make decisions based on what they discover--- even if such decisions mean turning a blind eye to one’s own homeland.

The firs scene slowly takes you into a stunning cathedral dome. You can smell the sweat from the anxious sky guard's---some new, and coal from the fire's ashes. "We will not falter!" The priestly figure is giving a sermon to prepare us for the oncoming Mokai. This is where we were introduced to Rohn, Lair's main character. Rohn is a dragon-riding knight serving the kingdom of Asylia, which falls under attack of the Mokai, and it’s up to you to save it.

The scene cuts, and you run outside to mount your dragon. There is a slight sense of nervous excitement---one that would make the plague seems jolly. Everyone is a bit scared---the entire Aslyian civilization depends on you and the other guards. Suddenly swooping above the skies, you are looking down on the battlefield. As you smell ash and smoke coming from the residue of fire from another dragon, the first thing you must do is get used to the control. To flap the wings--and fly forward--you tap the X button, and tilting the Sixaxis controls steering, and one thing to note is the sticks are used for camera control. To shoot flames at enemies, you tap the square button. In the first level, we have to destroy the catapults firing from the Mokai ships that are attacking our main base.

The Sixaxis controls are a wonderful method for controlling flight. The controls lagged once, but generally speaking, there are no noticeable issues. Sixaxis determines how your dragon will manoeuvre: tilting up will cause the dragon to shoot up, tilting it down will cause you to dive, tilting left and right will allow you to bank in that direction. A sort of a Sixaxis jerk allows for a 180-degree turn, but that only works some of the time or responds a bit too slowly. Other commands, used with the Sixaxis control scheme, are L2 and R2 to hover, and the X button to perform ranged attacks in addition to grapple. Across the game, an onscreen prompt appears appropriately and will have you delve into an attack. Follow the button prompts and you can claw, and send out a fireball at close range. At specific points in the game, when you feel the moment is right, Rohn will dive from the back of his mount, land on another dragon, stab the rider and then kill the dragon and dive off like James Bond of Dragons, all to be swooped up in by his own dragon.

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What are your thoughts?
posted 1:36pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
1

Sounds Great. Not totally sold on it yet but who knows.

posted 1:59pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
2

How is it that PSU gives this game a 8.5 and Gamespot a 4.5 They disagree on some aspects such as frame rate and controls. This is confusing me. If anything, I'm beginning to lose faith in PSU's ability to distinguish a good game from a game they want to be good

posted 2:08pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
3

Gamespot  is a biased site. It is FULL of xbots and wiitards. I dont trust anything they say. They just loved the retared games for the Wii, in all flavors. Yet anything that comes out for the PS3 thats not on the 360, they say sucks.

posted 2:09pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
4

@dshockey

dude thats just one site, Game Informer gave it an 8 and 1Up gave it a 7.3 so basically PSU is still in the ball park with their rating. I was really excited about this title but now i dont think im goin to get it. It looks cool but all the reviews say that the controls are too hard to handel. Too bad.

posted 2:11pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
5

Im getting mixed signals all over with Lair but what the majority (ign,gamespot,1up) has said is that this game is bad. But there is one hope. You all know dynasty warriors right? Dynasty Warriors in some ppls minds is the most stupid hack and slash in the world, but to some ppl Dynasty Warriors is the funnest most addictive game they've ever played! So what really depends on if you like a game or not is your preference in games! I cant believe some people actually let scores decide whether they're going to buy a game or not! Which leads me to any Xbox fans looking at this right now we did not buy the playstation 3 because of stupid reasons like Blu-Ray or Killzone 2, we bought it because of one thing, it has the games we want.

posted 2:21pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
6

i'll tell you the truth it looks great and great story, it has a very steep lerning curve with the controls that will scare most people away, but if you stick with it it's worth the time.

posted 2:22pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
7

@Daz I notice that on Gamespot too! If  there is  a  review for a multiplatform game, its aways on a  360 page!!

posted 3:04pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
8

Just bought the game, and it is beautiful.  The controls take some getting use to, but once you master them, the game itself is great.  Do I prefer the sixaxis controls?  No.  Can you get use to them if you give it a chance?  Yes.

posted 3:04pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
9

@dshockey

That was a very bad statment. Just because Gamespot gives them a 4.5, then, thats the standard for everyother review? Your argument fails.

posted 3:24pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
10

The only review that should matter is yours...I dont listen to any website or magazine out there.. Look at Warhawk.. It didnt get great reviews and that game is Hot.. Its a must have to your PS3 library..

posted 4:11pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
11

,....hmmm...all these mixed reviews got me crazy-confused....i was gonna buy it when released....but,to be safe,imma use that christmas money comin up ^^ good to hear a good-score review of lair

posted 4:12pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
12

posted 4:15pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
13
FINALLY an honest review of Lair! Good job! I only noticed some framerate drop when tons of stuff onscreen and right up close to a huge explosion. Other than that, I didn't notice anything. Truly this is a fun game. Stick with doing the tutorials and MOVE the controller around, don't jerk it wildly and you'll be all set! I don't understand how people marked this game down for it's controls when they work perfectly well. Especially when motion controls are something these same sites PRAISE Wii games for! Anyway, good review! People should definitely check out this game, at least rent it. The visuals alone are amazing and I challenge anyone to find a game with better looking water and ocean effects!
posted 5:20pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
14

@jphuff, so out of 10 what would u give it...10 being the best game ever!

posted 5:36pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
15

Lair deserve at least  a 8 for me... so i agree with psu review...Even with the bad review i went to the store friday and bought it... i dont regret anything about buying it. Lair is an amazing game, yes Sixasis is tough at start but it gets really easy after 15-20 mins... So please dont complain about it if you never tried it...

I recommend it to any real gamers who dont listen to reviewers to know if a game is good or not and are able to give their own reviews... Lair rocks!

posted 5:48pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
16

psn id: gingo.... was a bit hesitant to buy this game after some of the poor reviews it got but after reading this it had renewed by interest and i will definetely be purchasing this when it comes out here in europe

posted 6:40pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
17

posted 7:15pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
18

I bought the game on saturday, it's great, I love the use of the sixaxis control, 8.5 is a well deserved score, nobody else will like it cause it's a PS3 exclusive, there loss............

posted 7:57pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
19

This game is so epic and it looks so freaking hot, its a 9.5/10 for me the Sxiaxis is cool finally a game that combines innovative gameplay and top notch graphics only on PS3.

posted 8:10pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
20

this game is superb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

posted 8:21pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
21

the game has been beat to the ground because it uses sixaxis, if you think that this game is not worth it your nutts, when you get a feel for it youll be fine

posted 8:35pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
22
Guys, i just finished lair and i agree with this review. the lock on needs a little work, and sometimes when you're trying to do the 180 turnaround it dashes forward instead. also, when you fly at an object the dragon dodges it, so if you hit a mountain you get shot down along the mountain really fast. but those are my only complaints with the game. the music is awesome, flying is fun, graphics are awesome, story is awesome, and the extras are also awesome. the last 4 or 5 levels all have huge epic battles in them and are really fun. definitely a good game and a buy.
posted 9:40pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
23
I'm glad Warhawk turned out great,because Lair is major crap.Huge dissapointment.I have been playing Warhawk nonstop since I got it.
posted 10:19pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
24

I Rented This Game, And Anyone Who Says This Games' Controls Are Hard To Use Just Suck With The Sixaxis. I've Played Flow So That Really Got Me Used To Using The Sixaxis Controls. It's Easy. It's Not Loose Like Some Reviews Might Lead You To Believe. The Controls Aren't Hard. At All. You Reviewers Just Have No Skill In That Department.

posted 11:52pm EDT - September 3rd, 2007
25
ok while i stayed away from Lair because of the reviews it got... i mean DID ANYONE READ PSM's Review?? They gave it a 4.9!! THIS IS PSM a "reputable" playstation mag. I don't know what to think. But I DO CARE WHAT YOU GUYS THINK!!! I DO! So come on yall you plopped down a hefty $60 for this. Do these mags got it rite? I like this review because psu shot a jab to the nay sayers (i liked that) but it's gonna take more than that. What Inspired you to get it? Are you satisfied with it? I mean yall don't overstand, i got $10. on that game. It's waiting for me to come grab it. Just don't know help ya boy..... please...
posted 12:01am EDT - September 4th, 2007
26

How does it compare to Drakengard 1 in terms of story and fighting?  I mean, you just can't compare the graphics and controls so the only two elements that concern me are the ones that I stated first.  I loved the Drakengard concept but the delivery sucked, is Lair superior?

posted 1:11am EDT - September 4th, 2007
27
I am very surprised by this rating! So far I've agreed with PSU on both the low and high scores but this seems so far out there from everyone else. However, maybe PSU is right, seeing as they were right about Warhawk when every other critic was CLEARLY wrong (Warhawk < 9 = wrong!) Is Microsoft buying reviewers or is there just a lot of bias out there? By the way if anyone has not checked out Warhawk I recommend it; my favorite MP game of all time!
posted 2:30am EDT - September 4th, 2007
28
Okay. On this site Lair gets an 8.5. And on gamespot.com, LAir gets a miserable 4.5. So what gives? Can anyone please explain???
posted 2:39am EDT - September 4th, 2007
29

Perhaps it's Because Gamespot= CNET = Microsoft....or wait...no way. That cannot be it! Shocker. Whoever still believes any of gamespot's critiques, just utterly deserves to be lost.

posted 3:31am EDT - September 4th, 2007
30

honestly if you people are going to let a review dictate what games to buy your a tool i mean if your on the fence go try it i know at gamecrazy theyll let you try any game so  come on this game is worth a shot im personally buying it the controls work fine just like warhawk also go look at the videos i remember seeing one that shows you how the controls work it was an early build and they still looked precise 

posted 7:20am EDT - September 4th, 2007
31

this game rock i will buy it for shur

posted 8:20am EDT - September 4th, 2007
32

7.5 HERES THE SKINNY--graphics: awesome! probably best Ive seen yet. flight controls: easy not difficult at all, easier than flow.  ariel battle: heres were things get a little sloppy for me.  Some of the attacks are visiuasly confusing and attacking (bashing) with the six axis is sloppy too. ground battle: limited attacks frame rates a little noticible in big battles-but really no big deal. WAY WAY to many cinimatic breaks. Awesome music,voice over and story. Seems a little repetative already for me but i'll have fun beating it as a rental.

posted 10:20am EDT - September 4th, 2007
33

This has to be the best review for Lair i seen so far

posted 11:19am EDT - September 4th, 2007
34

I'm retarded and a 360 fanbot

-dad

posted 12:09pm EDT - September 4th, 2007
35

Supra, your right this is for fanboys, and if you don't like it tough sh1t. We could care less what you say, I happened to love it when I rented it from Blockbuster, the real fanboys go by what 30 yr old nerds say behind their computers at the IGN/1up offices. Honestly I dont know why ppl are so dense but seriously, review sites can shove it up their butt. Their opinion is their opinion. PSU is giving "their" opinion let them rate it what they want. I loved this game and I plan on buying it this week. As for inconsistent graphics your an idiot supra, please get a .44 and blow your face to oblivion.  Controls I will admit are a bit querky but you get used to it, like an old shoe.

posted 12:45pm EDT - September 4th, 2007
36

Yeah, that 180 degree turn is a pain in the butt. The game is sweet though. Best looking water I've ever seen. lol

posted 2:02pm EDT - September 4th, 2007
37

I'm retardeeedd

posted 2:51pm EDT - September 4th, 2007
38
yea this is definitely a great game guys and you should buy. its just got a pretty big learning curve, remeber after you beat the 1st level to go back to the training grounds to train. if you want a singleplayer game thats epic and fun, get this.
posted 3:15pm EDT - September 4th, 2007
39

gamespot has recently turned to xbot fanboys.  there reviews are all aimed at the 360 even when you click a ps3 review you get the 360 page.  something wrong there.  when gamespot reviews a multi platform game they always side with 360. (they arent as bad as ign though, ultimo xbot kids)  i own lair and it kicks aZZ literally!  worth every dime and i would rate it an 8.9. and thats from a guy who has had all consoles. IGN AND GAMESPOT=XBOT360FANBOYS

posted 6:21pm EDT - September 4th, 2007
40
L
posted 11:59pm EDT - September 4th, 2007
41

i might rent the game, it looks cool

posted 3:06am EDT - September 5th, 2007
42

Lair is a good - no sorry - GREAT game that's trully amazing. It mostly got bashed for the use of its controls - which is sixaxis that still hasn't quite settled in yet. What do you expect from a tilt sensitive controller if not the application of its features? More exclusive games on the PS3 will emerge that incorporate the sixaxis and will seem a bit weired - give it a chance. BUY IT.

posted 8:01am EDT - September 5th, 2007
43

People,i said this before,Dragon games don't interest a large majority of gamers,but i think anyone who isn't TOO FREAKIN' PICKY,he/she will probably enjoy this game.Oh and royboy a reviewer of PSM gave warhawk a 3,so do you care abut that one loser,who keeps getting blown away because he doesn't know how to play it.

posted 9:34am EDT - September 5th, 2007
44

It's a sloppy Second review for a reason. It sucks...and is sloppy.

posted 9:55am EDT - September 5th, 2007
45

you shouldnt listen to game reviewers. thats why i went out and bought this game anyway, to find out that it both sucks and blows. whast up with the ultimate machine saying i am being WAY TOO PICKY? dont i have the right to be picky? i thought this PS3 rendered good games. I dittin pay six hundo for b-grade games. Of course i am being picky. best water graphics i have ever seen though.

posted 6:34pm EDT - September 5th, 2007
46

8.5.. Common.. Maybe 7-7.5 .. but this is too much.

Great Sixaxis controls and precision aiming? Sorry

posted 10:52am EDT - September 6th, 2007
47

I have a slightly different take on Lair but everyone is entitled to their opinion!

posted 1:26pm EDT - September 6th, 2007
48

The controls are in the brain. If you can't play the game properly, your hands suck and so do your motor skills.

posted 9:01pm EDT - September 7th, 2007
49

The only problem I've ever had with the controls were when I first got the game.  After practicing with them, I have almost no issues.  (Only the 180 vs. forward dash thing, but then I realize that I make the motions too exaggerated.  Exaggerated movements aren't good, I've realized. :p Now I just use a slight flick of the wrist and it's smooth sailing.)


But I do agree with this review, and I feel it's spot on.  I've read several of the reviews from other "professional" sites, and when they complain about the controls, one can tell they never took the time to really learn them.  I read in the Game Informer review that the reviewer thought a "hot air balloon" travelled faster than the dragon could.  For anyone who's actually played this game, you know this is a load of bull.  This game definitely deserves the 8.5 it's given in this review.

posted 11:01pm EDT - September 8th, 2007
50

8.5 ?? it seems like someone got affected by the lair review guide given by sony !

posted 8:24am EDT - September 9th, 2007
51

Nice review

posted 3:13pm EDT - September 10th, 2007
52

I gave it a 2.

posted 4:25am EDT - September 11th, 2007
53

lair rules one of the best games i played b ecause gamespot and ign are microsoft sites think people why ps3 games sucks on their websites

posted 8:57pm EDT - September 12th, 2007
54

this game is garbage.

it runs worse than any game ever.

oh well wasnt lookin forward to it ne way/.

posted 6:20am EDT - September 13th, 2007
55

I don't really know if I want this game, I HATE bad controls, and 50% of reviewers says it sucks, and the other 50% says it cool... WHERE IS THE DEMO?!

posted 11:17pm EDT - September 14th, 2007
56

donot by this game I did and it was a horrible waste of money in one section I couldn't even see the enemies because the were the same color as the sky and the controls are horrible.

posted 5:43pm EDT - September 15th, 2007
57

WoW, ya'll whole review is a total lie. Let me break it down just a little better. great story Line, great graphics, Horrible Gameplay!!!! This web site would give any of their games a high score.

posted 7:31pm EDT - September 15th, 2007
58

I'm gonna get - it looks awesome to me and i love dragons and great stories.

posted 12:47am EDT - September 19th, 2007
59

Great in depth explaination on the sixaxis. It makes sense that dragons are not as agile on the air than futuristic warhawks. :)

posted 7:53am EDT - November 1st, 2007
60

No - sad to say that I gave it a second chance and put in some time but could not enjoy it - the controls are weak and the story plods - I just dont like the game - Im on the 50% who say that Lair sux - bad.

posted 11:44pm EST - February 14th, 2008
61

i have this game and it is awesome! very good storyline which draws you in. fun gameplay. i dont know why so many ppl who reviewed this game said the controls were horrible! it really doesnt take much time to get used to the controls, and once you do it just seems right! those ppl must be uncoordintaed or just suck at gaming!!!!!

posted 1:43pm EDT - March 9th, 2008
62

I just purchased this game as well.   I have to say, this game is definitely underrated.  I love the game so far.  Controls work fine.  Radar works fine.  Just wish they had mulitplayer like Warhawk.  That would make this game an instant classic.

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