First impressions of Lair

[hans030390]

I've been playing Lair for a couple days now and have gotten through a few levels. I'm still not quite sure how this game got a 4.5/10 from most places. I think Game Informer had a very reasonable review (7.25 and 8/10).

The controls work really well for me. Everything is smooth and responsive. The only thing I'd complain about it how it usually confuses the 180 for a dash. Anything else is usually me still adjusting to the controls, not the controls being bad. Actually, even the 180/dash thing is partly because I'm just not doing it as well as I should.

The gameplay can get a little weird. It's hard to figure out what to do, and you're given multiple things to do at once sometimes. Aside from that, it's generally pretty decent. The soldiers could be more aggressive, but I guess I'd pee myself if I saw a dragon in front of me. I don't like how some of the scenes won't let you skip them.

The graphics are pretty good. There are some obviously weird moments, such as fire animations and some bland/repetitive areas. Everything else generally looks pretty good. The framerate isn't THAT bad either. It's usually smooth, and any drops are still playable for me.

I'm liking the music, and the sound is pretty good. The voice acting could be better.

I still have a while to go in the game, but I'm not seeing this as being such a horrible game like the reviewers make it out to be. What I also don't understand is this...

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/801/801928p1.html

That's the preview for Lair. They say the controls are easy, the graphics are good, etc etc.

And the reviews are basically the opposite of that.

I'm liking Lair a good bit, and I don't think the reviews for the game were fair.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Well, its possible that the control scheme seemed good in a short playthrough but having to put up with it for hours is a chore. Didn't they put out an update for this game that made the controls better also? That could possibly be a reason they seem ok to you.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
Well, its possible that the control scheme seemed good in a short playthrough but having to put up with it for hours is a chore. Didn't they put out an update for this game that made the controls better also? That could possibly be a reason they seem ok to you.

that 'update' was a bluetooth enhancement in a new PS3 firmware that supposedly made the motion controls tighter. However, I don't really notice a difference after. I got the game on launch day and have enjoyed it since then and have had no real complaints over motion control. Maybe some people are more inclined to naturally take it up without much effort. I just know the reviews are flawed, as most have been lately for a lot of games. Some reviews offer a lot of praise and/or very little hate besides a few glaring things, and the score is somehow super low. Read the actual reviews for Lair, and it doesn't make sense how they come to the conclusion of such low scores.
Regardless, I like Lair and I guess that's good enough for me. Forcing motion control does kind of suck, but it's not hard. The hard part is having no radar, but it is a dragon and not an aircraft, so it makes perfect sense but may be hard to adapt to when we are used to having radar in all flight games.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
Well, its possible that the control scheme seemed good in a short playthrough but having to put up with it for hours is a chore. Didn't they put out an update for this game that made the controls better also? That could possibly be a reason they seem ok to you.

that 'update' was a bluetooth enhancement in a new PS3 firmware that supposedly made the motion controls tighter. However, I don't really notice a difference after. I got the game on launch day and have enjoyed it since then and have had no real complaints over motion control. Maybe some people are more inclined to naturally take it up without much effort. I just know the reviews are flawed, as most have been lately for a lot of games. Some reviews offer a lot of praise and/or very little hate besides a few glaring things, and the score is somehow super low. Read the actual reviews for Lair, and it doesn't make sense how they come to the conclusion of such low scores.
Regardless, I like Lair and I guess that's good enough for me. Forcing motion control does kind of suck, but it's not hard. The hard part is having no radar, but it is a dragon and not an aircraft, so it makes perfect sense but may be hard to adapt to when we are used to having radar in all flight games.

But it makes sense that you can hear your allies talking to you while you're flying around?

Also, a lot of the previews covered a few levels. It seems odd that they'd go from liking it to hating it. Also, their is a level that IGN constantly talked about (and how bad it is), and I just played it. It was more frustrating than the other levels, but it wasn't NEARLY as bad as IGN made it sound.

I think the latest firmware helped some and didn't help others. I've seen comparison videos, and there can be a big difference. I wouldn't know...I stated playing it with the latest firmware.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: hans030390

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
Well, its possible that the control scheme seemed good in a short playthrough but having to put up with it for hours is a chore. Didn't they put out an update for this game that made the controls better also? That could possibly be a reason they seem ok to you.

that 'update' was a bluetooth enhancement in a new PS3 firmware that supposedly made the motion controls tighter. However, I don't really notice a difference after. I got the game on launch day and have enjoyed it since then and have had no real complaints over motion control. Maybe some people are more inclined to naturally take it up without much effort. I just know the reviews are flawed, as most have been lately for a lot of games. Some reviews offer a lot of praise and/or very little hate besides a few glaring things, and the score is somehow super low. Read the actual reviews for Lair, and it doesn't make sense how they come to the conclusion of such low scores.
Regardless, I like Lair and I guess that's good enough for me. Forcing motion control does kind of suck, but it's not hard. The hard part is having no radar, but it is a dragon and not an aircraft, so it makes perfect sense but may be hard to adapt to when we are used to having radar in all flight games.

But it makes sense that you can hear your allies talking to you while you're flying around?

Also, a lot of the previews covered a few levels. It seems odd that they'd go from liking it to hating it. Also, their is a level that IGN constantly talked about (and how bad it is), and I just played it. It was more frustrating than the other levels, but it wasn't NEARLY as bad as IGN made it sound.

I think the latest firmware helped some and didn't help others. I've seen comparison videos, and there can be a big difference. I wouldn't know...I stated playing it with the latest firmware.

the hearing of allies i try and ignore because it makes no sense.. but then it would be impossible for the game to truly communicate new objectives.
however, whenever I tend to hear talking from teammates, I can look and you can see part of a dragon flying next/behind you... and shouting objectives between two dragons next to eachother is feasible, since at low heights you could talk to someone in the sky like that. but across a map? no, but like i said, it's something that, unlike radar (and the dragon sense), couldn't be replaced in any feasible mean.

 

[randay]

already posted my thoughts in another thread, but i have this game and its more like a 5.5-6.5 at worst, a 7 flat at best. all the 4s are undeserved and makes me wonder about if they were "influenced"

 

[Anubis]

the mag PLAY gave it a 7 or an 8, their reviews seems to be much closer to reality thenmost places

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Anubis
the mag PLAY gave it a 7 or an 8, their reviews seems to be much closer to reality thenmost places

PLAY actually gave it a 9/10, and GamePro gave it a 75. Those are much more accurate scores, barring an individuals ability or non-ability to motion controls.

 

[Ackmed]

It got the score largely because people sucked too much to control it. Or maybe 1.93 really helped, thats all Ive played with it.

I rented it first, because of all the talk about it, and no demo. Liked it a lot, so I bought it last week. There are a few gameplay issues, but the controls are so easy, I cant see how anyone can have a problem with them. My 8 year old girl is on level 3, and my 58 year old father-in-law is on level 7. Obviously neither has control issues either. Aside from dipping frames, Im having a great time with it. It really needs a better map, guide, or whatever you want to call it, besides that arrow they're trying to use. Certainly its no 4.5/10. I dont think its a 9/10 either, but its a lot closer to a 9, than to a 4.5. I would give is a 7.5-8 so far, the music in it is outstanding.