my copy turned up today, so been giving it a whirl.
the story of lair concerns itself with a once peaceful race, split into 2 different countries and ideologies due to a volcano erupting at some point in their distant past. one of the tribes embraced a pseudo-technological outlook, the others a more pagan bent and both are now at war with each other.
if you`ve ever played any of factor 5`s games before, you really will feel right at home here. the twist now is we have motion control in the form of the SIXAXIS on the PS3. this should in theory make it a deep, interactive experience to fly dragons, and engage in combat in the skies. for the most part it works really well. tilting side to side, up and down, it all flows really well and you always feel in total control of your steed. you can push up fast which will instigate a 180 degree turn, or push down which will propel you forward at speed. the intimation that the dragons themselves are clumsy or somehow really awkward to control is a nonsense. in the short time i`ve played it i never felt anything less than in control of my dragon.
swooping onto barrage placements, setting them on fire, or landing (press R1 and R2 together while close to the ground) and burning all the ground troops is very satisfying. while control switches to analogue sticks and face buttons during these segments, its instinctive and flows easily. a favourite is swiping with circle, or hitting triangle to feed on enemy troops.
unfortunately it comes slightly unstuck when you try to lock onto an enemy dragon while in the air. pressing L1 or L2 will lock onto your suggested target, you then "swipe" at them by pressing circle. this initiates a dog fight as you try and take swipes at them by jiggling the controller up and down, side to side. the ultimate aim is to knock the rider off the dragon and/or a one on one fight between the dragons or the riders. what makes it fiddly is the imprecise nature of the SIXAXIS when it comes to the motions. it might be lack of practice on my part, but i found it very hit or miss if i actually managed to do it effectively. it becomes frustrating as you`re sure you knocked into them, only for them to gain the upper hand instead. it does feel that if they`d had either more time to work on it, or had some better form of feedback it would`ve been tweaked to perfection.
for all that annoyance it feels good to swoop around the wonderful world factor 5 have created. as you get to grips with the game, you enjoy the spectacle, the feeling of being part of a giant war going on around you as you try to fulfil your mission objectives. graphically it swings from sublime, to the horrid. the cinematic are of the highest calibre and paint a vivid story, but then it lets itself down with some real cheesy dialogue which makes you cringe at times. for every wonderful cut-scene or a truly stunning overview as you fly over a well realised cityscape, you have screen tearing and horrible, muted textures which can pop in and out depending on how close you are. i`d see the point if this was happening on the more detailed areas, but it happens on featureless mountain ranges ! bemusing to say the least.
the front end, dragon stables, etc. reek of the rogue squadron series, even down to your character running around to find the dragon set aside for you to clamber on. at one point i wondered if an x-wing or a tie-fighter would be an unlockable such was the feeling of deja vu. even the actual missions give a distinct nod to that series. whether its making sure a convoy survives sustained attack from above, or defending a castle wall. even how you are scored at the end brings the aforementioned series to mind. as enjoyable as they were, it does seem rather limited to copy it wholesale as apposed to trying something new and diverse.
i`ve only played 2 missions so far and bar the niggles, i`ve enjoyed it. whether i continue to do so is another matter. from what i`ve played it`s in no way deserving of the scores of 4/5 out of 10 it`s had from other sites out there.
the story of lair concerns itself with a once peaceful race, split into 2 different countries and ideologies due to a volcano erupting at some point in their distant past. one of the tribes embraced a pseudo-technological outlook, the others a more pagan bent and both are now at war with each other.
if you`ve ever played any of factor 5`s games before, you really will feel right at home here. the twist now is we have motion control in the form of the SIXAXIS on the PS3. this should in theory make it a deep, interactive experience to fly dragons, and engage in combat in the skies. for the most part it works really well. tilting side to side, up and down, it all flows really well and you always feel in total control of your steed. you can push up fast which will instigate a 180 degree turn, or push down which will propel you forward at speed. the intimation that the dragons themselves are clumsy or somehow really awkward to control is a nonsense. in the short time i`ve played it i never felt anything less than in control of my dragon.
swooping onto barrage placements, setting them on fire, or landing (press R1 and R2 together while close to the ground) and burning all the ground troops is very satisfying. while control switches to analogue sticks and face buttons during these segments, its instinctive and flows easily. a favourite is swiping with circle, or hitting triangle to feed on enemy troops.
unfortunately it comes slightly unstuck when you try to lock onto an enemy dragon while in the air. pressing L1 or L2 will lock onto your suggested target, you then "swipe" at them by pressing circle. this initiates a dog fight as you try and take swipes at them by jiggling the controller up and down, side to side. the ultimate aim is to knock the rider off the dragon and/or a one on one fight between the dragons or the riders. what makes it fiddly is the imprecise nature of the SIXAXIS when it comes to the motions. it might be lack of practice on my part, but i found it very hit or miss if i actually managed to do it effectively. it becomes frustrating as you`re sure you knocked into them, only for them to gain the upper hand instead. it does feel that if they`d had either more time to work on it, or had some better form of feedback it would`ve been tweaked to perfection.
for all that annoyance it feels good to swoop around the wonderful world factor 5 have created. as you get to grips with the game, you enjoy the spectacle, the feeling of being part of a giant war going on around you as you try to fulfil your mission objectives. graphically it swings from sublime, to the horrid. the cinematic are of the highest calibre and paint a vivid story, but then it lets itself down with some real cheesy dialogue which makes you cringe at times. for every wonderful cut-scene or a truly stunning overview as you fly over a well realised cityscape, you have screen tearing and horrible, muted textures which can pop in and out depending on how close you are. i`d see the point if this was happening on the more detailed areas, but it happens on featureless mountain ranges ! bemusing to say the least.
the front end, dragon stables, etc. reek of the rogue squadron series, even down to your character running around to find the dragon set aside for you to clamber on. at one point i wondered if an x-wing or a tie-fighter would be an unlockable such was the feeling of deja vu. even the actual missions give a distinct nod to that series. whether its making sure a convoy survives sustained attack from above, or defending a castle wall. even how you are scored at the end brings the aforementioned series to mind. as enjoyable as they were, it does seem rather limited to copy it wholesale as apposed to trying something new and diverse.
i`ve only played 2 missions so far and bar the niggles, i`ve enjoyed it. whether i continue to do so is another matter. from what i`ve played it`s in no way deserving of the scores of 4/5 out of 10 it`s had from other sites out there.
! Does it need it's own thread? It seems there will be more announcements shortly by Sony.
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