Lair

[Mardigan8]

Update - Just done mision 4 and this seemed to be where a lot of reviewers hit their brick wall with the controls... you are caught in the middle of a HUGE battle set on a bridge with 2 armies going at it for control of the bridge and the complaints seemed to arise at the bit where you have to grab some big land enemies... now a few reviews I read made it clear that this was the point where the game unravelled itself... I done the mission first time with a huge smile on my face. I think its safe to say, if you get to grips with the controls there is a hell of a lot of fun to be had with the game.

The mission had me dogfighting other dragons, going claw to claw with bigger dragons mid-air and swooping down on the land battle to either take 2 or 300 troops down or grab rhinos and throw them into the sea. The variety in the battles is brilliant and there is seriously a lot of enjoyment to be had from this game once you get the controls sorted.

Gonna hopefully get a few more missons done then go back and replay these missions for better scores.

The story being told through the immense cut scenes is also kicing off now so its looking good.

[fishbowlhead]

Update - Just done mision 4 and this seemed to be where a lot of reviewers hit their brick wall with the controls... you are caught in the middle of a HUGE battle set on a bridge with 2 armies going at it for control of the bridge and the complaints seemed to arise at the bit where you have to grab some big land enemies... now a few reviews I read made it clear that this was the point where the game unravelled itself... I done the mission first time with a huge smile on my face. I think its safe to say, if you get to grips with the controls there is a hell of a lot of fun to be had with the game.

The mission had me dogfighting other dragons, going claw to claw with bigger dragons mid-air and swooping down on the land battle to either take 2 or 300 troops down or grab rhinos and throw them into the sea. The variety in the battles is brilliant and there is seriously a lot of enjoyment to be had from this game once you get the controls sorted.

Gonna hopefully get a few more missons done then go back and replay these missions for better scores.

The story being told through the immense cut scenes is also kicing off now so its looking good.

So what was the lock on actualy like then, can you cycle through your targets? or does it pick the primary targets out easily for you?

[Mardigan8]

So what was the lock on actualy like then, can you cycle through your targets? or does it pick the primary targets out easily for you?

Exactly that... when you have to take out the Rhino things it sets them as the main target so as long as you bring them into your sights they glow white, then hit lock on and BANG, you swoop in and rip them up from the ground and then get to throw them out to sea, it aint hard at all... all it requires is for you to set yourself up for a strafing run and line up the target then hit the lock on button when the enemy glows white and the Dragon automatically swoops in and grabs the target or latches on to it so can use the 'Rip & Tear' move.

Once you get use to it is great fun and when it is used along side the dogfights and the beat-em-up like square gos in mid air ,the battles really do have a lot of variety.

EDIT - To elaborate on the lock on... you cant cycle through targets. There are basically 2 lock on states (White and Red) White means your projectiles and some melees will hit the target and red allows you to start the multiple aerial fight mechanics. All you have to do to change a white lock to a red lock is hit the lock on button and then it goes to a chase cam kinda view. Also, you dont have to have an enemy dead in your sights to get a red lock on. You can pan the camera round while flying, spot an enemy and hit the lock on button so you instantly move to the red lock with the chase cam view without having to turn. This has proved an invaluable manouvre during the more heated battles.

[sailor-fuku]

I've been reading your comments over the past few days 'n' folded..picked it up on saurday - and thinks its really good fun - just got upto the 4th level ( Havnt had a go yet ). But your description of the lock on is - spot on... having no trouble grabing and tearing dragons belly's up...and chucking those big beasts from your claws to the ocean - or into troops is quite something...lol. Motion control's seem pretty cool - pulling back on the reigns / controller for a 180 turn seems quite natural..

[Mardigan8]

I've been reading your comments over the past few days 'n' folded..picked it up on saurday - and thinks its really good fun - just got upto the 4th level ( Havnt had a go yet ). But your description of the lock on is - spot on... having no trouble grabing and tearing dragons belly's up...and chucking those big beasts from your claws to the ocean - or into troops is quite something...lol. Motion control's seem pretty cool - pulling back on the reigns / controller for a 180 turn seems quite natural..

Glad to see someone else enjoying this

It aint without its faults, yes, but there is so much in the game that works and works really well when you give it a chance. The motion controls take a bit of getting use to but when you get a good few missions in you will be loving every battle.

There are a few tricky bits where it doesn't make it clear what you have to take out but once you figure these bits out it all works really well.

EDIT - Watch out for one of the missions where you have to avoid getting spotted by spot light things. When you figure out what you have to do it works really well but may feel a tad frustrating until you do

[MikeF]

I too decided to risk this so picked up a copy from ebay (someone didn't like it and sold it a day after getting it) and so far I am glad I did.

Yes the controls are fiddly but you soon get used to them. I have done the first 3 missions so far and bar the very start have been able to do pretty much what I wanted to do with the dragon.

Maybe they should have given us the option to use the stick to fly with as well (it may have gotten better review score this way too)

The missions so far have been pretty easy and straight forward but I suspect that this will change as I progress further.

Looking forward to playing some more later on

[Mardigan8]

Just finished the full campaign there and the booming operatic credit music is still sounding in my head

Great fun from start to finish, but def one that requires some practice and skill on the six axis. As long as you ensure you movements are precise and deliberate there aint a problem with the controls and when it all comes together its flaws fade away.

Some truly epic set pieces in some of the levels and the final battle is as big if not bigger than anything witnessed in the LOTR movies. The amount of stuff going on during these battles really is impressive and never does the action take a noticeable frame rate or tearing hit. Gameplay wise the only thing I would have liked to have seen more of is 1v1 Boss type Dragon battles as these were really well done but not as frequent as I wanted.

Technically impressive but needing a wee bit of polish in places, this is a real surprise given the pounding it had taken before launch, but I am glad to say I enjoyed every mission and by the end just wanted more

The credits are still rolling as I type this by the way, some amount of boys must have had a hand in this or maybe they just want me to think that

Get, give it a chance and enjoy!!

[MikeF]

How many missions are there? Are there any large boss fights?

[Mardigan8]

How many missions are there? Are there any large boss fights?

I aint counted but there are about 14 missions I think and the story takes some nice twists as you move through the game keeping it interesting.

There are a few boss fights but they have went for a more overall battlfield kind of thing with the missions rather than having structured boss fights, which works really well. The boss fights they do have are really nicely done though.

I would say there are 4 or 5 actual large stand alone boss battles.

[JP]

I had this on import a few days ago and have played a few of the missions so far.

What I was expecting from this was Rogue Squadron on the PS3 and I have to admit that Rogue Squadron on the PS3 is exactly what I've ended up with!

This has the pretty much exactly the same flaws as those games and just like those games it still manages to be really enjoyable in spite of the flaws.

It even shares the same type of medal system in which the better you do on each level the higher medal you are awarded. And if you are like me then you'll probably return to the game later to try and improve your medals.

First of all the infamous controls! They are far from perfect but no where near the monstrosity that some reviews have made out. The difficulty with them for me was not with the motion control, for me that worked really well after about 10 minutes play.

The problem I had with the controls was with the buttons! They are over complicated and just don't seem finalised to me. I'd really like to have seen them simplified somewhat. They do get easier with practice but there is no avoiding the fact that they are cumbersome.

The gameplay itself was pretty much Rogue Squadron. They seemed to follow the standard shoot this or protect that type of mission that Rogue Squadron specialised in. There are the same types of quotes as you are playing also, your wingman/captain will happily fly around saying "We can't afford to lose another grain barge/space station" in an attempt to guide you with what you should be doing.

The graphics at times are incredible, swooping down over some giant Tolkeinesque castle perched on the side of a mountain as 100 foot waterfalls frame it to fly over the heads of a seemingly 1000s (I've not counted) of battling troops really is a sight to see.

When it gets it right there is very little out there that can beat the graphics for this type of game. When it gets it wrong the landscapes can look just like other "battle" games of this type and show patchwork textures and pop up. I didn't find the shortcomings to be a problem though but obviously it would be better without them there.

The music in this game is fantastic!!! It really builds up the atmosphere of what is going on in the game and I'd happily listen to it without the game.

I don't like to recommend a game or not recommend a game to people as people like different things. If you know somebody who has it see if you can borrow it before buying as the flaws may well be too much for you to see past and get any enjoyment out of the game.

If you did enjoy Rogue Squadron and the flaws in that didn't put you off then you may get a lot of enjoyment out of this game. It's far from perfect but I did enjoy it!

[Daragon]

Can anyone compare the motion control of this to Motorstorm? I tried to play that with the motion option enabled and I found it far too sensitive for my liking. If that's not a case with this then you'll have convinced me to buy.

[JP]

I found it far more suitable for this...

I liked it on Warhawk too though which not everybody did. On MotorStorm it was far too difficult but getting to the end of the game I started using it and did start enjoying it.

As I said it wasn't the motion control that was the problem for me, it was the over complicated button use.

[Mardigan8]

The motion control cant even be compared to Motorstorm... in Motorstorm you are trying to stay on a narrow track and dont have a lot of room to manouvre most of the time but with this you have HUGE open battlefields and a nice lock on camera to help you in your quest ito answer your question, its use of the motion control is MILES better than Motorstorm.

Evolution, at first I also felt that the buttons were a bit complicated as there was quite a few commands in place for the different aerial combat techniques, but once you play with the tutorials a few times and read the detail in the manual it all clicks into place... simple things like knowing when certain moves are powered up and stuff so you dont try something that cant be done at that time.

[tbm]

i`ve really enjoyed reading your impressions Mardigan8, and latterly, evo-one. i was beginning to think i was the only one out here that was playing it let alone enjoying it.

either people truly don`t think for themselves anymore, or nobody has the balls to actually give something a chance. of course it`s not perfect, but it`s a lot of fun for what it is.

[Mardigan8]

Spot on TBM and I would be surprised if anyone who plays this and gives the controls a chance doesn't enjoy it. The world they have created is fantastic and when you actually consider the amount of stuff going on in the larger battles it really is quite an achievement what they have done here. The scale of the final battle is unlike anything I have seen before. It definitly lacks a bit of polish in some areas, like the transition from gameplay to cut scene or gameplay to a Takedown move and little things like that but overall it is a really impressive game.

I watched the 'Making of' that is in the extras when I finished the game and the boys talking gave the impression there was still stuff they wanted to do with the game but didnt have time. Based on this, any talk of a sequel where they can iron out the creases and improve on the already brilliant gameplay will get me VERY excited.