Review:
LAIR

Now time for a flight-sim unlike any other flight-sim I’ve played before. I’m talking about the PS3 exclusive title Lair; a game where you play a dragon rider, able to guide a mythical beast over the far reaches of a fantasy world. Setting armies alight with a breath of fire and engaging in mid-air collision combat with opposing dragons this game promises to offer the same rush of a flight-sim whilst encapsulating the atmosphere of a medieval fantasy.

Lair seemed like a game with an edge; something a little different that gave it the independence from other games of its genre. Aside from the theme of the game, developers have tried going beyond the realm of a traditional flight-sim by incorporating the Playstation’s six-axis control system into flight movement. I was surprisingly impressed by this innovative use of current technology as I only thought the six-axis would be used for one of two things; racing games or children’s/family games like the Nintendo Wii. As soon as I picked up the controller and began to play, I felt a comforting ease due to the ergonomic feel of the movement as though I’d been playing for hours. That’s the plus point about the six-axis; the player already knows what to do with it, and how far to turn it in order to do something, without altering look sensitivity or inverted Y-axis in the options menu.

Using six-axis is a nice idea but, like communism, is an idea that just doesn’t pan out and still has major flaws. The main setback is how little it recognises any actions; it’ll handle steering well enough but when it comes to elevation or turning back on yourself, it all goes out the window leaving you waving the controller about frantically as the on-screen dragon flies headfirst into a cliff face because it is too stubborn to obey a simple command. When I first heard about this control system being implemented into a flight-sim I thought ‘that’s a little different’ and now seeing the reality of it, I see it as a horrible mistake. It completely absorbs the fantasy of the game and replaces it with anger and utter frustration.