GAMEPRO - 3.75/5 (A)
Pros: Gorgeous graphics, amazing orchestral soundtrack, dragon based action is fun.
Cons: The decision to use a SixAxis only control scheme hurts more than it helps.
Some random quotes from the review...
ON THE CONTROL SCHEME ISSUES:
"To be fair, the motion sensing is pretty accurate but requiring you to constantly move your hands around while fiddling with buttons over the course of a fairly long game is asking too much. It's unfortunate that the game relies so heavily on a gimmicky feature that no one has been able to get a true grasp of (pun intended)."
ON THE GOOD QUALITIES:
"At it's best, the dragon-based combat of Lair is pretty damn awesome. Soaring around majestically in the sky; raining hot fiery dragon-breath death upon your foes' heads; grappling with other dragons and clawing their eyes out; leaping onto an enemy dragon-rider's back and hacking at him with your weapon; swooping down onto the ground and rampaging around like Godzilla--there's no shortage of thrills to be had."
SOME ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
"I should point out that we were playing an early review build and Factor 5 will probably make tweaks up to the moment the gold master goes off to the mastering lab, but the core gameply mechanics are already in place and there's no denying that it's flawed. I expect many fans will be disappointed thanks to all of the hype that's built up around the game, but the inevitable complaints about the control scheme will no doubt be warrented. Despite all this, Lair still manages to be a decent title that all PS3 owners should look into but you may want to reserve your true excitement for the day when the other hotly anticipated PS3 titles like Heavenly Sword arrive."
ON THE GROUND CONTROLS:
"The Sixaxis-only control scheme that plagues the game is noticably absent when you land your dragon on the ground as the analog sticks take over, making it easier to wreak havoc."
