12-15 i thought...
LAIR Thread - * Rules: post #469
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12-15 i thought...
Few thoughts on reviews from Matthias
http://www.langsuyar.com/news/news.html
I'm aware of the reviews, of course. Some are very positive, some are not. The common complaint in those bad reviews seem to be the controls - putting the dragon streering on the motion-sensitive SIXAXIS controller doesn't sit well with some of the experienced gamers. First of all: try it out yourself, give it a chance!
And if you want my side of the story, I will share a simple anecdote: Victoria's family, lead by my 83-year old grandfather in law was able to pick up Lair in less than 5 inutes, fly around with the dragon and play the first mission of the game.That experience right there beats anything that the reviewers can say. Because let's face it: the hardcore crowd is an important part of the market, and I sincerely hope that everybody who reads my page and/or hangs out on NeoGAF, IGN, 1UP on a daily basis will buy Lair and enjoy it. Your guys' opinions are important, and they matter.
BUT... making a game that my entire (extended) family can play, that's how we will keep the creative flame (and our industry!) alive.
Check the official sources for more information on Lair. I enjoyed the experience and have tons of ideas on what to do next. In other words, I have already moved on to the next project...
P.S.: Hope you like the new vegetation in the final build
http://www.langsuyar.com/news/news.html
crazygambit
Regular
I was thinking how much it must suck to see something you've spent the past 2 and a half years working on getting trashed by people that can't even bother to spend a little time learning the controls. I guess this is true for every developer, they pour hours of love in to a game just to see forum boards complaining that some wall texture is low in a screenshot or that a shadow is flickering when it's not supposed to, instead of, you know, playing the damn game. I really can't imagine what the Lairs devs must be feeling right now. The excitement, anticipation and dread of the reviews that will knock the game for it's decision on control. I don't know if I'd like to be in their shoes.
scooby_dooby
Legend
Maybe the controls are just bad?? Why's it always the gamers fault?
With that said, I'm still waiting for the gamespot review. This is EGM we're talking here...
EGM lost all credibility with me when they gave Kameo a 6/10. I mean, maybe you don't think it's Zelda material, but 6/10? Ridiculous.
crazygambit
Regular
But how would you know in such a short time? It takes a while to master a completely new way of controlling a game (I still can't consistenly pull off aerial comboes in HS
). And you're telling me this EGM guys were able to master it, find it horrible and write their review in such a short time. The game just went gold a few days ago. And even though they probably got a reviewers build it still can't be all that old.scooby_dooby
Legend
But how would you know in such a short time? It takes a while to master a completely new way of controlling a game (I still can't consistenly pull off aerial comboes in HS
Well, I would expect the controls to be mastered part-way through the game. And I'd expect EGM to have finished the game obviously.
If you have to play through a game multiple times to simply learn the controls, somethings wrong with the game design.
With that said, controls is a tough one to accept one person's opinion on. What one person may have major problems with, may come naturally to others, so unless there's some sort of unified opinion I wouldn't take this one review too seriously.
They could have somewhat solved that issue by going the Warhawk route. Mulitiple configs for controls so if you didn't like the motion sensing you would have to use it. I'm not sure why they didn't do that to be honest.
In this case, there have been hands-on experiences posted on several fora, like this one here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7234872&postcount=487
So I don't think it's a clear cut bad case... sounds more like a personal preference thing.
crazygambit
Regular
Really? All 3 reviewers? I wish I could believe that. Fact is most reviews are rushed and the reviewer gets to play just enough to form an idea for the game. I'm almost certain most reviewers don't finish the games they review unless it's a short 8-10 hour game, 15 tops. But with RPGs for example I'm 100% certain they never finish them (nor would I expect them to really when they can last over 100 hours). I still remember most reviews sites inacuracies when it came to Monster Hunter Freedom that anyone who had played the game for literally more than an hour would know (and that's a game that lasted over 400 hours for me). How am I expected to trust the opinion of someone who couldn't even bother to play enough of the game, which had a steep learning curve, thus got poor reviews. Actually after that incident, and the fact that reviews almost made miss that gem I've stopped reading reviews altogether.
scooby_dooby
Legend
RPG's I can understand, though most can bve completed in 30 or 40 hours if you don't go too crazy on sidequests.
But LAIR is a linear, level based game, you could probably beat it in 2-3 days of hard gaming. I'd expect the reviewers to have finished it for sure.
gokickrocks
Regular
i read on some other forum that it takes 3 hours
Given the recent history of how some people have responded to the motion controls, then I don't think it's that weird to assume it's the hardcore reviewer's fault.
They got it wrong so many times! And what's even more telling, some of them have recently been starting to revise their initial opinions. EGM really depends a lot on the individual reviewer. Though that goes for a lot of magazines. I wish I had the time to work out this review scheme I"ve been thinking about for a year or so now.
It isnt weird that we see EGM review come out first? while the major one such as IGN and Gamespot dont even have the review up yet, is there are chance that this review from EGM is a rushed ? and for what we know, Lair is a pretty steep learning curve type of game and therefore spending less time with it and review it does not do the game justice.
Having said that though, i hope IGN and Gamespot give enough time on Lair and review it on its merits.
Having said that though, i hope IGN and Gamespot give enough time on Lair and review it on its merits.
quest55720
Regular
From the sounds of it is a 10 hour game if it has a steep learnin curve it is very poor game design. A short game should not have a learning curve that long. A steap learning curve can been good for fighting games to keep them fresh or games with lots of multiplayer. If you have to play through the whole game to get the controlls then something is wrong.
I went to a Borders bookstore and read the Play US magazine review.
One of the things that caught my eye what that the reviewer was talking about how chaotic it was to begin playing the game, get used to some of the motion control schemes while being overwhelmed by the graphics and all of the in game, gameplay shifting from air born combat, to dragon vs dragon, to swooping down on a legion of troops to going ground based to bash those troops, to rise again into the air, etc, etc.
I felt that the reviewer was pretty clear in what was felt about the game and according to what he wrote, he said the later levels and the entire game is very rewarding and replayable.
I have yet to read or find an EGM but hopefully tomorrow I will, however it does not surprise me that EGM would write a bad review on a game that started to gather a following since pre-E3.
I don't want to point fingers though but EGM did have the article and magazine cover making the PS3 have all of these problems just months after the console was released, I have yet to see EGM have a cover story and cover art depicting the red ring of death epidemic or complaints.
Game reviewers this generation are very hard to trust, despite Zelda TP's boss battles being a cake walk, the game gets a 10 and high marks, etc, while I believe the game deserves its accolades even I have to admit that the review can seem fan influenced.
Anyways Factor 5 has done an amazing job (game rating pending) with the graphics and game ideas in Lair, basically I feel that F5 has made a huge leap into PS3 game development so it will be very interesting as to what game they will make next.
One of the things that caught my eye what that the reviewer was talking about how chaotic it was to begin playing the game, get used to some of the motion control schemes while being overwhelmed by the graphics and all of the in game, gameplay shifting from air born combat, to dragon vs dragon, to swooping down on a legion of troops to going ground based to bash those troops, to rise again into the air, etc, etc.
I felt that the reviewer was pretty clear in what was felt about the game and according to what he wrote, he said the later levels and the entire game is very rewarding and replayable.
I have yet to read or find an EGM but hopefully tomorrow I will, however it does not surprise me that EGM would write a bad review on a game that started to gather a following since pre-E3.
I don't want to point fingers though but EGM did have the article and magazine cover making the PS3 have all of these problems just months after the console was released, I have yet to see EGM have a cover story and cover art depicting the red ring of death epidemic or complaints.
Game reviewers this generation are very hard to trust, despite Zelda TP's boss battles being a cake walk, the game gets a 10 and high marks, etc, while I believe the game deserves its accolades even I have to admit that the review can seem fan influenced.
Anyways Factor 5 has done an amazing job (game rating pending) with the graphics and game ideas in Lair, basically I feel that F5 has made a huge leap into PS3 game development so it will be very interesting as to what game they will make next.
Thanks, guys for pointing out the difference between the US and UK Play magazines. I did not realize that.
Okay, hold up....
That magazine has some very talented and enthusiastic writers and I have on more than one occasion been motivated to buy games I otherwise had no interest in because of their reviews.
Unfortunatly, they more often than not like BAD games. Outright bad games. They like them so much they will make very pretty multi-page spreads and write all sorts of gushing praise for them.
I'm telling you, no matter how good one of their reviews makes a game sound, please thake them with a grain of salt.
Okay, hold up....
That magazine has some very talented and enthusiastic writers and I have on more than one occasion been motivated to buy games I otherwise had no interest in because of their reviews.
Unfortunatly, they more often than not like BAD games. Outright bad games. They like them so much they will make very pretty multi-page spreads and write all sorts of gushing praise for them.
I'm telling you, no matter how good one of their reviews makes a game sound, please thake them with a grain of salt.
Can you list some examples of bad games and no do not mention Sonic, just tell me what you define as a bad game.
I don't want to defend Play as I actually never did in my post, I just read it, however its very much possible that they noticed something in Lair that you may not notice and probably never will.
One of the major positives I can see with Lair is that its a single player game.
Its a single player game that does not shove an online mode or in most cases a slapped on online mode that usually degenerates into deathmatch, then gets forgotten as online gamers make their way back to the games they usually play (Halo 2, etc)
Its concept brings back memories of the Panzer Dragoon games of old mixed with more fantasy elements.
Its not another real world army soldier war game/simulator/FPS game that seems to be trainning you for some future war.
It at least makes you do different things that once you get used to them will seem chaotic to a newbie.
as a graphical achievement, and the first game Factor 5 has developed on PS3, and that the console is not even one year old, it does speak volumes of Factor 5 skills and effort.
And to be fair, the final game could be bad as you say in the opinions of some reviewers, but bad usually means an unplayable game, it is only when you actually play the game, learn its controls, and play several missions will you find out whether the game is bad or not as per you opinion.
Finally, I also read Play US magazine's Sonic review and fully understood that it was the reviewers opinion (Dave Halverson) that he based his score on, Dave did not review Lair, it was some other guy.
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