Lair

Upon its American release, back in August, Sony's anticipated flappy dragon epic Lair received the sort of critical reception best described as a "drubbing". Much was said about the decision to use the Sixaxis motion sensor for control, with no option for traditional analogue stick control, and most of what was said was very bad indeed. Sony retaliated by sending out a "reviewers guide" to unimpressed journalists, explaining how to review the game, while Factor 5's Julian Eggebrecht rather patronisingly implored them to "open your mind and hands for something very different!"

"Lair is definitely a stupendous game with astonishing gameplay, beautiful graphics, and a soothing soundtrack. The only thing that dents Lair from becoming all that it potentially could have been is definitely the temperate replayability that arises from the linear gameplay. Despite all these issues, the game inculcates a sense of visceral excitement to anyone who gets his/her hands on it."

"One of the cool things about the ground armies is that the game plays out these battles in something of an internal RTS engine. The two armies fight independently of your control and the outcome isn't set in stone, so sometimes unintended things will happen. This means that you won't always know whether or not your army will be able to hold off the enemy and you'll have to swoop down and take out a few soldiers of your own to sway the battle back in your favor."

"At one point, Lair looked like one of the most promising titles coming to the PS3, but the final version -- even with its interesting story, occasionally impressive graphics and amazing score -- falls well short of anything you should be playing."

"This game is clever, but not well thought out. Unfortunately its problems do tip the scales. But the biggest problem, the controls, can be dealt with by persistence and practice. If you do overlook the problems the game works out very well in respect to an action game with some amazing graphics. Also there is plenty of replay value with medals to be collected, which unlocks new moves or bonus content."