Lair has been one of the highest profile PS3 games for a long time now. The anticipation behind it is quite staggering, yet information on the game isn't as abundant as we wish it would be. Only recently has Sony began to show the game off, and last night I finally got a chance to play it. To be honest, I walked away a little confused. My biggest qualm with the game is that it relies solely on the SixAxis's motion capabilities in order to control the direction of your dragon. Allegedly the reasoning behind this is so that you can concentrate on the action.
I think it's safe to say we've all played games that required us to move and shoot simultaneously, so I'm certain that we'd all be capable of concentrating on the action if the game allowed us to use the analog sticks for control. It takes some time getting use to the flight controls with the Sixaxis, and after a while I still couldn't get the hang of it. The combat was quite confusing, seeing as how I was actually distracted with the motion controls - so it looks like limiting the game's controls to only motion sensitivity is a detriment to concentration. Very frustrating, and I don't see the point of alienating a whole bunch of people who don't like the Sixaxis's motion sensitivity.
Visually, it's as expected, the game looks splendid. Amazing water details and superb environmental textures make Lair a visual powerhouse. On top of that, the details on the dragons were quite nice and so were the special effects. The framerate was pretty consistent, as I don't recall any hicups or slow-down.
My honest advice is to wait until the release of Lair and see how well it scores before dropping your money down. If you're the type of gamer who is easily able to adjust to controlling the Sixaxis's motion sensitivity (Ridge Racer, Motorstorm, etc.), then you should be fine. If not, then you're definitely not going to enjoy Lair.
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