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One of the things necessary for SONY to succeed in the ever
competitive console wars is to provide PLAYSTATION3 gamers, and
prospective buyers, with unique, exclusive games. One of the best
examples of this we’ve seen so far is Lair. Developed by
Factor5, creators of the Star Wars:
 Rogue
Squadron series for Nintendo consoles, Lair places
players in control of a Burners Knight, a human warrior in control
of a dragon. As you might expect, a large of gameplay takes place
astride a large flying fire-breathing lizard as you fight against
enemy armies and other mythological creatures. Featuring a
combination of aerial and ground based combat; Lair’s most
unique feature is that all control is done via the SIXAXIS’
motion-sensing capabilities, effectively meaning that the entire
game could be played with just one hand.
The level on display at the 3Rooms centred around a bridge in which
an epic battle was taking place between two armies, of which one you
were allied. Broken-up into several smaller missions, similar to the
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series, the player’s ultimate goal
was to help the allied army achieve victory, primarily by destroying
the attacking mythological beasts that were proving a little too
much for the puny humans. The first of these were enemy dragons,
which could be battled via dog fighting them in the air. The game
utilises an Auto Lock-On to acquire enemies, using fireballs
activated via the Square Button to dispatch them. The system worked
more-or-less without any problems, with the L and R Buttons used to
switch between targets. Flying is handled via motion-sensing with
simple gestures initiating changes in the flight path. Although this
control isn’t as precise as that found in say, a Plane Flight
Simulation using traditional Analogue control, the slightly-delayed
movement suits the unorthodox nature of your steed much better and
since it in no way disadvantages the player, the experience is
better for it. The aerial combat is immediately accessible and
thoroughly enjoyable throughout, although the appearance of a view
invisible walls does distract somewhat, hopefully they are just a
side-effect of an unfinished product.
The next adversaries were Taurus, really big bulls for those not in
the know, which were charging along the bridge, quickly destroying
resistance. Although these could be dispatched from the air, this
did seem an opportune moment to check out the ground based features.
Landing and take-off were easy to execute via a Context Sensitive
Button and a similar Auto
 Lock-On
system was used, although ground combat was significantly less
refined than the previous aerial movement. The bulls were also
unexpectedly easy to kill, despite their size, as were enemy troops,
although not many people can resist a ten metre flame! This did
highlight a surprisingly forgiving learning curve, although this is
likely just a feature of the demonstration. After these enemies it
was back into the air for some more dragon slaying to finish the
Mission.
Unlike some of Factor5’s previous titles, Lair didn’t seem
particularly pretty, although easily on par with most of the
Xbox360’s first year offerings, and it will likely be polished
before release. Despite this, Factor5 promise extensive use of the
Cell Processor, with many Real-Time lighting and physics effects.
At the moment Lair is visibly unfinished. However, even at
this stage, there is a lot of apparent potential, a word fans of the
PLAYSTATION3 will likely be becoming increasingly familiar with, and
alongside
MotorStorm, represents some of the best ammunition SONY have
against the Redmond giant’s big white box. |
