Lair

 PlayStation 3
  • Publisher: SCEA
  • Release Date: Aug 30, 2007
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 249 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 135 out of 249
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 249
  3. Negative: 84 out of 249
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  1. AnthonyL
    Aug 3, 2009
    7
    okay - I didn't let the reviews scare me off this one, and yes there are truth in the reviews but there is alot to be seen in LAIR. Lair performs very well in the sound department with effects and composed music, and graphics. The controls are however mostly unresponsive but nothing that becomes inpossible to play. IF a little more attnetion was put towards the gameplay this couldokay - I didn't let the reviews scare me off this one, and yes there are truth in the reviews but there is alot to be seen in LAIR. Lair performs very well in the sound department with effects and composed music, and graphics. The controls are however mostly unresponsive but nothing that becomes inpossible to play. IF a little more attnetion was put towards the gameplay this could have been much better, but nevertheless a decent playthrough.… Expand
  2. JakeS.
    Aug 31, 2007
    5
    Oh wow. My uncle, who is big into dragons, picked this up yesterday. We played it last night. The game really is awful. My uncle's disappointment was very evident. I thought he was about to cry. It is just crazy how a game with so much going for it could suffer from such tremendous gameplay flaws. You get furious just playing it. I played it last night and read the IGN review this Oh wow. My uncle, who is big into dragons, picked this up yesterday. We played it last night. The game really is awful. My uncle's disappointment was very evident. I thought he was about to cry. It is just crazy how a game with so much going for it could suffer from such tremendous gameplay flaws. You get furious just playing it. I played it last night and read the IGN review this morning and it is right on. The game is just unbelievably bad. It should have been delayed until 2008 for sure.… Expand
  3. JasonA.
    Sep 1, 2007
    7
    The only reason this game is getting bad reviews is because the reviewers suck at playing games, at least this one. The controls were cool, did they take time to get used to, YES! But all the complains, I could not see. I got good response and here's a hint....use the breaks! Also....huge dragons cannot make a G9 turn! This isn't a friggin F-18. Visually, Lair is the showcase of The only reason this game is getting bad reviews is because the reviewers suck at playing games, at least this one. The controls were cool, did they take time to get used to, YES! But all the complains, I could not see. I got good response and here's a hint....use the breaks! Also....huge dragons cannot make a G9 turn! This isn't a friggin F-18. Visually, Lair is the showcase of the PS3 to date. I have all the consoles, I'm no Fanboy of anything, so givin the goods here. This is a fun game, that tried something new, and for the most part pulled it off.… Expand
  4. ibeetle
    Sep 2, 2007
    7
    At least it does not have a number after it. An original game. Not a party game or game for the causal gamer. A game for adults. Some say it moves slow. When was the last time you saw a fast moving nibble dragon? Lair is meant to be played on a big screen in high definition. Unfortunately, that is also its downfall. Slow is one thing, but choppy is almost inexcusable. And on a 36 inch At least it does not have a number after it. An original game. Not a party game or game for the causal gamer. A game for adults. Some say it moves slow. When was the last time you saw a fast moving nibble dragon? Lair is meant to be played on a big screen in high definition. Unfortunately, that is also its downfall. Slow is one thing, but choppy is almost inexcusable. And on a 36 inch high resolution with a maximum resolution output of 1080p the choppy frame rate is only magnified. In the end this game looks and plays more like a extended demo; than a A rated launch title. It is almost like... o.k. this was all really cool and everything. Now lets play the real game. There is nothing wrong with the core of this game. It just looks like the company bit off more than they could chew and ran out of development money. Or maybe they were trying to hard to impress; doing to much in a game consoles early history. In the end Lair is a bit of a disappointment. However, I cannot wait for Lair 2. That would be one game with a number after it I would not mind playing.… Expand
  5. ShaunC.
    Oct 14, 2007
    6
    It's slightly confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, LAIR can be quite fun....but I understand a lot of the frustration with it.
  6. JoeyK.
    Nov 14, 2007
    6
    Seriously not as bad as people said. The sixaxis controls in general really aren't that bad, although unnecessary. It's really only the 180 turn that's a big problem. The targeting was the biggest flaw, IMO. You can't choose what you target, the game sucks at choosing, and it's kind of hard to tell what is targeted. What ruins the game, though, the thing that Seriously not as bad as people said. The sixaxis controls in general really aren't that bad, although unnecessary. It's really only the 180 turn that's a big problem. The targeting was the biggest flaw, IMO. You can't choose what you target, the game sucks at choosing, and it's kind of hard to tell what is targeted. What ruins the game, though, the thing that throws the other flaws into sharp relief, are the objectives. They're often vague, and you need to figure out what you need to do. And then they're difficult to execute because they give you too many things to worry about at once. And just when you think you can manage it, the control and targeting problems screw you over. The story, the graphics, the basic gameplay and visceral satisfaction of blowing up a boat with a giant fireball are all good. There's just a big series of fundamental flaws in the game.… Expand
  7. BrianL.
    Dec 15, 2007
    5
    Game controls absolutely SUCK. The developer tried to make this fast pase game and they did except the controls couldn't keep up they're clunky... lets say you've taken cover behind a wall or piller the enemy flanks you, and you see the AI and your like TURN damit TURN so you can shoot him NOPE back is glued to the wall and everytime you try and zoom in and shoot the game Game controls absolutely SUCK. The developer tried to make this fast pase game and they did except the controls couldn't keep up they're clunky... lets say you've taken cover behind a wall or piller the enemy flanks you, and you see the AI and your like TURN damit TURN so you can shoot him NOPE back is glued to the wall and everytime you try and zoom in and shoot the game ASSUME you mean shoot around the piller or shout over the wall. What you really want is to shoot the guy thats flanked you. Picking up ammo... when you've killed a guy they drop ammo ammo and "treasure" sparkle when they are in your field of view no problem, but they only sparkle often enough so when your running and gunning and you need ammo you run to the sparkly item and you expect to auto pick bullets for you guns... NOPE you gotta press triangle... and you literally have to right on top of the item to pick it up if you run over item by a few steps you have to back peddle. This does not work when your in a fire fight.… Expand
  8. ArkonBlade
    Oct 7, 2010
    6
    thankfully i did not get this game at its release . mainlly because it too short you can beat it in just 5 hours . i did wait and got it for 24.99 2 years ago but stll feel i paid to much for it . i think $15 or less is more its actaul price. the game graphically looks great the story is eh so so . the controls if you play with six axis are complete ass ... BUT there is a patch you canthankfully i did not get this game at its release . mainlly because it too short you can beat it in just 5 hours . i did wait and got it for 24.99 2 years ago but stll feel i paid to much for it . i think $15 or less is more its actaul price. the game graphically looks great the story is eh so so . the controls if you play with six axis are complete ass ... BUT there is a patch you can download in the PSN store for free that lets you use the anolog sticks instead of six axis which makes the controls much much better. this game feels kinda cool at times but just not near cool enough .… Expand
  9. aspentitan
    May 29, 2021
    5
    Lair is a game that will mostly only be liked by those who want to role play a dragon and that's about it. After reading many reviews and actually trying the game I have to say that the game has some issues to say the least. Let's first start with motion controls. I personally am not a big fan. I am especially not a big fan of new technologies when they first come out and this game is aLair is a game that will mostly only be liked by those who want to role play a dragon and that's about it. After reading many reviews and actually trying the game I have to say that the game has some issues to say the least. Let's first start with motion controls. I personally am not a big fan. I am especially not a big fan of new technologies when they first come out and this game is a prime example. It's obvious too much of the development time went into the sixaxis controls (and not the gameplay) and while arguably usable they add more frustration than immersion in my opinion. It was really risky taking on Wii as this isn't the console accustomed to motion controls and you can guess the game got punished for not adhering to standard controls. Pretty much as I would expect even if they did work well. Controls are usable but the game is not fun. They later patched the gameplay to not require motion control but this was a bit weird cuz the gameplay is still pretty uninvolving, and on top of that was designed around using the motion controls. (That was the game). The next thing I want to bring up is gameplay and I pretty much already described it....not much there and very basic. The games environments aren't too shabby and the sound is far above average nearing excellence. I think the hope of this game was to make a Wii game on the system and hit a home run with better graphics and awesome sound that the Wii couldn't compete with. In the end I think they miscalculated that a dragon would be balls out but in the end the game is rather short, uninspired and at best something a few teens would think is the best thing on this planet. I'm not surprised whatsoever by the reaction this game received. Tech demos aren't wise investments unless they improve something and in this case the gameplay even with standard controls is far below inspiring people to play it.… Expand
  10. BaronMonaco
    Dec 22, 2016
    6
    This review is based on the updated controls (with the joysticks and not the motion controls). Lair was one of the first exclusives games for the PS3, did it meet with the expectations that came along ?

    Technically the game is alright even if the graphics are not gorgeous (outside the cinematics) it managed to have a steady framerate even with lots of characters at the screen, but as    This review is based on the updated controls (with the joysticks and not the motion controls). Lair was one of the first exclusives games for the PS3, did it meet with the expectations that came along ?

    Technically the game is alright even if the graphics are not gorgeous (outside the cinematics) it managed to have a steady framerate even with lots of characters at the screen, but as previously stated the motion controls were a total mess and it totally killed the game (and by consequences the studio) and I strongly recommend to not even try them.

    Concerning the gameplay even with the update it stills not very smooth with various camera issues and a repetitive game design. At the end the game is just an air-fight simulator with a fantastic setting, it could have been the source of many innovations for the genre (and there's some like the ground fighting or the melee air fights) and not a re-hash of the same missions over and over.

    The story is very classic and poorly written, nobody should be surprised by the different twists, and it's not helped by the bad voice over. To finish the game you can expect approximately 6 hours to finish the game, which is way too short for a game solo only.

    In conclusion Lair is the result of various strategic errors (controls, level design, length) that flawed the game, for its current price tag I may advise the game to players that love air-simulator (because of the lack of competition), but if it's not one of your favorite genre, skip this game.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

89
#89 Best PS3 Game of 2007
8
#8 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2007
13
#13 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 55 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 55
  3. Negative: 17 out of 55
  1. Play Magazine
    90
    Lair has come together beautifully... With its stunning visuals and incredible soundtrack, Lair may well be the single most powerful experience that a man can share with his $5,000 home theatre system. [Aug 2007, p.64]
  2. GamePro
    75
    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 be warranted. [Sep 2007, p.79]
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  3. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    55
    Don't buy it if you want a dragon that does what it's told. [Sept 2007, p.82]
See all critic reviews »