So yeah, Sony's a bit "upset" about all the poor reviews Lair is getting - so they're sending people "Lair Reviewer's Guides."
Teehee... silly Sony.
OH. MY. GOD. You're joking. That is sad. Is that like the first of it's kind? Has this ever been done before?
It's not just the controls from what I've seen. Watch the review at gametrailers.com and they show some bugs and glitches. Bad controls just have the most impact, obviously.
OH. MY. GOD. You're joking. That is sad. Is that like the first of it's kind? Has this ever been done before?
Dennis Dyack of that other game did it, but he was complaining about bad reviews for his demo. I forget the game.
I think this may be the first time it's done for a fully released game. Go Sony!
This is hilarious.
All I have to say is "options". Gamers want them. It's ridiculous that they are trying to force us to accept a new form of control - the Sixaxis gimmick - and since they did, at least give the option to use the standard analong control scheme.
Didn't the producer of Shadowrun do something similar? I seem to remember him going on constant rants about the review scores when the game came out.
Granted the Shadowrun devs did get very defensive about the content/price ratio debates. This Lair thing is a whole new level of fun with Sony providing guide books on how a reviewer should play a game to review it. This could be a whole new market opportunity for Prima Guides and Bradygames. 
Did this guide hit the internet yet? I'd like to read it.
That video in the link is pretty bad. The way the player is using the controller is so slow and the dragon remains unresponsive for two seconds. Shouldn't it be like an analog stick--slow movement of the controller for slow responses and visa versa? It doesn't look like you can do that.
This is hilarious.
One poor guy at work bought and defends Lair. He's completely entitled to enjoy what he spent his hard earned dollars on but we make sure he hears all the funny Lair news by him, like cursed development and 4.9 review scores.
Truth is, he bought into the hype and though he defends the game, I don't think he'll get his $60 worth out of it before the next big thing comes along.
yeah! what a dumb-ass for liking a game with bad review scores!
way to stick it to him!
Our ribbing has the same nature as the guy who likes a crappy sports team gets and I thought that was pretty clear.
Easy there, guys. - Certis
All I have to say is "options". Gamers want them. It's ridiculous that they are trying to force us to accept a new form of control - the Sixaxis gimmick - and since they did, at least give the option to use the standard analong control scheme.
Agree... but I think Lair will do fine. Since the "play-test-focus-group" will buy the game... it's not like they had any problems with the controls(According to Developers)... so I'm sure they will pick it up. Although, they were not Hardcore gamers... which probably mean they will not be rushing out to get a PS3. Hmm... nope, game is DOA!
I forget the game.
That would be Too Human.
My bad.
I'd buy Lair for kittens! 
I'd buy a PS3 for the kittens, but then you need to feed them, 72 cats a day is a LOT. And imagine the kitty litter!
*on-topic* If professional reviewers are doing it 'wrong' then how will gamers get it 'right?' This problem is suggestive of an unnecessarily arcane design. Sony really should just drop this sixaxis trash, even the name is stupid.
Look what you people made me do:
(01:00:00 AM) Lobo: Have I told
(01:00:02 AM) Lobo: you lately
(01:00:06 AM) Lobo: that I love you?
(01:01:10 AM) Certis: Oh Lobo, you walk out that door and months later, show up with the same old lines.
(01:01:53 AM) Certis: You'd better have flowers
(01:02:09 AM) Lobo: Every dream I dream, is you somehow
(01:02:48 AM) Certis: Yikes.
Is there room in the world for my shame?
Is there room in the world for my shame?
We made you love him? We didn't want to do it.
Is that like the first of it's kind?
It's not that unsual for a developer or a publisher to include hints at how to play the game or what one should pay attention, too. And in some cases it's actually understandable, because if you don't have a game that's really hyped, your review copy is not unlikely to get passed to some freelancer, who has no real interest in the game to begin with. (Unlike a game like let's say BioShock, where everyone in the staff will be fighting over it.) A high-quality guide like Lair's - that probably doesn't happen too often though...
This is hilarious, I really can't believe that Sony did this, I am not a big fan of the limited control scheme they offer in Lair, even though I haven't played it I wish they would have included both types one with the motion control and one with analog sticks like Warhawk did, but I am really surprised that anyone though that Lair would be anything special.
What I'd like to know is if Sony would send the same guide to all the purchasers of the game, not just the reviewers. If the reviewer were to give an accurate recommendation on the game, he/she would have to assume the position of the general gamer. If you're not going to get the guide when you purchase it, I think the guide is moot when it comes to the review process.
It really seems Sony is scrambling to try and heal the public perception of the game since most sites are giving Lair poor to mediocre reviews.
As a sidenote, 1Up.com had the possibility of having the exclusive review of the game, but decided not to when the developer kept calling and asking them what their score would be before they had even sent them a review copy.
Didn't the producer of Shadowrun do something similar? I seem to remember him going on constant rants about the review scores when the game came out.
Yeah but this is new Sony fodder so people feed on it. I'm right on board with those saying it was a dumb thing to hand reviewers a play guide because Factor 5's design choices force you to play the game in an artificially ineffective manner but this type of thing happens all the time. Many designers have come out and blamed bad reviews (and even community opinion) on the fact that the players "don't get it" and sending out "reviewer guides" and play suggestions is a very common PR practice in this industry. PR companies are paid to ensure that everything possible is done to ensure their games get the highest scores possible and that is not at all limited to trying to influence the reviewers. And if this game had gotten good reviews, I don't think we'd even be hearing about this.
As a sidenote, 1Up.com had the possibility of having the exclusive review of the game, but decided not to when the developer kept calling and asking them what their score would be before they had even sent them a review copy.
When did that come up? They didn't mention it on their podcasts this week and in fact, EGM Live had a pleasant conversation with the President of Factor 5, talking about the scores and why they ended up where they did. Did they write an article about that?
When did that come up? They didn't mention it on their podcasts this week and in fact, EGM Live had a pleasant conversation with the President of Factor 5, talking about the scores and why they ended up where they did. Did they write an article about that?
It was on one of the podcasts I listened to this week. Don't hold me to it, but I believe it was this weeks cheap ass gamer podcast. And now that I think about it, I think it was the PR department, not the developer himself.
Wonder if they'll include an "enjoyment guide" in the collectors edition?
If Elysium had just received a "How to play Vanguard and have fun (while avoiding bugs and missing content) manual, I bet his perspective would have been totally different.
I got to play this while I was at Wizard World and thought the controls were horrible, also the combat just seemed kind of wonky. I guess Sony should have supplied a guide for the demo as well.
NomadHeretic wrote:Didn't the producer of Shadowrun do something similar? I seem to remember him going on constant rants about the review scores when the game came out.
Yeah but this is new Sony fodder so people feed on it. I'm right on board with those saying it was a dumb thing to hand reviewers a play guide because Factor 5's design choices force you to play the game in an artificially ineffective manner but this type of thing happens all the time. Many designers have come out and blamed bad reviews (and even community opinion) on the fact that the players "don't get it" and sending out "reviewer guides" and play suggestions is a very common PR practice in this industry. PR companies are paid to ensure that everything possible is done to ensure their games get the highest scores possible and that is not at all limited to trying to influence the reviewers. And if this game had gotten good reviews, I don't think we'd even be hearing about this.
If this game had gotten good reviews, then they wouldn't have sent the guides out. The hilarity in this stems from the fact that they sent the guides out after getting the bad reviews to see if they could get some retractions. But the need for the guide only cements what the reviewers said in the first place.
Of course, the reason Sony is so amped up about this game is that this was supposed to be one of their system sellers, and has now become an example of why the PS3 is still a failure.
And yes, I miss the Sony Haterade thread.
I looked at Lair as a potential system seller too. A friend was showing me videos and they looked great. I mean, how can you screw up dragon riding and burnination and grabbing massive animals and tossing them into huge armies? Well Factor 5 put on a clinic.
My friend demonstrated the game for me on a PS3 at work. Since it was the first time that console had seen the game, it didnt let him skip ANY cutscenes, so about 10 of our 15 minute break was spent waiting for the cutscenes to finish so I could see the game. What followed was a boring tutorial on how to fly through rings (not skippable) and a couple minutes of destroying a fleet of identical, stationary ships. That basically involved flying at a ship, spamming one button, and repeating a dozen times. Whee.
I should thank Lair for keeping me from spending $600 that are better spent on booze and food and rent and 360 games.
What followed was a boring tutorial on how to fly through rings (not skippable) and a couple minutes of destroying a fleet of identical, stationary ships. That basically involved flying at a ship, spamming one button, and repeating a dozen times. Whee.
It's Superman 64 2! 
With DRAGONS!
Do we get to fight a Tornado as the final boss too, cause that was pure awesome sauce on Superman 64.
Do we get to fight a Tornado as the final boss too, cause that was pure awesome sauce on Superman 64.
Wasn't that Superman Returns, not 64?
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