1. I do remember reading about MGS4 having two control scheme, one for Japan and the other for Westerners. This may be related to how Japanese gamers are more used to complicated controls.

Posted at 6:11PM on Oct 4th 2007 by ruibing

2. It'll be forever remembered as a joke (Lair is already an internet meme) but I still enjoy the game.

Posted at 6:24PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Deviation

3. @Deviation

Or maybe it won't. Maybe a push from the Japanese markets will give this game a cult following, like so many poorly rated, and under-viewed, movies.

Posted at 6:42PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Wonderflex

4. Lair had hope, but has failed beyond recognition.

Posted at 6:43PM on Oct 4th 2007 by YourSlay3r

5. Just because many American gamers don't like a game doesn't mean the rest of the world will feel the same way. Last time I checked America was one of the many gaming nations in this world. Our opinion is just ours and no one else’s.

Posted at 6:48PM on Oct 4th 2007 by borgman1

6. I guess they got their reviewer's guide much earlier. Must have helped. Though I must say, I love the game and the controls.

*****

Michael C. Sherrin
http://www.prodigeek.com/

Posted at 6:53PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Michael C. Sherrin

7. I loved LAIR and I'm not Japanese and live in America.

Posted at 6:54PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Matt B

8. i also really liked Lair, and beat it.

the game isn't as frustrating or hard after the infamous, "protect civilians, destroy warbeasts, kill rhinos, fight dragons, destroy boats, kill troops, break dam," mission about five or so levels in.

the missions after that one were a cakewalk. by the time i finished all 14 or 15 missions, i was a fricking dragon-riding pro. when i go back and play the game now, it's much, *MUCH easier (except for that crappy mission mentioned above; it's still a bitch, and just poorly conceived and designed).

i *LIKE the simple controls of moving the dragon, but i don't see why they wouldn't give us the option for analog controls. i keep on hoping that they'll release a patch and let me control the dragon with the analog sticks.

in either case, patient people will enjoy Lair. it's unfortunate that it has to be that way, but it's only a bomb in relation to the *INTERNET. reviewers nowadays seem to think that their opinion is the only one that matters, hence why Lair is being almost universally panned by people who haven't even put their *HANDS on the game, let alone played it.

sheep, basically. people are sheep sometimes.

some of the haters need to get their hands on these games themselves, and make up their own damn minds before passing judgment.

Posted at 7:28PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Figboy

9. i guess people still dont understand the dragon wasnt supposed to handle like an F22 raptor. flailing your arms like an idiot is not the way to play. yes the targeting system and locating enemies needed help but a patch can fix that.

Posted at 7:35PM on Oct 4th 2007 by MYPS3KilledMy360

10. I wonder if they can do a downloadable update for the game that will give users an option to use analog controls instead.. That would be nice.

Posted at 7:53PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Bryant

11. They probably enjoyed Lair because there isn't rabid anti-sony bias tainting their view of anything non-MS. Heavenly Sword gets bashed for being short, but how long is Halo 3? The single player campaign is even shorter!

Posted at 8:16PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Brian Spence

12. Lair is a good game, if you use the controls properly...

Posted at 8:16PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Random1448

13. Lair wasn't terrible, but it wasn't as good as it really should have been. Were it a title that came out of nowhere, it probably would have been more well received. With the hype, marketing and general buzz behind it though; it's disappointment was worse than anything.
I personally like the controls for it. The general gameplay was what I thought needed more work. It was just far too hard to figure out what the hell was going on 90% of the time in my opinion, and that was what really hindered it for me. Chaotic battle, cool. A complete mess with you in the middle? Not so much.

Posted at 8:26PM on Oct 4th 2007 by mccomber

14. I totally get their creative vision of motion-control-only. Games often seem too mechanical and it breaks the immersion factor. I totally agree with them having no radar too. That's something that bugs me a lot in games. I often find myself staring at a minimap more than the game environment. One of the things I really enjoyed about older MMORPG's was the lack of maps, you'd have to actually use visual cues to determine where you were and where you were going. It had a more immersive feel, especially for an RPG. And discovering areas was a heck of a lot more fun than just "going to this side of the map."

Take Diablo 2 for example. The map system was great. Too good actually. Sometimes I would force myself to turn it off just to see what the environment actually looked like, but that never lasted long because it gave such an advantage to just use the map all the time. It was something I both revered and detested at the same time. Playing a game staring at little blips on a 2D overhead map... I might as well go back to Atari.

Posted at 8:43PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Larz

15. Lair is nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be. To be honest, I enjoyed Lair more than Warhawk. That is my opinion and I prefer single player games. I found the controls very intuitive and I fell in love with them.

Posted at 10:32PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Akamaru

16. They love it because they tend to welcome new idea better than most Americans. I am American and I love Lair. I think most of the hate Lair has gotten is from reviewers who are resistant to change and gamers that just love to jump on the hate bandwagon.

Posted at 10:33PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Ray

17. EPIC + Fantasy Game + Lot of action on screen + great graphics + super music score + innovative story line + full SIXAXIS use = LAIR.

I love this game !

Posted at 11:09PM on Oct 4th 2007 by Pepito

18. if you notice the only thing people bitched about was "controls" over all the game was good. So thats telling me if they fixed the controls the game is good. From what the magz and site are tellingme when i read the reviews. Anyways this game was not that bad.

Posted at 11:10PM on Oct 4th 2007 by NastyN8

19. spot on figboy.

i'm joinin the lair-love posse right here too.

really good game, i'm no ace gamer and i'm breezing thru the missions at the mo.

it's got a few flaws but from no angle is this game worth any less than an 8 for me.

Posted at 2:42AM on Oct 5th 2007 by dp

20. Well here is a thought: The Japanese gaming media loves the PS3 and hates the 360. The US gaming media hates the PS3 and loves the 360. The US gaming media trashes Lair, and the Japanese gaming media loves Lair.
Is it really a surprise?

I enjoyed Lair, even with it's faults. You know what they say, "the truth usual lies somewhere in the middle." And in this case I think that is probably pretty accurate.

Posted at 4:03AM on Oct 5th 2007 by Nick