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Sony Releases PS3 Lair Reviewer's Guide

After the media lashing Lair received last week, Sony seems to think reviewers could use some help coming to grips with the motion-controlled dragon game. A "Lair Reviewer's Guide" just arrived in our mailbox, and is chock full of helpful information that Sony hopes will give critics a better understanding of how the game should be played.

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MK_Red - contributor
Published: 841 days 4 hours ago | News | PlayStation 3

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MK_Red - 841 days 4 hours ago

1 -

Well, since virtually every site and magazine has reviewed Lair, I think it was a bit late for Sony to do send the reviewer's guide.

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sticky doja - 841 days 4 hours ago

1.1 - lol

I came in here to say just that. The got that book out just a little late.

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ISay - 841 days 3 hours ago

1.2 -

people are starting to forget that controls are just one of a series of problems that litter this game. frame rate, dragon battles, unclear mission objectives, cut scenes that interrupt game play. once you play through the fist 6 levels the controls become more intuitive but the other stuff is unforgivable for a next gen game especially a flag ship ps3 title, i returned it after 3 days, right now war hawk is doin the best it can to keep my ps3 busy

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Lord Anubis - 841 days 3 hours ago

1.3 -

the reviewers guide should contain pop up pictures.

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Jenzo - 841 days 2 hours ago

1.4 -

A bit pathetic as well...Wtf are they doing??

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bennyace - 840 days 20 hours ago

1.5 - reviwer's guide ????

Wow, the controles must really be intuitive !!! yeah!...right.

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i Shank u - 840 days 8 hours ago

1.6 - big LOL

if you feel the need to send out a guide for reviewing a game, how much faith then do you have in said game? never heard of this before

found this quote interesting "A forward written by the President of developer Factor 5, Julian Eggebrecht, reads, "Open your mind and hands for something very different!"....Eggebrecht recently theorized that game journalists are generally hardcore gamers who simply don't like motion controls."
does eggebrecht read other reviews where games motion control was praised? didnt twilight princess and resident evil for wii get great reviews? it sounds like he doesnt want to have an open mind to the possibility of his game sucking : o

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RadientFlux - 841 days 4 hours ago

2 -

amusing... nice looking cover, it looks like Sony didn't skip out on the printing costs

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The Round Peg - 841 days 4 hours ago

3 -

Do gamers who have troubles with the control get that "guide" too?

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MK_Red - 841 days 4 hours ago

3.1 -

Good point. Sony said the other day that "consumers matter, not critics" and yet the critics are getting the love here.

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power of Green - 841 days 4 hours ago

4 -

Gamers will figure out the best way to play games they always have Most reviewers jobs are to understand what the devs vision is/was and what the public might like; they still told it the way they seen it.

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The Round Peg - 841 days 4 hours ago

4.1 -

Critics are gamers too.

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Jenzo - 841 days 2 hours ago

4.2 -

Critics are usually hardcore gamers that play and have played a wide variety of titles. Lots of experience. It's easy to forget sometimes.

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Infernus - 840 days 22 hours ago

4.3 - Critics are gamers...

...yeah but they're gamers with a time constraint on the game and the requirement to get the review done for a certain date.

It's not really the same as owning the game and being able to put a hell of a lot more time into it and truly understanding how it plays.

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Razzy - 841 days 4 hours ago

5 - Would a patch fix the control problems?

Pehaps Factor 5 could go back to the drawing board with the controls? I'd rather control with the sticks myself.

Anyways, with the crappy reviews its been getting its a must NOT buy for me.

EDIT: Dunno what PoG (Pile of Garbage) said above or below me but I can just imagine the fanboy drivel. Thank god for the ignore option. :)

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blackmagic - 841 days 1 hour ago

5.1 -

Actually, his comment was really quite reasonable. You should actually read people's comments before you make retarded comments like this, even fanboys occasionally say something worth reading.

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cartman313 - 840 days 23 hours ago

5.2 -

Yeah, his comment wasn't bad at all. (Weird I actually agree with him...)

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Razzy - 840 days 12 hours ago

5.3 - My apologies

Well then I apologize to PoG. I'm so used to seeing his PS3 bashing comments that I just assumed.

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power of Green - 841 days 4 hours ago

6 - &

&

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okcomputer - 841 days 3 hours ago

7 -

I'll wait for a demo to see if its really as bad as the reviews say it is. But at the same time, I'm kind of sick of the excuses, first from factor 5 and now from Sony itself. Can't they just man up and admit the reviews say it stinks and then release a demo so we can all see for ourselves? Do they have to constantly question the reviewers themselves and say they aren't playing the game right? Seems pretty lame to me.

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ISay - 841 days 3 hours ago

7.1 -

its a business like any other medium they know their game sucks but they have to sell it and if i worked for Sony or any of us for that matter we would be sealing lair at whatever street corner we could find

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Violater - 841 days 3 hours ago

7.2 - Please see

http://n4g.com/ps3/News-658...
"Consumers matter not critics."

Fact is the game is being bought, not nearly as much as they would like but bought none the less.
I personally think the game is a 6-7/10 title, which could have done worst.
Had it been released at launch I think it would have done better, but the hype snowball has damaged it along with many other Exclusive titles.
Have no fear though, if you look at what game republic has done with Folklore after Genji I say things could look up on their next try.

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_insane_cobra - 841 days 3 hours ago

8 -

This is ridiculous.

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tplarkin7 - 841 days 3 hours ago

9 - They could have just sent a score.

The "how to review Lair guide" could have just said, "10/10"

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johnnywit - 841 days 3 hours ago

9.1 -

that's true tplarkin. I was asking myself when I saw this, has any other company ever sent out a guide to help reviewers to review a game? If the reviewers were confused by the controls it seems they could have always picked up the manual for help. Right?

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tplarkin7 - 841 days 3 hours ago

9.2 - Right!

The instruction manual should have explained the controls. Or how about an in-game tutorial? This is the first console game to use Sixaxis (without an option to use the thumbsticks). I guess reviewers are a little slow, so they get an extra guide!

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BulletToothtony - 841 days 3 hours ago

10 - you see that guy

that is the reason why reviews are weird sometimes.. they're made by a 13 y/o boy? i think that the ps3 make reviewers think they should be judging every spec and pause the game every 3 seconds to find crap.. they contradict themselves so much in 90% of ps3 reviews it's just sad

i still believe that if bioshock would've been a ps3 exclusive it would not have gotten anything above a 9.2, it would've been mostly 8's, i'm not saying bioshock is bad, or that lair is good, i'm saying that if bioshock would've been on ps3, reviewers would've looked at it differently, i'm know lair is not a 9 or even an 8, but to give it a 1.5/5 making it a 3 out of 10 it's also not right .. i think a 6 or 7 would've been fair..

just because the title didn't live up to the hype doesn't make it crap.. i'm still people will still enjoy it and learn the controllers and have fun.. but that doesn't seem to be the case if it's a ps3 title... it has to be flawless just to get an 8 or 9..

i bet you that killzone2 won't even get 2 10's, even thou the AI will be good, most reviewrs already have in their mind that the AI sucks and they'll stick to that.. even if only ONE helghast doesn't do a perfect job they say the AI sucks..

in killzone1 the helghast was NOT that bad, and everyone said it was the worst, all enemies took cover and it was hard to kill them.. up to this day i dunno why most reviewers said the AI sucked so much when it really didn't..

oh well, bottom line, as long as i enjoy the games i'll keep ignoring the unfair reviews that the ps3 gets

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Jdoki - 841 days 3 hours ago

10.1 -

You make a good point there - perhaps the weight of expectation that Sony has created around the PS3 is causing reviewers to take a harder line against the games.

Or maybe some PS3 games are just not delivering regardless of the hype.

One thing is for sure... Reviewers shouldn't be receiving 'How to...' guides on reviewing a particular game. That just smacks of desperation on the part of Sony and the Devs.

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Ju - 841 days 3 hours ago

10.2 -

Double standards are pretty obvious to me. Look at e.g. Warhawk. One of the best multiplayer experiences. Should be straight out int the 9-10 range, but was pretty rejected by a lot of magazines. Now, after the release this looks total different, IMO. Everybody seems to praise Warhawk (which it deserves, BTW).

OTHO, I still believe, F5 shouldn't be so defensive about Lair and simply fix it with a patch. I don't think its that bad what people report generally (e.g. frame rate issue ?), but a simply extended control schema would already improve the game play value, e.g. lock on with "x", 180dgr turns with "^", clear target markers (rage mode isn't to helpfull) - but a bit better aim, a static compass at the bottom of the screen (which actually shows a direction, not a color code), dodging with the should buttons instead of spastic movements.

They don't need to prove that I can fly a dragon with the motion sensor. I know that by now, and it works great, but it does not work for everything. I wouldn't even mind if you could fly with the stick (but obviously you can with the PSP and an USB pad).

See, these are so minor changes, which would raise that game easily 1 or 2 points - well, not higher then 8.5, though, that would include real smooth visuals, perfect cut scenes and higher texture details in the surrounding environment, but still pretty good, IMO.

All these changes could be made with a patch. F5 ? Please.

BTW: Pretty hilarious to send out a "Reviewers Guide". Is there a page with some greenbacks in there, too ? :-)

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AcidRhain - 840 days 12 hours ago

10.3 - LOL.

sounds like denial.

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Takumi86 - 841 days 3 hours ago

11 -

No need for this I can control the dragon like im am the dragon LAIR

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11.1 WilliamRLBaker | 840 days 18 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show

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Hugh Hefner - 841 days 3 hours ago

12 -

Seems like they are mocking the reviewers... and may come in as a bit arrogant from Sony. The scores are in and they aren't gonna change... so why risk alienating reviewers even more by basically implying they don't know how to do their job? Bad idea.

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kn - 841 days 3 hours ago

12.1 - Fully Agree

I wreaks of arrogance and attempted influence of (supposedly) impartial review process. It does this by basically saying, "Please, Mr. Reviewer, since you obviously can't read the instructions, let me hold your hand and guide you to the proper way to rate a game (this game) a 9+ out of 10".

/JOKE I especially like the pictures in it of the reviewer getting clipped by a fast moving vehicle as he crosses the street, the "story" about the reviewer who found his family dead, and the well placed Mafia-Themed game ads in the guide. /joke

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Mike134nl - 841 days 3 hours ago

13 -

a few free beers would be more effective

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xaphanze - 841 days 3 hours ago

14 -

This is the guy who reviewed the game? LOL

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DragunBallZ - 841 days 3 hours ago

15 - I wonder how much money

was enclosed in the book? This is sad but FUNNY az H3ll!!! ROFL

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Dlacy13g - 841 days 3 hours ago

16 - What I find funny here is ....

Well ok a couple of things. First off...a reviewers guide to reviewing a game for a reviewer is just flat out ridiculous. If it takes that much extra effort to explain how this game should be viewed,etc. then there is an issue with the game.

Secondly....if this guide really is all that helpful to a user / reviewer playing for the first time who is a hardcore gamer...why isnt this information in the guide that comes with the game? I mean lets be honest, I would say 90% if not more of the gamers that have a PS3 are going to be pretty hardcore considering the price point and types of games available at this point.

Clearly this is a knee jerk reaction to all the bad reviews. If Sony had really thought this through, that guide would have been done a while ago and sent with copies of the game to the reviewers given that so many previews hinted that controling was an issue at the time of the preview.

The writing was on the wall for this game...Sony/Factor 5 just chose to ignore it.

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johnnywit - 841 days 3 hours ago

17 -

I can see it now. In the future all PS3 games will come with someone to play the game for you. This way everyone will play the game just right.

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VirusE - 841 days 3 hours ago

18 -

Wow this seems like a very desperate move on sonys part. Why not just give us a patch that lets us play with the stick? That would solve a lot more problems than telling how to play it.

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Hugh Hefner - 841 days 3 hours ago

18.1 -

Motion control is just one thing... there is also a sluggish framerate, a lack of direction or objectives, and inopportune cutscenes.

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ItsDubC - 841 days 2 hours ago

18.2 -

I think the control sticks aren't an option because Sony had banked on Lair proving that sixaxis is a success (thereby differentiating the PS3 from the 360 as the console w/ the superior control scheme).

To me, Sony having to send reviewers instructions on how to play Lair shows the game's lack of inuitiveness.

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Goshyujin_Sama - 841 days 3 hours ago

19 - No need for this factor 5

Wow, Factor 5 should not have to explain its self, the game is selling really well and, true its image was tarnished a bit by bad reviews, but what of it? This game is beautiful and epic as well. And the dragon controls are similar to that of warhawks. So whats the fuss about. All these reviewers were just waiting to tear into Lair and give it a bad name. Seriously I sometimes feel like some of these reviewers have a vindetta against anything sony. I mean, to give sub par games like Two worlds and Stranglehold 7/10,'s while at the same time giving Lair 4.5/10's(im speaking of gamespot) is just nuts. Theres no way you could convince me that 2 worlds and jon woo's new game are any better than lair. In fact they honestly do not compare. Oh well all that matters is I bought Lair, I love it, the game is deep and its one of the most beautiful games ever created. It can only be 1uped by HS I think, in terms of GFX and sound quality. Well the haters can hate and I will continue to battle it out with my dragon in 1080p, as well as on my psp during lunch breaks!

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Devr - 841 days 3 hours ago

20 -

Lol, I'm a Ps3 fan and I must admit that is pretty desperate. It seems they were really counting on Lair being a killer app.

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Irving - 841 days 3 hours ago

21 - lol

really, is that kid in the photo who reviewed Lair? Wow, just lol !!

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jlytle1234 - 841 days 3 hours ago

22 -

WELL IF THEY WERE NOT HARD ON SONY BEFORE THEY WILL BE NOW.

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blackmagic - 841 days 1 hour ago

22.1 -

*sigh*

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Violater - 841 days 3 hours ago

23 - For all the people pi$$ing on lair

http://n4g.com/NewsPendingC...
Take care come again soon.

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Dlacy13g - 841 days 2 hours ago

23.1 - Whats your point?

Does a review of Two Worlds have ANYTHING to do with Sony & Factor 5 releasing a "how to review our game guide"? NO...it doesnt.

Stop being such a fanboy and read the news for what it is. This is an attempt from Sony at curbing the harsh reviews for one of there games...IT HAS ZERO TO DO WITH FANBOY FLAME WARS!!!!

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kurruptor - 841 days 3 hours ago

24 -

Seriously that is the person who reviewed this game? Some fat kid, how in god's name does some young kid have a professional job like this? I think I'll have my little nephew start up his own site and give his own reviews. He'll give Naruto a 10.

Maybe Sony has a point in trying to teach these people how to do their jobs.

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