Lair, despite it faults, is what I would consider to a true next gen game.
Lair is a game with a learning curve. I know, it's blasphemy isn't it, to have a game in this day and age that actually offers an original control scheme like nothing before it. So unless you commit yourself for the first hour, your probably going to want to kick your PS3 in 2. However if you're a rare bread of gamer (rare for this millenium anyway) who doesn't mind having to learn something new then Lair is going to be like a breath of fresh air.
Ok, the controls. From this point onwards forget every official Lair review you have read and head these words, the controls work fine! Is it surprising that it takes a dedicated player of the game to say that, instead of the so called "professionals" who players are supposed to look to for a second (or even first) opinion. If you tilt your controller left, you turn left and visa versa with right. Tilt and down and you nose dive and ....yeah blah blah you know where I am going with this. The only point in this game where you may feel like you're losing control of your trusty winged stead is when you attempt a 180 degree turn which you still succeed at probably 7/10 times.
Another thing that Lair was branded with by the "professionals" was its targeting system. You see, according to them you had a better chance at targeting something than the PS3 getting an exclusive Halo game. THEY ARE WRONG! I must admit, before buying this title this was one thing that concerned me, for not being able to target something you wanted would (for me) be the ultimate loss of control. However it's so damn simple. Want to target and take out that Rhino? Sure, just point yourself in its direction until it gets highlighted, then lock onto it. Even other dragons which zip past at blinding speeds through the air are easy to target. Theres nothing wrong with the system, however it all depends on how well you (as a player) can control your dragon, for that is the ultimate challenge of this game and I personally believe that it was Factor 5's ambition to make it this way. IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED AT THIS GAME, LEARN TO RIDE YOUR DRAGON.
Next, graphics. There is no doubt that this game is stunning to look at. I found myself sitting there after 5 levels thinking to myself, how can this get any better? It does. Environments are varied, from stunning golden cities to barren wastelands to enormous steam punk cities in the snow. The list just goes on. One thing I have noted was that this game is one of only a handful that truly portray heft and scope. What I mean is that environments don't just look big, they feel big when your flying around them, it's wondrous. However its at this point where one of my main gripes set in. Framerate. At it's best is fine however throughout the entire game is far from stable and it's one thing that makes you feel detracted from the whole experience. Although it's hard to blame them for the environments that the games presents us with.
Now to sound. Sound is this games highpoint, there isn't a moment during the game that isn't accompanied by a sweeping and epic orchestral score, for the master that is John Debney. If you're not tearing through waves of enemies you're sitting in awe of this score, it's nothing short of spectacular. However it's not just the score that is excellent, both the foley work, and voice acting are top notch and it all blends in with the visuals to create a truly cinematic next gen experience.
In conclusion, Lair is great. Sure, there are some minor issues with the controls and the framerate may get in the way more than once but it's easy to look past these things and just enjoy the game for what it is, an action packed experience from head to toe.