Lair, in contrast, is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. Its parts (graphics, audio, gameplay, atmosphere, etc.) are all done very well, but their sum seems to be lacking the magic that makes the difference between flaky and solid (if not spectacular.) Even though it’s not complete garbage, I can understand why everyone loves to hate Factor 5’s Lair for PS3. In other words, the negative reactions are justifiable as a lot of its strengths are countered by equivalently sized weaknesses.

Lair starts off as a very interesting and seemingly fun air combat game, but quickly nose dives into a brutal exercise in frustration. I had a blast learning to fly a dragon and taking down enemies in the first few levels, however, there’s a certain objective in level 5 where the game’s targeting system proves useless and you start to realize that the game has flaws. By level 9 I can almost guarantee that you’ll be cursing at the screen and even if you actually manage to finish the game you’ll be more enraged than satisfied. I mean, sometimes you don’t even know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing since new objectives are introduced regardless of whether or not you have finished the previous ones. Dying in video games is fine; dying needlessly and as a direct result of the game’s stubbornness is not.

Native 1080p rendering is the highlight of Lair’s graphical fidelity, but it’s not the only strong point. Aside from being incredibly crisp running at 1080p, the texture work, landscapes, creature and architectural design are all top notch. The dragons are especially delicious, having a very 1998-Godzilla style to them that’s far more interesting than slender-snouted, Eragon-type dragons. Along with having giant environments to battle in, the screen is often filled with dozens of gorgeous looking beasts of war, hundreds of ground infantry, and even more projectiles. In their own right each of these feats are impressive but what happens is, because the environments are sooooo vast and filled to the brim with chaotic air, land, and sea battles, you often become visually overwhelmed. Ironically enough, things are made worse by how far away and how tiny everything looks in these massive areas.

Contrary to popular belief, I feel that the targeting system and speed of the game are to blame for its abrasiveness and not solely the sixaxis tilt controls. Flying around with the sixaxis is perfectly cromulent; it’s when you’re flying with the sixaxis and the targeting fails to lock on to the correct enemy (of which there are hundreds) that the action quickly falls apart. You could be looking at an enemy right in front of you, but then when you push L1 or R1 to target, it locks on to another dragon hundreds of meters away flying in the opposite direction. Worse still is when the camera tracks that enemy as it flies by you, leaving you looking behind you as you fly directly into a mountain or get hit by oncoming fireballs. Later on in the game there are time-limited missions that are made infinitely more frustrating/difficult because of these various control related issues.

Another awesome feature of the game that’s hampered by controls is the ability to land almost anywhere in a level. Unfortunately changing from air to ground controls (and vice versa) is disorienting since each uses a different control scheme. Actually, landing itself is also a bit of a pain in the ass because of your dragon’s forward momentum. It’s just not as fluid as it should be and, similar to making attack runs, it usually ends up taking multiple passes to land where you intended. While one could argue that controlling a dragon probably isn’t easy, that’s not an excuse to have controls this stubborn… This is supposed to be a video game after all, not mental masochism.

So what does Lair do right, you ask? Well, the audio in Lair is an area that can’t be discredited. Whether it’s the awesome use of 7.1 surround sound (which I actually had the luxury of using) or the incredible original score, the game sounds superb. The voice acting is also done well, even if the mid-mission commentary of your comrades gets bothersome. Also, despite being somewhat straightforward, the story is also entertaining and the extraordinary cinematics move things along nicely. Lastly, the game’s presentation – maps, menus, unlockable full HD “making-of” video clips, etc. – is at a level well above par and ideally something I’d love to see in all games.

What stings most about Lair is how much of its potential goes untapped. I'd go as far as saying that Lair 2 (assuming that all there is a sequel) should be more of an adventure game than an action game. That way Factor 5 could slow down gameplay enough so that just flying around on a dragon with the sixaxis is fun, instead of a spasm inducing flinch-fest. Being able to fly, land, and then explore anywhere in the game world, something that Lair’s game engine is capable of, would make for an incredibly compelling adventure game… Either that or they could include a standard dual-analog control scheme and clearer mission objectives/targets. Hell, even a crosshair would have made all the difference in the world.