Pre-E3 2007: Lair Near-Final Preview
by Alex Simmons, IGN UK

  • Lair has come along way since that bridge. For what seemed like months on end, all there was to see of Factor 5's red-hot dragon riding game was a disparate battle between a handful of dragons and a load of soldiers scrapping it out on a bridge, with no reason as to why it was all kicking off.

    Since then, Sony has pulled its cloak of secrecy back a little further, revealing story details behind the game along with a few new levels. However, with E3 looming and the game's release less than two months away, we've got our hands on the near-final code of Lair and have torn it to pieces.

    But before we progress, a warning: Lair is as much about a complex, twisting storyline as it is flying dragons through moody skies so, with that in mind, expect a few spoilers if you continue reading. There's one spoiler in particular you might want to skip past if you want to come to Lair afresh, but we'll be sure to give you plenty of warning rather than blurt out all the gory details.

    Still with us? Good. We've already gone into detail about the game's flying mechanics and the fact it's a game designed to show off the PS3's SIXAXIS capabilities. We've also explained how ground combat works and that you, as an Elite Sky Guard named Rohn, are fighting as part of the Asylian army against the barbaric race of barbarians known as the Mokai. Indeed, regular IGN readers will also be familiar with the variety of missions Lair has to offer, from straightforward dogfights to protecting convoy runs and also the bigger battles served up, in which your single dragon plays but a small part in a much larger skirmish.

    Our recent time with the game uncovered more variety still, such as the stealth mission in which Rohn must infiltrate a Mokai outpost undetected. Under the cover of darkness the Sky Guards swoop in, flying low along the coast and toward an opening in the rocks. The mission isn't as simple as it first seems though, because the Mokai has lined the run-up to the outpost with lookout towers. Spotlights cut through the midnight sky, sweeping across the walls of the chasm in search of intruders and, unless you want to be on the receiving end of a Mokai steam cannon - a thoroughly unpleasant experience, we can tell you - you've got to silently glide between the beams of light, which are more densely packed and get more unpredictable the closer to the outpost you get.

    As we've reported previously, the SIXAXIS copes easily with dogfights in open areas, but negotiating the confined chasms without being spotted is a much tougher test of the controller's precision. Thankfully it feels responsive without being twitchy and with a little practice - we're talking less than a few minutes - gliding past the spotlights becomes second nature. The task is made considerably easier by your dragon's ability to hover, enabling you to wait for the spotlight to pass before swooping under. It can dash too, so if you accidentally stray into the light - at which point the Mokai hammer your winged beast with fireballs - you can quickly escape back into the safety of the darkness.

    Taking it slowly isn't the only way to tackle this mission either, so players who prefer a more gung-ho approach can get just as much satisfaction from the game. Taking out the spotlights is a possible option for example, targeting the generators which provide power by diving in and tearing them to pieces with your claws. Naturally, an air of caution must be maintained because the spotlights are numerous, but as each one is destroyed and the darkness envelopes the outpost, you're free to disable the steam cannons at will.

    Although the objectives for most missions are strict - you can only progress by destroying a certain building or protecting specific allied units - how you actually complete these goals is pretty much up to you. The night run is a great example of this and one of the game's most pivotal missions - in which you're ordered to attack the Mokai armoury - is further evidence too. Much like the run-up to the outpost, the path to the armoury is a treacherous one and the Sky Guard is forced to fly through a narrow canyon with sharp, jagged rock faces towering up on the either side. As you near the base, the Mokai defences grow stronger, with steam cannons spitting lethal jets of boiling death. You could attempt to dash past, although there's little room to manoeuvre so the slightest mistake and your dragon will crash into the chasm wall. A better option is to take the cannons out, by knocking out the long power cables - which stretch across the canyons like giant electrified backbones - with a few well-placed fireballs. This temporarily stuns the Mokai defences, giving you a few precious seconds to target the steam cannons, by flying in close and grabbing the turrets in the dragon's claws, then shaking the SIXAXIS to tear the building apart.

    Like the power generator attack in the night mission, it's a neat application of the SIXAXIS controls and adds a visceral edge to the gameplay, plus it helps to bring the players closer to the action. Indeed, Sony is so adamant that Lair is an "advert" for the SIXAXIS controller - the words of SCEE producer Dan Maher - that there's no option to fly the dragon using the analogue sticks. "We've done a lot of focus testing to get the SIXAXIS controls just right", explains Maher. "Initially we were aiming to perfect one type of controls, but quickly realised people play in different ways and therefore introduced sliding sensitivity." As a result, Lair is surprisingly easy to pick up and play, and piloting your dragon in the heat of a battle - with swarms of enemies bombarding you from every angle - becomes simple with practice. They're responsive too, and moves such as the quick 180-degree turn, executed by jolting the pad up, means that dogfighting soon becomes second nature.

    Tight controls prove essential when Rohn finally reaches the Mokai city, because fast ice dragons and the heavier, more dangerous Blood dragons patrol overhead. In fact the sky is teeming with lizards, so much so it's difficult to tell friend from foe. Luckily your dragon has a built-in 'targeting computer' called Rage Vision, which turns the screen black and white apart from enemy units, which are highlighted in red.

    Dragon riders can harness the power of their beast in another way too, for every time a kill is made the Rage metre slowly fills. When full, Rage is activated by pressing up on the D-pad, making the dragon much more powerful in combat. They're faster and their attacks do more damage for a period of time, plus your carnage meter is multiplied - making it easier to wrack up enough points to gain a medal.

    Alternatively, Rage can be harnessed for a single all-powerful attack, best used against strong enemy dragons. Rohn locks onto the target as normal and then his mount dives in for the kill, tearing at the opposing lizard. What follows is a God of War-style quicktime battle: by matching the on-screen icons with button presses Rohn goes in for the kill, knocking the enemy rider off his mount and fighting with him while tumbling toward the ground. Then, when the dragon attempts to rescue his master by swooping down to attack you, you leap back onto your ride at the last second and the poor sap you were beating gets eaten by his own beast. Nasty.

    For now, however, circling above the Mokai armoury, your attention is firmly on the buildings below. You need to destroy the city before progressing to the armoury, by scooping up bombs from the Mantas - giant cuttlefish-like beasts that float in the sky - and dropping down to attack. In bombing mode, a spotlight extends from your dragon and points toward the ground, so taking out a building is as simple as lining up a target and dropping your load.

    Much like the battles that play out between opposing forces on the ground - where friendly ground troops battle the enemy while you fly above - your AI-controlled allies have a strong influence over the outcome of the aerial battle too. So while you're picking up bombs and pounding away at the Mokai city, your fellow Sky Guards are involved in the battle too, either tackling the enemy dragons or joining you on bombing runs. Indeed, you don't have to single-handedly destroy the 250 or so buildings needed to move onto the armoury tower and, if you hang back, some of the hard work is done for you. However, the more you destroy, the greater your Carnage rating grows, for which you're rewarded a medal at the end of each mission. Depending on your rank - bronze, silver and gold - you're awarded with new combat combos and cool unlockables such as concept art galleries and making-of videos, of which there are nine covering different aspects of the game.

    But let's not get ahead of ourselves - there's still a city to destroy before we get so much as a whiff of a medal, so…

    SPOILER. We said we'd warn you, so if you don't want to know one of Lair's many plot twists then stop reading now. You have been warned.

    So, as barrels of gunpowder rain down on the ancient tower, the smell of victory grows stronger. But as the last wall of the armoury collapses and Rohn swoops down to survey the battlefield from ground level, all is not what it seems. Rather than the charred remains of soldiers and war engines, Rohn stumbles upon the burnt skeletons of women and children. While still reeling at this discovery, Rohn is confronted by Loden, his captain, who reveals that the armoury was in fact a temple used as refuge by the Mokai, but that the Diviner, Asylia's religious leader, believed its destruction was necessary for the greater good.

    Incensed, Rohn turns to tackle Loden but he's too slow - the captain stabs Rohn in the chest and slashes the throat of his dragon, all in the blink of an eye, before turning his back and leaving them for dead. Only they're not dead. The dragon, weak from its wounds, scoops up Rohn and escapes, but soon the gash across its neck takes it toll and the dragon plummets to the ground. As for what happens next, we'll let you find out for yourself, but bear in mind all this happens around the midway point in the game so expect even more twists in the story.

    END OF SPOILER!

    What we can tell you about though is that Factor 5 has some epic moments planned, such as the boss battles against a giant sea snake that ducks in and out of the ocean, and a giant spider wasp Rohn encounters in the desert. During the fight against the latter, the camera switches to a 2D chase view - or Pursuit Bubble, as Sony affectionately calls it - and the player must tilt the SIXAXIS to dodge incoming attacks, while getting close enough to land the killer blow. There will be big battles against key enemy commanders too, but Sony is keen to keep those under wraps for now.

    One thing that is apparent from the time we've already had with Lair is that it's progressed enormously since the bridge levels we first saw at the tail end of last year. The missions have been fleshed out and the controls refined, plus visually it looks as spectacular as it ever did, running in 1080p at a steady 30 frames per second. Admittedly there were a few moments when the frame rate dropped, but Sony is certain this will be ironed out come release.

    Indeed, you'll be able to check it out for yourself because our Sony rep was confident that a Lair demo would appear on the PlayStation Network, although they admitted it could well be post launch because Factor 5 is working flat out to get the actual game finished. If what we've seen lately is indicative of the final game, which we're pretty sure it will be, it's time well spent.


Lair image gallery - Lair video gallery

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