"With its stunning visuals and incredible soundtrack, Lair may well be the single most powerful experience that a man can share with his $5,000 home theatre system".
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.
John Debney's score for the upcoming Lair videogame was given its world premiere at the recent San Jose, California stop of the on-going symphonic videogame experience PLAY!
The points you made are generally correct, however I think Lair's overall perception have been hurt by recent videos showing underwhelming graphics and gameplay concepts. Many people who previously thought they would like the game had some serious second thoughts.
New brands are never sure bets. But I think this game will beat the odds.
1. It plays to the PS3 audience very well. Largely a young male audience in NA and EU, who at the very least will be intrigued by the concept. (I am.)
2. Sony will put a lot of advertising muscle behind it. (Hopefully with a good ol' TV ad campaign that actually makes sense.)
3. Differentiation. It doesn't have to compete against a slew of similar titles.
4. The reviews count for this game. Much of the audience cares enough to at least check the scores at IGN, and those that don't listen to those that do. And with Factor 5, and the experience they have with the core gameplay mechanics from their awesome Rogue Squadron efforts, there's good reason to believe its going to get excellent reviews.
This game may not be as big and important as Gears of War for 360, but it may be like Animal Crossing on Gamecube. That game was a new IP (outside of Japan), it released in September of 2002, to a small install base, but it stood out from the field, it had the backing it needed from Nintendo, and it struck a chord with the audience... And it went on to sell 1.6 million copies in NA...
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