Lair was not received with the fan fare Sony was hoping for on the day of its release. Many critics stated the game was difficult to play with six-axis controls. IGN.com stated about the controls “A bus-like feel and Sixaxis controls kill this game.” Then in what appeared to be an effort to assist reviewers, Sony sent out the Lair Reviewer’s Guide. Again this seemed to hit like a lead balloon with people as if Sony was trying to tell seasoned reviewers how to do their job.

Well I got my Lair Reviewer’s Guide and what I see is a gorgeous 21 page fact sheet. No where did this book tell anyone how to do their job or how to review the game. It carried no more six-axis controller information then the guide that comes with the game. It may have been a great idea implemented too late but I would like to see more developers including Sony send information out like this in the future. Hopefully Sony and other game creators will learn that this was not a bad idea just not implemented well, timing wise.

What the guide did give was a greater back-ground into the game. Reviewers who were lucky enough to receive the guide learned more about the back ground, dragons, main characters and more importantly the lead character, Rohn. The last the guide gave was a deep insight into the “Making of Lair”.

Contents of Lair Reviewer’s Guide

• Foreword from Factor 5
• Prologue – The World of Lair
• Controlling a Dragon
• Sky Guard Essentials
• The Making of Lair

So you may be asking, what is the point of this article. You know Lair is out and receiving an industry average rating of about 6 out of 10, with some of the higher scores coming in the most recent few days. I do not believe the Lair Reviewer’s Guide affected any of these new scores it is just one reviewer’s opinion over another. The point of the article is to address the ones who have been shouting dispersions towards Lair and the guide, of which these people have probably never played the game and sure as much never had the pleasure of holding the guide. Even my fellow staffers on DPAD talk ill of both and I know have not seen the guide and the only familiarity with Lair is reading some guys review on the internet or holding a controller playing a store kiosk demo. I say play the game first then make your decision. As for my fellow writers who led so many gamers believe Sony was running scared and telling people how to do their job should hang their head in embarrassment for the misleading of their trusted readers.

Look for the Lair review to be coming to DPAD soon.

Check out the Lair Reviewer's Guide Gallery

Don't forget about Sony and the Goat