Here we had a game that showed much promise. It was a game with superb graphics and you could fly a dragon and kill other dragons with fireballs in the middle of an intense battle field. So what went wrong? ill explain in just a moment.
Lair's plot is centered around a huge island that used to be one island but is now split into two islands ever since a volcanic eruption. Due to this incident, people have divided themselves into two kingdoms: the Mokai, whose lands are arid and depleted of resources, and the seemingly noble Asylians, who live in one of the last remaining bountiful, green areas. The Mokai are naturally angry against the Asylians and are completely desperate to gain their land. Aggressive Asylian leaders are leading in to the path of the inevitable after the Mokai launch a surprise attack from the rear.
So thats the plot. It seemed good enough but the minute you start playing you realise that the controls are very difficult due to the sixaxis motion sensor and there is no analog control. Most levels require you to be very precise such as flying close to small objects to destroy them. Not having a radar makes this object difficult to find in a huge enviorment and the motion control makes it difficult to hit. Then there are the flying controls, one of the things I hated was the "speed up' control. You have to basically pull the controller back and then pull it foward really fast but this is only responsive about 20% of the time so you end up waving the controller like an idiot just to get a burst of speed. All this makes the game frustrating to play and takes the fun out of the whole thing. It will also make earning those gold medals after a level completion nearly impossible.
Well thats the bad part now I will get to the good part. The graphics are incredible to look at. The power behind this games graphics is pretty amazing. Everything has incredible detail and the framerate stays pretty solid even in huge battles. But even better then that is the sound. The sound quality of this game makes you feel like your right in the game and the soundtrack is very dramatic and matches the game quite well. If you have the 5.1 stereo system and a 1080i HD tv then this game will make you feel like your watching a movie due to the graphics and sound quality.
But unfortunatly like I mentioned before this game just does not quite cut it. Mostly due to the control scheme they tried to implement. It is just too hard to cotrol the game. Nothing really feels fluid and you have to force everything your doing. It should hopefully be a good lesson to any developer trying to make a game where you control the motion through motion sensing. It just does not work.
To sum it up, great graphics and sound, decent story but the playablity is hardly there. It was a game with great potential and it was a shock when it came out so wrong. If there is going to be a Lair 2 then the sixaxis better be optional.
Alex S. from Link-Cable writes: "When shopping for new video games you can often trust the name publisher or developer on the box to be an indication of the quality of the game. Names like Nintendo, Square Enix, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Capcom, Xbox Game Studios and Sega are world famous because they helped shape the industry by releasing some of the most defining video games of all time. Though sometimes even these great gaming houses stumble and put out a stinker."
Splatterhouse remake . Loved the og’s at the arcade growing up . Hell the best thing about the remake was the og,s were included . And left alive by Square . That game had so much potential , but the gameplay was worse horrendous .
once Great studios getting destroyed is actually common. happened with ND and Last of Us2, Bioware and Mass Effect Andromeda/Anthem, Bungle and Destiny .
I'm pretty much certain that any Sonic game that comes out will be terrible, I've not enjoyed one since the original side-scrolling days of the MegaDrive.
For this Topic it says Good Studios that make bad games. Sonic Team hasn't been good in years.
A reimagining of 5 disappointing video games and the masterpieces they could have been underneath other studios.
well... if disappointing movies can get remakes then why not games? some of these have really good premise but somewhat disappointing execution. In the right hands they could be great.
I quite enjoyed lair (after the patch), too human and the order 1886. I'd even add in quantum break and recore as disappointing but with a good premise.
"well... if disappointing movies can get remakes then why not games?"
But how many disappointing movies actually get those? I'm still waiting for a remake of Howard the Duck.
@Gangsta
Wasn't there a rumor that they were looking at making another Howard the Duck? He had a cameo in GoTG2.
Love that movie for how bad it was. That and Garbage Pail Kids.
The Order was a fresh experience. Not the most compelling game, but I didn't want to put it down, and platted it. Good for what it was.
Quantum was something different as well, but a little less fun to actually play, imo. The 'acting' was done in a cheese factory too. Completed one path and never returned to it.
FFXIV was already remade, and it's probably the beat thing Square has put out in years.
Every time sites need clicks. Just look at the obligatory: i wAnT cLIcKs tEh OrDer 1886 pIcTUrE.
It's really not super often, but it does happen!
Mostly we see cult favorites come back around but in the recent case of Shaq-Fu we really saw a truly awful game see new life (not great life but at least new).
It's something I'd love to see a lot more of.
Thanks for reading my article!
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The Order has its faults yes but it had a fantastic atmosphere and some great gameplay. A game with enormous potential and far from disappointing. I say give Ready at Dawn another crack at it because I think they created an diamond with some rough edges that just needs some tlc.
Problem was the repetitive boss fights. I liked the gunplay, cover system and somewhat the story.
It did have fantastic atmosphere, I'll give you that. But gameplay pretty much played out like short gunfire segments interlaced with walking/sneaking + QTE events. Gameplay was the weakest point of The Order because RAD prioritized world building and graphical detail. Ut was disappointing because it didnt live up to the massive potential it haf. If they were given another shot at a sequel, I hope they can learn from their mistakes.
gameplay was meh but the world had potential, in my ideal world it'd have Mass Effect kind of gameplay
I waited till The Order was discounted and went in with certain expectations and wasn’t disappointed. Just like Quantum Break. Great concept just needed a little extra meat on the bones.
I had high hopes before it released. They were curbed some by the early previews, and while I found faults with the game, and it was obviously released unfinished, I still enjoyed it. The lore, acting, graphics, and world itself were excellent.
I agree that it had some awesome atmosphere and the gameplay wasn't awful, but that potential is exactly why I put it on this list. I actually loved playing the game (same as some of the other games I put on this list such as Army of Two) But I would just love to see what could happen if it fulfilled some of that potential, ya know? Could have had the next incredible Sony franchise to rival God of War.
Thanks for reading my article!
The order should have had a sequel. The first one wasn't bad just needed a few tweaks.
I would love a sequel to The Order. It is still a great game.
Lair had a great concept and could be amazing with the current technology available. A Lair-like ps5 game could be incredible.
PlayStation’s strong and impressive lineup of exclusives is probably the biggest edge it has over its direct competition in the market- a fact that has been true for as long as anyone can remember.
Ridge racer for PSP was actually good and shouldn't be on this list. I think I'm the only one that enjoyed Haze.
When GamingBolt have to dig up PS1 & PS2 games you know Sony is doing something right.
The list is about the worst Playstation exclusives games OF ALL TIME...
Why wouldn’t they include PS1 and PS2 games?
That’s right, only PS4 games should be on the list of the worst Sony exclusive games of all time. /s
As much as I like PlayStation, there are plenty of stinkers just like on all platforms tbh.
Haha you completely missed or are willfully ignorant of the intent of this article. It clearly says worst PS Exclusive Games of All Time.
RR on Vita made the list, not the PSP version. RR on Vita was severely lacking content.
They tried something new and it failed.
The initial price point was low but a large amount of content was locked behing DLC
These days you often pay full price up front and get the same concept.
Didn’t the list just have ridge racer on Vita? Because the Vita ridge racer was a dumpster fire at $40 with next to no cars or tracks. It was such an incomplete experience. As the article states, it felt more like a full priced demo than an actual game. Psp ridge racer had so much more to it.
All early ridge racers had next to no cars...game was great because of its graphics, controls, fun factor. Nothing could touch it on PS1.
When this piece of flotsam indicated that "Being a clone of GTA shouldn't be that hard" I just closed the window.
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Socom 4, I guess you could say that was an AWFUL/TERRIBLE Socom game. BUT it was an okay game if it didn't have the word Socom in the title.
To save you from clicking those annoying slides:
HAZE (PS3)
LAIR (PS3)
KNACK (PS4)
RIDGE RACER (PS VITA)
TWISTED METAL III (PS1)
LAST REBELLION (PS3)
BRAVO TEAM (PS4)
BASEMENT CRAWL (PS4)
MORTAL KOMBAT: SPECIAL FORCES (PS1)
GANGS OF LONDON (PSP)
LITTLE DEVIANTS (PS VITA)
PLAYSTATION MOVE APE ESCAPE (PS3)
APE ESCAPE ACADEMY (PSP)
KUNG FU RIDER (PS3)
EYETOY: OPERATION SPY (PS2)
I love when people do this to sites that try to artificially up their clicks by forcing one click per entry. But I will say maybe let's leave off the first entry so they get the one click. Both so N4g gets whatever they're due for pushing traffic to their site and to send a message to the site that you only get one click.
Sites are lucky if I click once or twice, half a dozen or more clicks is more effort than I'm willing for a list that may or may not suck.
Maybe not knack but it's understandable, its not the best game tbh. Dunno bout ridge racer.
Have to say that is a pretty crappy list. I remember being so pissed with Twisted Metal 3 after TM2.
You're doing Gods work. Many blessings upon the house of Gardenia.
good review, im renting this game only to see how the graphics are.. I saw a video of lair in eb once and it was awesome. Iunno do u think this game would score a 9 or 8 if it didnt use sixaxis?
Though I think you scored the graphics a bit too high. While the game did look good it was a bit low res and scaled back due to the huge size of playing field.
As for controls..I felt they worked out very well and I still can't understand the dislike for them. It was easy for me to grasp especially after completing the tutorial.
I'd rate the game overall a 7.5
I should have rated the fun factor a little higher. But if it had analog control and a better system for finding targets then it would probably rate a 8.