Heather Newman: 'Lair' is Ambitious, Beautiful... and Fun

Flip those frowns upside down, because we have another reviewer telling you that Lair is a good game. Heather Newman's latest entry on her gaming blog states that:

I hate to see a gorgeous title like this marred by bugs and the occasional rough patch, but I expect that, like me, you'll be pleased to overlook them. "Lair" is a unique game, a true test of the PS3's next-generation power, and a successful experiment in motion control - all while being an entertaining game and a seductive story.

Give it a try when it debuts on Tuesday and let me know what you think; I bet you'll be glad you did.

What she doesn't know is you can go pick it up now. So if you want to give it a test run, stop by your local game store. She claims that the SIXAXIS controlling is smooth and fluid, while the storyline is fun. Read her full review at the link.

[Read Lair Review]

Game Revolution Reviews Heavenly Sword B+

Game Revolution has put it's thoughts in towards Heavenly Sword, and they gave it a B+. That's not bad, here are their good and bad points:

Good Points

• Great exposition
• Compelling Characters
• Kickass Action
• Cool SIXAXIS Control
  

Bad Points

• That's all over too soon

Anyway, read the full review at the link below.

[Read Heavenly Sword Review]

Haze Goes Gold

Haze, Ubisoft & Free Radical's upcoming PlayStation 3 shooter, has been completed, in other words, it's gone Gold. Ubisoft have been telling European media outlets that the game has been released to production and will be available on PlayStation 3 soon. No date has been confirmed. For now, enjoy the E3 2007 Trailer.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII TV Commercial

Straight from YouTube, here is the Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII commercial. Enjoy it.

[Via YouTube]

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Demo Announced for September

The trailer doesn't tell us the exact date, it just says "Game Demo Coming September". So there you have it, we can bust out some moves September. That is if Sony doesn't pull a "skate" and keep it but not put it up. Hopefully we will get the Tony Hawk's Proving Ground demo around the same time as the Xbox 360 does. Enjoy the video!

[Via QJ.NET]

Game Informer Metal Gear Solid 4 Preview

Here is the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots preview from the latest Game Informer. Basically the same screenshots with the same information. Still nice to look at though.

[Via GameTrailers]

Game Informer October 2007 Killzone 2 Preview

We have the latest Killzone 2 preview straight from the October 2007 issue of Game Informer. The scans are all above. It's basically full of news, old screens, but still looking good. They said the graphics were good, the gameplay was smooth, and the AI was aggressively good.

[Via GameTrailers]

GC 2007: Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway Trailer

It is from a German website, but it is still narrated in English. It shows some new gameplay scenes shown at the Leipzig Games Convention 2007.

[Via GameTrailers]

Game Informer October 2007 Loose Talk

We have the Loose Talk page from the latest Game Informer here. There are two main rumors on this page:

• Saints Row 2 in development (based on THQ's president wearing a Saints Row 2 t-shirt at the E3 press conference).
• Analysts think the PlayStation 3 80GB model will drop to $500 once the 60GB models are sold out.

Enjoy the scan.

[Via GameTrailers]

Borderlands: 4 Player Online Action-RPG

Thanks to the newest issue of Game Informer, we have details on the upcoming PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC title currently being developed by Gearbox Software, Borderlands:

• Game boasts of tons of weapons (tons of customizable parts - can make over 500,000 unique weapons).
  
• The game is an FPS RPG.
• There are vechs in it. The AI seems to be pretty advanced.
• "We're building the game from the start as a co-op game that you can play by yourself" (meaning that the AI is good enough to help you along if you don't have a friend to play with online)
• Graphics Look Spectacular (Unreal Tournament 3 for example -- It also looks a bit like Fallout 3)

Thanks thewster!

[View Scans]

Game Informer Scores Lair 7.25/10 & SO 8/10

Game Informer seems to be the only magazine so far that has given Lair a grade above 7. This time, it received a 7.25/10 with the second opinion giving it an 8/10. Not bad, not bad at all.

Concept: The creators of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron show us that dragons are not nearly as cool as X-Wings.

Graphics: The battle span as far as the eye can see, and the high level of detail (especially when viewed in native 1080p) never ceases to amaze.

Sound: The pulse pounding score oddly sounds like it belongs in Star Wars, but definitely gets the blood pumping. This is also one of the few games out there to support 7.1 sorround sound

Playability: This is where Lair plummets. The motion-bases controls just don't work as well as they need to for an intense aerial combat game

Entertainment: Lair's disappointing critical path comes to an end at approximately six to eight hours, but getting all the gold medals will take some time

Replay Value: Moderate

Good job Lair.

[Via GameTrailers]

GC 2007: SingStar Executive Talks Features

The karaoke game is all set for the PlayStation 3 and has some very nice features like downloadable tracks, streaming music, and of course, the game's core mechanic that allows players to belt out tunes using a USB microphone and sing to their hearts' desire.

You know what I've realized? Were getting Leipzig Games Convention videos like a week to two weeks after it ended. Weird. Enjoy the video!

[Via GameSpot]

PAX 2007: Video Interview with Rob Yescombe, Additional Details on Haze

A new video interview from the Penny Arcade Expo 2007 called The Dtoid Army interviews Rob Yescombe from Haze. Enjoy the interview.

[Via Destructoid]

Rock Band PlayStation 3 Packaging

This is straight from Kotaku who apparently received it in their e-mail. The big box set is below. The big box comes with the game, a wirless guitar, a set of drums, and a microphone.

[Buy: Rock Band]

PSU Reviews Warhawk 9.5/10

PlayStation Universe has reviewed Warhawk and has given it a 9.5/10. Here is a list of their Pro's and Con's of this PlayStation 3 multiplayer game.

Pros

• Simplistic menus and descriptions will help anyone become a server host and ranked pilot.
• There's a ton of ranks, ribbons and medals to earn.
• Graphics are beautifully enticing.

Cons

• Steep learning curve without documentation or tutorials.
• Only works on one PSN account if you download it.

Read the site's full review at the link.

[Read Warhawk Review]

IGN Reviews Tekken 5 Online 7/10

IGN has reviewed Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection with it's latest online patch. They scored it a 7.0/10. Their closing comments.

It's great to see Dark Resurrection Online rectify the missing online component from March's launch of the title with an added patch. However, for what you pay for the patch, you're not really receiving a huge return on your investment. Apart from the offline Survival mode, there's no additional content to be found or unlocked. Online play, while fun, is relatively generic and nothing that you haven't seen before. It's still a decent thing to have, but you're not really experiencing the best add on packs that the PSN has to offer.

Read the full review at the link.

[Read Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online]

Official Japan PlayStation Home Site Live

Just in case you haven't noticed, the official Japanese PlayStation Home site is live. It's been open since July 17, 2007. I personally, never seen anybody mention it. The site is at the link.

[Via PlayStation Home JPN]

GameSpot Reviews Lair 4.5 out of 10

Hear comes another roaring Lair review. And.. you guessed it, it's another bad one. GameSpot scores lair a disappointingly low 4.5 out of 10. The only goods they stated was 'Strong production values.'. They had many bads though:

• Abysmal controls and targeting are a constant struggle and crush every aspect of gameplay, from flight to combat
• The cinematic camera causes you to lose your bearings by zooming around every which way
• Timed mission objectives require too much precision
• Action is shallow and unrewarding.

Read the full review at the link.

[Read Lair Review]