Factor 5 Falls Back to Nintendo. Bonus Rant: Lair

Some of the observant among you may have noticed that I make fun of Lair a lot. “Nadia,” you might ask (unless you stopped caring after the first sentence and are off for a sandwich), “Why are you so down on Lair all the time?”

Because it should have been the Playstation 3’s killer ap instead of the mangled mess it actually is. I like Factor 5. I like flight games. I also really dig dragons–I have since I was a little girl. To be specific, I like the idea of thick-skulled dragons mangling and bloodying each other in mid-air, and to hell with that My Little Pony bullshit the Pern series inflicted upon dragondom.

But what do video games have to show for the untapped destructive power of these Beasts of Olde? Spyro, I guess. Panzer Dragoon is definitely worth a mention, though the series feels as mythical as actual dragons thanks to a lack of remakes and re-releases. The legendary Sega Saturn RPG Panzer Dragoon Saga will never live again because the source code has been lost.

Or so the story goes. Frankly, I think it needs more wizardry, gryphons and narrow escapes to the mysterious Alocca Mountains.

Speaking of mysterious stories and powerful magic-users, I’ve heard mutterings amongst the peasants that suggest Sony forced Factor 5 to factor in (ha!) motion controls at the last second, thus blowing the game apart. There’s no way to prove it, of course…but with the right alterations and atmosphere, it makes a good campfire tale.

Oh, and the moral of the story is that Factor 5 will be developing for Nintendo again. Also, don’t steal from mom.