The best and worst control schemes

johnny_ultimate

I've been playing Dead Space Extraction recently, and I'm constantly impressed at how sharp the controls are. OK, aiming is still a little off due to the inaccuracy of the Wiimote, but every button is utilised effectively. The back trigger for shoot, the nunchuck analogue to choose weapons, and the two nunchuck buttons for reload (twice for active) and stasis. It just feels really natural, a fantastic utilisation of the control scheme. Super Mario Galaxy also springs to mind as a game that fully understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Wiimote, and fully utilised it.

While you don't always notice good control schemes (many would argue you shouldn't notice them at all in the best examples) you will definitely notice the bad. Monster Hunter Tri is a great game, but there have been plenty of times I've wondered why the classic controller isn't being used better (two triggers to wait). PSP games also tend to have inferior controls, due to the lack of a second analogue stick for camera control - it makes third person games in particular rather difficult to deal with.

Any other examples of good and bad control schemes. The best will draw you into the game (Arkham Asylum also springs to mind as a game that just seems to work), the worst will suck you right back out.

Retr0gamer

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is basically unplayable because of the control scheme. Also trying to play a capcom fighter on a standard 360 or PS pad is an exercise in futility.

Sin and Punishment is an awesome game on the N64 but on the Wii none of the control schemes seem to work. At least S&P2 sorts this out.

There's plenty of games with poor controls that I can't recall because they usually are unplayable so I don't bother with them.

johnny_ultimate

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is basically unplayable because of the control scheme. Also trying to play a capcom fighter on a standard 360 or PS pad is an exercise in futility.

MGS: PO is the one that springs to mind for PSP. Shame is the game is actually one of the better recent Metal Gear games, with a focus on tight and engaging gameplay as opposed to meandering plots and such nonsense. With an analogue controller it would be a rather fantastic game. The demo for Peace Walker suggests a similar faith.

Totally agree on fighters too (360 pad is awful), although with a decent stick they are amongst the most wonderful to control.

Mindkiller

If you can be bothered, there are CFW apps for PSP that let you wire a DS3 into it. Handy for the more 'consolised' PSP titles.

I thought MGS4 had great controls. For sneaking anyway. They were diabolical for shooting.
I can't go back to MGS3 now and feel sad that there is no crouch run .

Kiith

Resident Evil 4 on the Wii was pretty good. Makes it hard for me to play a Resident Evil game on any other console.

Jonny7

Make it possible to set any button on the controller to do anything?

Solves everything.

Jazzy

Fight Night Round 4 - "Total Punch Control" system. what a big load of absolute sh1t. and the developers decided that no, you couldnt customize the controls like in the previous game.. for no reason at all.


Any FPS game on a PS pad = lol. as me and a mate say, its like a white man driving a car, they're all "dupe di de, dum di do.." whereas on my PC im all "awww yeah baby". (simpsons joke fyi )