Control Schemes Part 2:Standard Game Controller

In the second part of this series of articles, Powerplay highlights the ups and downs of a standard game controller.

Thumbs up: New controllers are popping out everywhere nowadays, usually with the designs as selling points. As opposed to keyboards, different controllers do not differ much from each other. And they are suited to a variety of games too. Racing games and fighting games do well on such controllers. Rigid buttons can withstand heavy and sudden button presses, which will otherwise spoil a keyboard. The left and right triggers are easily reachable and the controller can be comfortably held, no matter how it is designed. The analog sticks provide a much more realistic feel in steering cars, and if you turn on the vibration feature that should be present in most controllers, it feels all the more enjoyable. The controller also does well in handling flight simulation games, where sharp turns are often needed. One turn of the analog stick will ensure that the plane’s response is prompt. Flying tricks can be performed with greater ease as well. The upcoming PS3 controller sports motion-sensitivity, taking the usage of controllers to a whole new level. For example, one need to just tilt the controller and the plane will turn accordingly. This makes using controllers much more intuitive.

Thumbs down: As much as the analog sticks are well-tailored for racing, fighting and flight simulation games, first-person shooter (FPS) games often come as the controller’s failing point. It takes a while before your reticule finally focuses on your enemy, making for an inimical time gap between the period you spot the enemy to the time you blast the bullet out of the weapon. This can prove to be a costly mistake as the A.I. gets more intelligent and agile for every FPS game that is released. Another game genre that the controller does not do well in is in the real-time strategy (RTS) genre. Owing to the limited number of buttons on a controller, few RTS games have been released on consoles, the newest being EA’s Lord of the Rings: Battle for MiddleEarth 2 for the Xbox 360. RTS games require several buttons by norm. Players need to line up commands, give orders and select which units to construct. The mouse can transport players to another part of the map almost as immediately as the player clicks the mouse button. On the other hand, that kind of efficiency cannot be achieved by the controller. Count the number of buttons on the controller and you will know what I mean. Also, the analog sticks do not allow for quick transportation to another region of the map, as demonstrated in the Xbox 360 RTS game. While PC players can go to another area of the map just by clicking that wanted area on the minimap, Xbox 360 players are still required to scroll with their analog sticks slowly. Action can be missed, more troops can perish in this case.