[Rasczak]

Just wondered what people's views are on the next generation controllers (for the current gen consoles). Other than a few videos/demos we haven't seen much of the new controllers - and by these I mean Microsoft's Natal and Sony's Wand - but we do know they are both camera based and require motion.

Whether you are a mouse/keyboard player, joystick/wheel gamer or a gamepad user all are fairly stationary, i.e. you are seated. So how will you react to the new controllers which will require you to be more animated? And how would you want to play (for example) a shooter game with the new controllers?

Personally I would feel a little silly if I had to use my arm as a gun/pointer. And how would you fire - wave your fingers? What about walking? Would you feel comfortable walking on the spot? I just can't quite see how they can pull of shooter controls with a camera based system. It might be easier for Sony's wand if it has buttons - but Microsoft's camera only system?

I am all for new ideas and this thread is just sounding out people's opinions before we see more concrete news in the New Year.

[24 P]

As much as the Wii controller is inventive and gets you into the game, it just simply does not provide the required response for a FPS..
I have played around with a Wii, and just find it too annoying when it comes to control.
Granted table tennis is brilliant and other sports games which require you to mimic specific players movements, but for shooters, just doesn't cut it IMO..
I played a game where you flew a plane, Pilot wings replica, and it was good, but like I said, just not what I would use for FPS or Racing games..

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by 24 P

As much as the Wii controller is inventive and gets you into the game, it just simply does not provide the required response for a FPS..
I have played around with a Wii, and just find it too annoying when it comes to control.
Granted table tennis is brilliant and other sports games which require you to mimic specific players movements, but for shooters, just doesn't cut it IMO..
I played a game where you flew a plane, Pilot wings replica, and it was good, but like I said, just not what I would use for FPS or Racing games..

What FPS games have you played on the Wii?

[24 P]

Metroid Prime, COD 3, I just found that Game pad was more precise..
Game cube for metroid prime, Xbox 360 for COD3..
Plus I am lazy when it comes to interactive devices..



I don't even use the Sixaxis on PS3 as I find it too slow and cumbersome..

[Haggler]

From what i can remember it was pretty annoying with 'the conduit' too!

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by 24 P

Metroid Prime, COD 3, I just found that Game pad was more precise..
Game cube for metroid prime, Xbox 360 for COD3..
Plus I am lazy when it comes to interactive devices..



I don't even use the Sixaxis on PS3 as I find it too slow and cumbersome..

Each to their own I guess as whilst I liked Metroid Prime on the Gamecube I couldn't be doing with the joypad.

I really liked the control system on the Wii to be honest. It's not perfect (as if you move out of the range of the screen it will just spin) but if you are refined in how you use it then it works very well.

[24 P]

Oh I agree with you that Metorid was unique on the Wii, just not for me.
COD3 was bad though, just not responsive enough, hopefully they will fix this issue with newer controllers, not saying that the Wii controllers are not good, I just think you need something special for a FPS on any platform for virtual controllers..
Lag on any FPS ends up with more deaths than kills..
This could be a determent to FPS..
I have used the new Wii adapter, which makes it more responsive, and I was quite surprised, Table tennis was great, but I was standing up, had a couple of drinks and was hyper..
I don't want to become an alcoholic just for a couple of games .
It would be interesting to see where they go with these newer developments, do you have any links??
Cheers..

[Rasczak]

Posted in the Xbox 360 forum - but probably of note to a much wider audience - a video has been leaked of Half Life 2 being played on Natal:

LEAK: Half-Life 2 Playing on Project Natal - Project Natal - Gizmodo

Assuming it is genuine it looks interesting. I can't see from the video how the player is making his character 'walk' but aiming is done using the arm. And assuming Natal is responsive enough this could really be quite good.

[Miyazaki]

If NATAL can do what the marketing vampires over at MS would have you believe then that is the future.

I warrant it will be glitchy without 1 to 1 tracking, just like the wiimote. Boy was that a letdown.

[Rasczak]

An interesting new development - Razer, Sixense and Valve have teamed together to offer a next-generation motion sensing and gesture recognition controller for PC gaming. Following the Wii then? Not quite - it seems the new device will offer "ultra-precise one-to-one motion sensing controllers that use electromagnetic fields to track precise movements along all six axes for use in current and future generation PC games. The absolute controller position is tracked to within a mere millimeter for positioning and to a degree for orientation."

The full press release can be found over at Blue's News but it certainly sounds promising. Certainly I found, as I'm sure others did, the Wii remote something of a letdown - but if one-to-one tracking has been nailed that is great news. The fact that support is being built into Left 4 Dead 2 is also a good sign - logic dictates that if it can be supported in that game then other Source engine games will quickly follow.

Mouse and keyboard precision on the sofa? Maybe - time will tell.

[Tetlee]

What I would really like to see is something like the Xbox360 controller(which is near perfect for my taste), but adding in a couple of trackpads similar to those found on the Blackberry 9700 mobile as an alternative control option. Could be great for games that require fine control such as strategy RPGs and maybe even FPS.

You'll have to excuse my crude mock-up here(and obviously the whole controller would need a slight re-arrangement in terms of button layout etc.), but you'll get the idea.

You might laugh(it does look pretty stupid) but I think somthing along those lines could work..... could..... maybe