PC Gamers: Do You Have Trouble With Console Shooters?

[TehCookie]

I still can't play them. I quite Halo after half an hour of gameplay and thought the series would die from horrendous controls, not become popular. The only way I can do it is playing games where you can take your time to aim.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Not at all.

I have started turning up the sensitivity to maximum as a matter of course recently, though.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Now it's possible that Naughty Dog just doesn't handle shooter controls that well, but a more likely possibility is that I just really suck at aiming with a controller.

Naughty Dog doesn't handle shooter controls that well.

Anyway I started out using PC for shooters then changed to console when the 360 came out. It wasn't really all that hard for me to adjust to.

It's not Naughty Dog that doesn't handle shooter controls well, it's the PS3 in general. The controller just really isn't built with shooters in mind.

Personally, I'm a primarily PC gamer, but I do have a PS3 and an Xbox 360, both of which I still play quite a bit (I much prefer action games on consoles over PC). I've never had any issues playing shooters on the Xbox 360, but the PS3 is another story entirely. I always feel like the controls are more sluggish and less precise on the PS3, as if the joysticks on the controller have a larger dead-zone, and the controller in general just feels too small for my hands.

Agreed that the PS3 controller is plain shit for shooters but even still Naughty Dog games (Uncharted 3 in particular) have pretty bad controls, at least for me.

 

[Festus Moonbear]

You get used to it, like anything else. I'm sure someone who's never used a mouse before would find it very difficult to even click on an icon on a desktop - did you ever teach your grandma to use email? Nightmare. But she can drive a car just fine.

But the shooting in Uncharted sucks, no matter how comfortable you are with console shooters. You have to learn a separate technique for Uncharted that you won't use in any other games (except maybe other Naughty Dog games).

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

I don't have that much trouble, but I do sometimes wish I was using a mouse instead of an analogue stick, especially when I'm trying to stealthily headshot someone.

 

[karloss01]

I seem to be one of the few on the 360 that has auto-aim as default off (its located somewhere on the 360 dashboard, no idea now) so whenever I put a game in it automatically takes auto aim off (except for any auto aim that's built into the mechanics unfortunately). So playing GTAIV or Red Dead Redemption online was crap as default auto aim always aimed for the head. other then that, I have no problems switching between PC and Consoles.

 

[Poetic Nova]

While I mostly play games on consoles I also play a decent amount of shooters on my laptop so here are my 2 cents.
Aiming with a controller is allright but it's difficult to fine-aim (especially aggravating when playing classes that require it). K+M is obviously better although I do tend to aim like a drunken sailor at times, playing a high accuracy class (sniper etc) is way easier on PC obviously.

 

[DSK-]

I find it really hard to play first person shooters on console. I remember when the 360 had just came out and I *tried* to play a demo of COD2 in a store. It was horrifyingly bad. It was like the controls had been mapped at random and I was using a slow sensitivity trackball.

 

[cikame]

I prefer CoD on consoles because everybody has to deal with the limitations of using sticks, i've been playing Counter Strike since 1.5 and while i like that type of instant headshot twitch shooter, sometimes i want everyone on the server to have more than 2 milliseconds per encounter.

Regarding Uncharted, Naughty Dog haven't got a clue how to get rid of input lag so for me that game becomes one of predicting where i should aim next as opposed to... you know... actually aiming, it's fortunate the game has a decent story.

I also echo other peoples comments about the ps3 controller, but then Sony do aswell.

 

[GoaThief]

As above, turn off auto aim so your movement will always be consistent. Try to find a sensitivity you like that isn't extremely low (two thirds and above is optimal) then adjust ALL your games to use as close to the same sensitivity as possible, this won't mean the sliders will be in the same place sadly so you'll have to guage the time it takes to complete at 180/360. After a while you'll be able to tell straight away so won't need to rely on rotation.

Another thing that makes a huge difference to people is the inversion of the Y axis. I play standard where pulling down on the stick moves the camera to face the ground but I have a friend who comes over occasionally who just cannot aim using it and has to flip the Y as a matter of necessity. He plays the same on mouse too, with it inverted he's a high tier CS player, without worse than the most newbiest of newbs. It's a similar story with me if I attempt to play that way. Change it and see if it helps.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Generally, I can eventually manage okay in third-person view, but bollocks to FPS on consoles. If I'm going to play it, I'll get it on PC first if I can. The only games I prefer on console are driving, fighting and platforming. Everything else is superior on PC (quality of the port depending, in this day and age).

I have been known to start a game on the 360 as a prelude to getting an enjoyable version of it on PC.

 

[Joccaren]

Yes and no.
I'm nowhere near as accurate as I am on the PC, but that's to be expected - I'm using control sticks instead of a mouse, and it should be well known which is far better for accuracy in shooters.
I'm also not as good as I could be if I played more often.
I don't, however, have too many problems with it. I played consoles for my childhood. N64, PS1 and PS2. I can handle a control stick. I've got more experience on a computer, and I'll always choose to play PC over console, but if I need to use a controller at a friends house as they don't have a PC, then I can make do.

 

[Da Orky Man]

No problem at all. I used to play primarily on a 360, but when I moved it to my brother's room so I could use my study desk for actual studying, and got a rather nice and surprisingly powerful laptop, I've almost completely switched to PC gaming. Then I discovered Civ 5, and switched completely over to PC gaming.

 

[TelHybrid]

I tolerate a controller for shooters if the situation calls for it.

A mouse will always be superior for aiming. When it comes to movement (platformers for example) a controller will always be superior to a keyboard.

 

[happyninja42]

Yeah I have an issue with precision shooting on console. My hand/mouse/eye coordination is way better than my thumb/joystick/eye coordination. The only games where I can recall not having as much issue was Red Dead Redemption, and the Mass Effect series. I dont coun't the inFamous games, because they weren't FPS's, but I didn't have much issue with their aiming system.

Overall I avoid FPS games in general, but totally avoid them on consoles, mostly because of this aiming issue.

 

[AuronFtw]

No, most console shooters are dumbed down to deal with the worse input. They either provide ample autoaim or just make the content not remotely threatening, neither one is terribly good design. They aren't hard at that point, just boring.

 

[AliasBot]

When I first started playing console FPSes the controller gave me hell (then again, that was my first time dipping into console playing at all, so the controller was hard to pick up anyway), but I've adjusted to it much more the more console FPS time I've put in (which makes sense, since practice or at least repetition should improve performance). Haven't put in enough time to accurately say which one is 'better' yet.

 

[MeisterKleister]

I like to think that I'm proficient in shooter games with both mouse controls and console controls and I learned both control types about during the same time.

I know that I played a lot of Metal Gear Solid 2 with which I learned aiming with a controller, even though aiming one's gun is a secondary gameplay function. I know that I was pretty good when I managed to beat Halo 2 on Legendary with the highest 'look sensitivity'. Halo is also the only shooter series that I personally prefer playing on a console, partly for the same reasons that cikame mentioned.

Anyway, I think the only solution is practice, practice, practice and having fun doing so, if possible.
And if that entails playing on the lowest difficulty, so be it.
I've played The Last of Us on easy and died quite often. Though I think it was more due to the game's inherent difficulty and my carelessness rather than any control issues.

 

[antidonkey]

I can't aim worth a damn on a console. Doesn't matter if it's first or third person though first seems to be much worse. Too many years of the Kb/m combo I guess. When playing Dead Island on the ps3....I struggled in the city when dealing with humans even when using the gun specialty character. On the PC version, I was headshoting dudes with no points sunk it gun skills with the melee character.

I'm sure it's something I can eventually overcome but there's very few shooter games on consoles that I want that don't eventually make it to PC.

 

[IndomitableSam]

This is why I try and buy or wait for games to come out for the PC. I cannot aim or hit anything at all with a controller. For Red Dead I had the shooting set tot he easiest settings and pretty much always failed the "save the person from hanging" events because I had to aim at the rope, not the person.

On PC, I usually play a pretty mean sniper and can headshot like no one's business. On consoles? I'm lucky if I hit the boradside of a barn.