[Gabe]

I'm currently playing Naruto: Rise of a Ninja on the 360 which isn't a bad little game (despite Naruto being a loathsome character), but whether I finish it or not is currently dependent upon whether I can learn to adjust to the appalling controls.

The problem is that Naruto himself has the maneuverability of an oil tanker, and is overseen by a camera that has absolutely no idea what its meant to be doing at any point. This is most evident in the mini-games (which you can skip, but they do confer valuable stat-increases and cash and so are worth doing), which require you to navigate the maze-like village at speed and with sharp direction/elevation changes. Sadly, this is a major cause of frustration, and it tool-often you fail not because you aren't very good, but because the game is conspiring against you. And it's a shame, because as I say it isn't a bad game. What makes it worse is that it feels like a deliberate design-decision to have an invisible layer of ice everywhere.

So what other games have been held-back from being really good because of crappy controls?

[Harsin]

Battlefield: Bad Company, for reasons only known to themselves the developers put accelerate for vehicles on the left trigger, luckily they've come to their senses and it's on the standard right trigger in the sequel.

[Asura]

Harsin, on Mar 7 2010, 01:32 PM, said:

Battlefield: Bad Company, for reasons only known to themselves the developers put accelerate for vehicles on the left trigger, luckily they've come to their senses and it's on the standard right trigger in the sequel.

Yeah, similar issue I had with MAG - fire is on R1, when I'd prefer R2 - and it can't be changed. I eventually got over it but it made the first two hours quite frustrating.

[Fusty Gusset]

Why oh why don't all console FPS dev's take it on the chin and just say fuck it, 'yup COD's control setup is perfect - let's just copy it precisely'.

[son_of_helvetica]

There's some idiotic control choices in Lego Batman that has frustrated me no end. The perfect example is having the same button for getting in/out of vehicles and swapping characters - too many times the AI of the other character has come into the radius of my character and I swap to him/her. It's perfect if you want to die unfairly.

[Harsin]

Fusty Gusset, on Mar 7 2010, 01:38 PM, said:

Why oh why don't all console FPS dev's take it on the chin and just say fuck it, 'yup COD's control setup is perfect - let's just copy it precisely'.

I agree, still speaking of BF:BC2, the control layout is pretty much identical but they seem to have swapped a couple of buttons at random just so they don't get accused of totally copying or something and even after two days play I still keep pressing right stick to knife resulting in a bemused enemy shooting me as I crouch and stare at their crotch instead.

[Liquid Myth]

Fusty Gusset, on Mar 7 2010, 01:38 PM, said:

Why oh why don't all console FPS dev's take it on the chin and just say fuck it, 'yup COD's control setup is perfect - let's just copy it precisely'.

Because then they don't have stupid buttons for (heavily controlled, specifically context based) gimmicks like 'controlling' time or awkwardly terraforming the ground a bit so it makes a manky hill.

[Nayson]

Fusty Gusset, on Mar 7 2010, 01:38 PM, said:

Why oh why don't all console FPS dev's take it on the chin and just say fuck it, 'yup COD's control setup is perfect - let's just copy it precisely'.

But shoot is R1 on the PS3 version of the game!

I still dont get why some games wont let you rebind every key/button to what you want though. It seems like such a basic thing to do.

[Paulando]

Any game where you have to hold one of the analogue stick buttons in to perform an action (run, for example), and move the stick at the same time to aim or move, or whatever. Fucking infuriating.

Also, the cover system in Medal of Honour Airbourne worked really well I thought, but moving around with the ironsights? Again, infuriating.

[Asura]

son_of_helvetica, on Mar 7 2010, 01:41 PM, said:

There's some idiotic control choices in Lego Batman that has frustrated me no end. The perfect example is having the same button for getting in/out of vehicles and swapping characters - too many times the AI of the other character has come into the radius of my character and I swap to him/her. It's perfect if you want to die unfairly.

This is a major culprit in this area - context-sensitive controls where buttons are mapped to two functions, each of which are mutually exclusive.

I seem to remember that in Tomb Raider Angel Of Darkness, the quick-turnaround roll and the lock on button where same, but context-sensitive. That was a nightmare, as people kept complaining of rolling whilst trying to lock-on.

[dayte]

Fusty Gusset, on Mar 7 2010, 01:38 PM, said:

Why oh why don't all console FPS dev's take it on the chin and just say fuck it, 'yup COD's control setup is perfect - let's just copy it precisely'.

Because COD really needs a lean function.

[Gabe]

The flying controls in the Dark Void demo (having to do all manner of stick-movements) didn't seem too fun, either - though I'm not sure it's the controls stopping that from being a good game.

[Number 28]

Asura, on Mar 7 2010, 01:53 PM, said:

This is a major culprit in this area - context-sensitive controls where buttons are mapped to two functions, each of which are mutually exclusive.

Reminds me of JSR. Resetting the camera, and spray painting were on the same button. Which was an odd decision because there were 3 face buttons doing NOTHING.

[Asura]

There have of course been games with intentionally obtuse controls - take GunValkyrie.

[CitizenRach]

GTAIV, and the old "I'm wading in treacle" situation. Seriously, so many games do this. It makes things like manoeuvring yourself near ledges the most dangerous activity you would possibly undertake. Not to mention how much the cover system used to annoy me. Grr.

[Sigourney Beaver]

Superstars V8 2. The handling is quite good but the deadzone on the steering is as fucking massive as it is in the first game. Why do something like that again? Are these people morons? They'd have a really good arcade racer if you could control the cars properly.

[Dandy_Sephy]

Gabe, on Mar 7 2010, 01:17 PM, said:

I'm currently playing Naruto: Rise of a Ninja on the 360 which isn't a bad little game (despite Naruto being a loathsome character), but whether I finish it or not is currently dependent upon whether I can learn to adjust to the appalling controls.

The problem is that Naruto himself has the maneuverability of an oil tanker, and is overseen by a camera that has absolutely no idea what its meant to be doing at any point. This is most evident in the mini-games (which you can skip, but they do confer valuable stat-increases and cash and so are worth doing), which require you to navigate the maze-like village at speed and with sharp direction/elevation changes. Sadly, this is a major cause of frustration, and it tool-often you fail not because you aren't very good, but because the game is conspiring against you. And it's a shame, because as I say it isn't a bad game. What makes it worse is that it feels like a deliberate design-decision to have an invisible layer of ice everywhere.

So what other games have been held-back from being really good because of crappy controls?

I didn't have this issue at all, my problem with the races were more to do with the pathing then the controls. This is supported by my having much less difficulty on Broken Bond, even though the controls are identical.

[Wizcat]

Scribblenauts. Absolutely epic potential, ruined by the fact that clicking with the stylus will either : a) interact with something or B) run to that point. Later levels where you're trying to chain your army of fire breathing dragons down next to a pit of lava become ... irritating.

Very much looking forward to version 2 though (which I noticed someone has started a thread on)

[Gabe]

Dandy_Sephy, on Mar 7 2010, 02:23 PM, said:

I didn't have this issue at all, my problem with the races were more to do with the pathing then the controls. This is supported by my having much less difficulty on Broken Bond, even though the controls are identical.

I accept that it is me in part - I'm not great at racing-games either, where you need delicate & precise controls - but the camera really is dreadful.

I don't disagree with you, though I would say that the pathing is an issue because of the controls. I know you were one of the folks championing this in the thread for it, so I take on board what you say. How tricky do the races and delivery missions get?

[kerraig UK]

I remember freedom fighters on the xbox had awful controls, but if you had a chipped box you cold edit the .ini file and improve the game tenfold. Brilliant advert for pirating games.

Saints row had some pretty awful aim and shoot controls while driving, requiring the player to develop some crazy human claw hand