OK, I No Longer Like The Controllers

[eric_ruck]

Up until last night most of my playing sessions have lasted not more than about 45 minutes. As per my Thanksgiving tradition, I fired up Resistance at about 10p and played until about 5a with one of our equally foolhardy dinner guests.

 

Anyway, I decided I still like the descendants of DualShock after all. Two small for my grownup hands, and it feels like the trigger button is mounted with an inward tilt, which makes it awkward to hold down (such as running in a crouch in Resistance). Also it's near impossible for me to crouch and use the alternate fire.

 

Also, some of the buttons have too light a touch, especially L1, R1 and R3. I found myself hitting them by accident all the time.

 

There are other minor issues with the control scheme for Resistance that doesn't help, of course. Most notably is changing weapons. I found that the quick tap on R2 didn't work great. And if you jiggle the controller too much during the cut scenes, they stop playing, which I find annoying because I actually like the cut scenes.

 

Hopefully someone will make a decent, larger third party controller sometime soon.

 

Eric

[Albert]

Anyway, I decided I still like the descendants of DualShock after all. Two small for my grownup hands, and it feels like the trigger button is mounted with an inward tilt, which makes it awkward to hold down (such as running in a crouch in Resistance). Also it's near impossible for me to crouch and use the alternate fire.

Did you mean to say, "still don't like"?

 

..Al

[Gregory DG]

I've never cared for the PS controllers. I'll take the old NES, Jaguar, or Dreamcast controllers any day.

[dalton4life]

I've always found the dual shock just a touch a the small side for my hands. They got it just for me when they came out the the 1st PS dual analog controller that didn't have the rumble. It was a little bigger than the dual shock. I must say the Xbox 360 controller is a perfect fit for my hands.

[KaineMaxwell]

So the sixaxis is like a smaller version of the dual shock?

[Atari Master]

So the sixaxis is like a smaller version of the dual shock?

 

They're about the same size. The Sixaxis is a lighter version with no rumble, and the back buttons are tilted.

[CPUWIZ]

So the sixaxis is like a smaller version of the dual shock?

 

It's exactly the same size, except that two of the shoulder buttons are now analog and the analog sticks are a hell of a lot more precise now (resolution).

[Lord Helmet]

The dualshock was my absolute favorite controller of all time until the 360 pad...man that thing is almost perfect IMHO.

[eric_ruck]

Did you mean to say, "still don't like"?

 

No, in that "somebody say something about the hardware" thread I said that I liked 'em. For under an hour they're not bad. And I still don't really miss the rumble, now that I've played longer, and mixed in some 360 play with rumble for contrast.

 

While DualShock controllers were never my favorite I didn't hate them. But the angled in trigger buttons totally don't work when you want to hold them in for any extended period of time. They're also difficult when you want to hold them and press a shoulder button on the same side. Worse than the original DualShock controllers for that.

 

I might chase down a 3rd party controller like Logitech to see how it goes. The Logitech controller looks like a black 360 controller. See how it goes. I really do like Resistance and can't wait to play it through, with whatever controllers I have to use. And I'm still really surprised how quiet the console is, definitely a good thing.

 

Eric

[Jess Ragan]

The new controllers are crap. While Sony should be applauded for adding analog triggers on the bottom of the SixAxis pad, they don't help you much when there are no grooves where you can rest your fingers. Really, whose idea was it to make those triggers convex and impossible to grip? Even Sega didn't make that mistake with its Saturn 3D Pad, and that was designed years before analog buttons were common on game controllers.

 

JR

[MegaManFan]

I'll come out in favor of the Sixaxis controllers. I like that they are light, rechargeable, and can power up and shut down the console - all huge advantages to me over the bulky PS2 dual sticks. I know some people complain about the lack of rumble feature but I'm not missing it one bit.

[kisrael]

I'll come out in favor of the Sixaxis controllers. I like that they are light, rechargeable, and can power up and shut down the console - all huge advantages to me over the bulky PS2 dual sticks. I know some people complain about the lack of rumble feature but I'm not missing it one bit.

Just to sound like a cranky enemy fanboy:

Haven't tried the new ones, but I hated the Dual Shock 2, every button analog => every button mushy.

 

But this whole trend of "controllers can now shut off the console!!!" - why is this considered useful? I'd think that the risk of letting any prank-minded, sore-losing, or clueless friend power down everything outweighs the "convenience" of this button... (esp if they think it's the button for turning on the controller, not the system) Until they make these consoles into "jukeboxes" or more likely, everything is a download, you have to have access to the machine to swap discs anyway, and only powerup/down at the begining and end of the session...so what is the point?

[ManShowBoy]

I feel ya. I really can't stand the PS controllers and it really shows the suckiness when you play a FPS game with one.

 

I must agree though that the 360 controller is the best ever made.

[MegaManFan]

But this whole trend of "controllers can now shut off the console!!!" - why is this considered useful? I'd think that the risk of letting any prank-minded, sore-losing, or clueless friend power down everything outweighs the "convenience" of this button... (esp if they think it's the button for turning on the controller, not the system) Until they make these consoles into "jukeboxes" or more likely, everything is a download, you have to have access to the machine to swap discs anyway, and only powerup/down at the begining and end of the session...so what is the point?

 

It's not an instant shutdown though. You have to hold down the PS logo button for several seconds, and then it pops up an on screen menu of options - turn off the controller, quit the game, turn off the system. I don't think your hypothetical sore loser friend could pull off quitting your game without being noticed unless he sent you outside for a minute to get soda from the garage and "WHOOPS" the system magically shut down.

[Lord Helmet]

But this whole trend of "controllers can now shut off the console!!!" - why is this considered useful? I'd think that the risk of letting any prank-minded, sore-losing, or clueless friend power down everything outweighs the "convenience" of this button... (esp if they think it's the button for turning on the controller, not the system) Until they make these consoles into "jukeboxes" or more likely, everything is a download, you have to have access to the machine to swap discs anyway, and only powerup/down at the begining and end of the session...so what is the point?

 

It's not an instant shutdown though. You have to hold down the PS logo button for several seconds, and then it pops up an on screen menu of options - turn off the controller, quit the game, turn off the system. I don't think your hypothetical sore loser friend could pull off quitting your game without being noticed unless he sent you outside for a minute to get soda from the garage and "WHOOPS" the system magically shut down.

 

That is how the 360 works as well.

[kisrael]

That is how the 360 works as well.

I think the Wii doesn't bring up a menu, just goes off.

And even if it brings up a menu... why is it such a great feature?

 

It, along with the idea that "every system is awesomer when it's standing upright!" (yeah yeah yeah, A/V space yada yada) are two dumbnesses introduced this generation that will be with us for a while.

[+remowilliams]

I think the Wii doesn't bring up a menu, just goes off.

And even if it brings up a menu... why is it such a great feature?

The Wii does just go off. The interim menu scheme is much better if you're going to do a remote power control.

 

Personally I like the remote poweroff stuff.

[kisrael]

I think the Wii doesn't bring up a menu, just goes off.

And even if it brings up a menu... why is it such a great feature?

The Wii does just go off. The interim menu scheme is much better if you're going to do a remote power control.

 

Personally I like the remote poweroff stuff.

When they have a remote "change the damn disc" button, then I'll call it worthwhile. 'Til then it's a stupid gimmick that just wastes potentially useful controller space.

[CPUWIZ]

I think the Wii doesn't bring up a menu, just goes off.

And even if it brings up a menu... why is it such a great feature?

The Wii does just go off. The interim menu scheme is much better if you're going to do a remote power control.

 

Personally I like the remote poweroff stuff.

When they have a remote "change the damn disc" button, then I'll call it worthwhile. 'Til then it's a stupid gimmick that just wastes potentially useful controller space.

 

It depends on what you use it for. If you decide that you don't want to play anymore, but rather listen to some tunes or browse the network/internet, I would hardly call it a gimmick but rather a cool feature.

[kisrael]

It depends on what you use it for. If you decide that you don't want to play anymore, but rather listen to some tunes or browse the network/internet, I would hardly call it a gimmick but rather a cool feature.

Now, see, the Wii-mote has a "home" button which is a direct connection back to the sytem-y menus. And I could see having a "powerdown" selectable from there, the same place I would go to listen to tunes, or browse, or do that kind of function.

 

Having a powerdown button switch to tune-listening/browsing is even dumber than the classic "go to Windows start button to stop using your computer".

 

in short: a dedicated system menu button makes sense in a way that a powerdown button doesn't.

[CPUWIZ]

It depends on what you use it for. If you decide that you don't want to play anymore, but rather listen to some tunes or browse the network/internet, I would hardly call it a gimmick but rather a cool feature.

Now, see, the Wii-mote has a "home" button which is a direct connection back to the sytem-y menus. And I could see having a "powerdown" selectable from there, the same place I would go to listen to tunes, or browse, or do that kind of function.

 

Having a powerdown button switch to tune-listening/browsing is even dumber than the classic "go to Windows start button to stop using your computer".

 

in short: a dedicated system menu button makes sense in a way that a powerdown button doesn't.

 

It is a system "home" button, not a power button.

[MegaManFan]

It is a system "home" button, not a power button.

 

Hmm yeah, I'm not saying you're dense Kirk, but we've all been kinda saying that all along. I'd call the PS logo button the equivalent of an "escape" key more than anything else - no matter what application you're in it recognizes that key as the "break from what you're doing to see what you'd rather be doing" and stops the process. And as has already been pointed out, if you're suddenly in the mode to listen to tunes or watch MP4's instead, it's nice that you can use the PS button on the remote to quit and go back to the system menu; and then if you get tired of that you can shut it down - all without having to ever get up and cycle the power or eject the disc. How is that NOT useful? That's HELLA useful.

 

I'm with you on the standing the console upright thing though. Mine lays flat and will STAY flat.

[kisrael]

Well, I'm drawing on my experience on the Wii without having encountered one of them rare PS3s. The Wii has a seperate home and power button, and I think that's dumb... and I might've misheard but I thought I heard the PS logo button described as a power down button.

[jedijeff]

I finally tried a PS3 demo kiosk last night and I liked the controller a lot. I also don't understand the complaints about the L2/R2 buttons. I thought they were a nice idea. They aren't difficult to hold in, there's a large area of movement for precise control and it felt pretty natural. I'll have to wait and see how the tilt functionality works since the controllers are connected to the case by a big bar. I just wish they had a Lair demo to try with a free-moving controller. That game looked pretty sweet.