Left 4 Dead 2: A hopefully well thought out controller discussion.

Oh hello, I didn't see you there. Don't mind me, I'm just putting on this nice flame-retardant coat and checking on the new aluminum hydroxide wallpaper before I get into the meat of this article. Now you may have noticed that the title of this article has 'Left 4 Dead 2' in it and while that's sort of true the actual discussion of the main issue with that game will be next week while the preamble as it where is what we're here to examine today. But first a few wise words:

“A knife is the most expensive and least effective screwdriver you can buy.”

The above was mentioned to me as a joke at a summer job many years ago at, surprise, a knife store. What it basically means is to use the right tool for the job. Sure you could pound in some nails with the heel of your dress shoes but wouldn't it be easier, faster and safer to use a hammer? This answer is of course 'yes'. And now you're probably confused as to what the hell this has to do with video games. Good question. Well, while not quite as out of place as the pointy screwdriver example above I would argue that standard PS3 Dualshock3 or X-Box 360 controllers with their four face buttons, four shoulder buttons, d-pad and analog sticks are the jack-of-all-trades but master of none of controller options when it comes to certain genres of video games. Those genres would be fighting games and first person shooters where an arcade stick and mouse and keyboard respectively are the generally preferred tools of the trade. I would include racing games (steering wheel) on that list excepting for my complete lack of experience with that genre.

Pictured: A fairly standard arcade stick.

In theory when it comes to fighting games the arcade stick is superior to the controller because most human beings can make faster movements with their wrist than with their fingers. It also helps that the arcade sticks buttons are much larger than the controllers and are usually in a slightly more ergonomic layout. Now I'm well aware of the large number of high level pad warriors in the fighting game community along with the fact that for at least one fighting game (Mortal Kombat) the standard pad is, due to that games mechanics, the go to controller. This is simply meant to be a passing explanation for the reason that the majority go with a specific method of interacting with the medium over another.

Pictured: The authors choice for gaming mice.

Pictured: A fairly standard gaming keyboard.

In my mind slightly less debatable is the difference between the controller and the mouse and keyboard when it comes to shooters. The ability once again to have the fast movement of your wrist controlling an in game action versus your thumbs is significant when it comes to not getting shot in the back, i.e the camera. Having extra buttons on the mouse is also nice as it means not having to move ones hand to do any number of actions that the developer has decided to map there (zoom-in, weapon/equipment change, melee attacks, etc.) . The extra buttons thing goes for the keyboard as well with the ability to have a lot of macros mapped making the switching of weapons/items, additional movements (jumping or crouching) and interacting with the environment faster and more intuitive. Next week I'll look at the difference between the X-Box 360 and PC version of 'Left 4 Dead 2' and how the difference between the controls results in one very good shooter and one barely average shooter. Until next week I'll leave it up to you to guess which is which.