Left 4 Dead 2: Controller Solutions

Ok, so now is when we actually talk about the game. Seriously. For real this time. Last time we where examining the various controllers and the advantages (usually) afforded by a more specialized tool for certain genres of video games. 'Left 4 Dead 2' as a first person shooter most certainly falls under that umbrella. The issue is that the game was designed for the PC and while that version of the game is exceptional the version released on the X-Box 360 is a poorly optimized and pale imitation of its PC counterpart. The frustrating thing is that it didn't have to be. While it's never going to be 100% on par with the PC version (mouse/keyboard > controller, graphics, etc.) there are a few minor changes that would have gone a long way to closing the gap. These minor changes have to do with optimizing the controller scheme.

Pictured:  Ooooh a X-Box 360 controller

So...umm...that's a mighty fine looking X-Box 360 controller and here, in the context of 'Left 4 Dead 2', is what does what:

Left Analog Stick = Movement

Right Analog Stick = Camera/View

A = Jump

B = Reload

X = Use

Y = Select Weapon

Left Bumper = Crouch

Left Trigger = Shove enemy/Heal teammate/Give item to teammate

Right Bumper = Rotate view 180º

Right Trigger = Fire Weapon/Throw grenade/Use item

D-Pad Up = Flashlight

D-Pad Left = Select grenade

D-Pad Right = Select pack

D-Pad Down = Select consumable

Click Left Stick = Voice commands

Click Right Stick = Scope/Zoom

So when I look at that list the main control that stands out is the 180º quick turn function. In theory a quick turn is a good idea. There are zombies everywhere trying to eat your brains and being able to respond to an attack behind you will save your ass more often than not. The issue is that the turn speed in this game afforded by the right analog stick isn't great which means that the player is often going to be slow to respond to attacks coming from the left or right. What would make much more sense would be a 90º quick turn. This is a good way to compensates for the lack of the quick mouse movements found in the PC version at the expense of needing an additional button as 90º quick turns only make sense if you can go both left and right. The trick now becomes finding that extra button and assigning it somewhere that makes sense.

Alright lets start off by trying to assign our left and right quick turn to somewhere symmetrical that isn't already occupied by a primary game function (shooting and movement). In my opinion the two sets of buttons that make sense are D-Pad left and right or the left and right bumpers. So what gets displaced with these changes? The D-Pad changes would displace the grenade and health pack selection while the left bumper would displace the crouch function. Hmmm, I think that's a good starting point but I think we might need to shakes things up a bit more. What if we switched up the D-pad functions in general to more closely mimic the PC version where D-Pad up and down would scroll through your items (health packs, grenades, consumables) instead of assigning each individual item to a direction. Doing that frees up two buttons. So far so good. Ok, so now we move our 90º left and right quick turn to D-Pad left and right. Doing that frees up the right bumper. What if we now move the functions currently assigned to the left trigger to the right bumper so that all our attack and item use functions are on the same side of the controller? That might work. Then we move the crouch function from the left bumper to the left trigger and assign the currently homeless flashlight function to the left bumper. Voila!

Left Analog Stick = Movement

Right Analog Stick = Camera/View

A = Jump

B = Reload

X = Use

Y = Select Weapon

Left Bumper = Flashlight

Left Trigger = Crouch

Right Bumper = Shove enemy/Heal teammate/Give item to teammate

Right Trigger = Fire Weapon/Throw grenade/Use item

D-Pad Up = Cycle through items

D-Pad Left = Quick turn 90º left

D-Pad Right = Quick turn 90º right

D-Pad Down = Cycle through items

Click Left Stick = Voice commands

Click Right Stick = Scope/Zoom

To me that looks like a very functional layout that should nicely compensate for the lack of a mouse when it comes to controlling the players point of view and responding to enemy attacks. Other than maybe giving a little too much priority to the flashlight when it comes to button placement this layout looks much improved over the previous version. Overall I think that this layout manages to largely compensate for the lack of a mouse by addressing the main difference between it and the console controller (turning speed). Take care and I'll see you all next week.