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A Gamer’s Tools

Whether you play games casually or professionally, a gamer needs to be comfortable with his or her peripherals. Nothing is worse than messing up an input command because of a dodgy joystick, quickly prompting a Game Over screen with the faint reflection of your pre-raging face in the monitor. This was an experience I had not too long ago – probably due to bad execution on my part as the joystick is in fact in perfect working order.

From keyboards to wii-remotes, various peripherals can be used on different types of games. Take for example a fighting game, with most gamers opting for the generic joypad, greater precision and faster execution can actually be achieved with the classic arcade joystick, however, it requires a great deal of practice. This actually led to a split in the fighting game community, with heated “pad vs stick” forum discussions including what should or shouldn’t be allowed at tournaments regarding combination button binding for the joypad players.

PS3 JoypadHori Fighting Stick
Joypad or Joystick?

Working at a PC Gaming center, we get a great deal of customers that are a bit, how you might say, “console-orientated” and ask if playing with a joypad is possible on our PC games. Fully understandable with games such as Fifa 2008 and Need for Speed: Pro Street on offer but what puzzles me is when they ask for one for Gears of War or Call of Duty 4. Surely a mouse and keyboard is the best option for a first-person-shooter on the PC?

At the end of the day it’s all about personal preference and what you’re most confortable and confident with that will be the deciding factor in choosing a controller, regardless of what is considered “better” or what has an advantage over the other. I myself still use a 5 year-old mouse for my PC-Gaming even though there are numerous other “gaming-grade” ones out there, a surprise I know, that it still works to this day and I am forever dreading the day it finally decides to die. I even have a friend that prefers to use the bizarre looking “Gaming-Claw” rather than a keyboard for his games. A very unique piece of equipment indeed!

The Gaming Claw!
The Gaming Claw!

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5 responses to “A Gamer’s Tools”

  1. City avatar
    City

    Im really fussy!
    when i first started pc gaming I wanted to use my usb joypad all the time, but i realised after a while it does take the fun out of pc gaming.

    FPS are great with keyboard and mouse, maybe even better, as I still cant get a hang of Black for PS2 and I know I’d love it on pc!

    The fussy part comes with things like Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic or Oddworld… those were games I started on consoles and they are games I will only play on consoles. There is something very odd about pushing Lara’s buttons.. on a keyoard, especially for really tight spots and jumps.

    Its just one of those things thats personal choice in the end, but I am currently fighting with the space bar on my home pc.. and its making FPS’s almost impossible!!!

  2. Laura avatar
    Laura

    I use a 360 controller when playing PC games, even though in multiplayer if you admit to it you get the piss ripped out of you I just prefer it. I’m a bit of a wriggler and find it hard to get comfortable sitting and using a mouse and keyboard, even wireless ones.

  3. Emily avatar
    Emily

    I’m terrible with a mouse and keyboard, fine if it’s an RTS or something like that, but playing Portal… I remember the level where you had to boost your speed by flying through two portals until you could jump over a barrier, I tried about 300 times before someone had to do it for me, I’m just inept with any quick mouse movements!

  4. John avatar
    John

    It’s horses for courses I reckon. Way back when I was pretty hot on the ol’ keyboard and mouse combo. Nowadays I’m all about the 360 pad – except for driving where, of course, the force feedback wheel is king!
    I’m still undecided about the Wii-mote, I like the idea and the ‘fun’ element.. but MAN I’ve ached for days after bowling!!

  5. James avatar
    James

    Im good with adapting to various controls but ive never really gotten to grips with arcade sticks. Probably the reason I much prefer using the PS2 controller when playing arcade fighters 🙂

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