What's the best way to first-person shoot?

[wraggster]

via joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/24/poll-whats-the-best-way-to-first-person-shoot/)

First-person shooters have been around for nearly 15 years from the time id's Wolfenstein 3D popularized the genre. Since then, controls have largely remained the same (mouse/keyboard or traditional controller) while graphics continue to impress. But if controls ain't broke, don't fix 'em, right? Right, but perhaps the genre could be so much more through a newly incorporated interface. And even though Nintendo systems are probably the least healthy platforms for FPSs (not to mention the least capable graphically speaking), recent experience seems to suggest that the DS and Wii are doing more to advance/evolve the genre's controls than anything else. Granted, the trusty mouse and keyboard still reign supreme, but maybe innovative controls in this case are a worthwhile pursuit. So we ask you:

What's the best way to first-person shoot?
Mouse and keyboard
Any Wii shooter
Metroid Prime Hunters' style
Dual directional pads (traditional controller)
Other

Answers Via Comments

[qskint]

mouse keyboard is the only way

[acn010]

Metroid Prime wii' style!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ICE]

hmm i like the wii style a lot but ds is pretty awesome too... also you cant count out mouse/keybaord... i dunno.

[StealthCP]

Only today I play CoD3 on the Wii. I now believe that this is the way forward. It was simply amazing, and beats the socks off the XBox360 version by miles :D

However, mouse+keys is the traditional, and probably the longest standing system used, being constantly updated, and offering various different forms in the way it can be used. Thus it is quite universal, and is probably the best in that way.

[acn010]

counter strike is mouse/keboard, it hurts my wrist when i play it

[ikarimaru]

Haven't played any real Wii shooters, but seeing as how I'm still getting used to using the Wiimote properly, I probably wouldn't be much good at it. Seems solid, but I'm definitely more used to a keyboard and mouse...

[Jonesyxxiv]

Id probably go with wii. I think mouse and keyboard is over rated.

[AtariFreek]

Mouse and Keyboard. I love my wii but FPS are the best with a mouse and keyboard.

[irishwhip]

twin analog sticks for me. i just wish that more games had a southpaw option.

[NitrousB]

Mouse and keyboard for me, but now that i have played a wii i think that it will be a very good platform for fps games.

Nitrous

[spikegrantham]

WASD. Mouse and keyboard is only way to FPS. If you say otherwise you are a noob end of story.

[Endlessrain]

Keyboard and mouse all the way.

[blaz3d]

anythingbut the psp lol! mouse and keyboard is the way to go, saying that i tried one of those fps converters for xbox and it was poo

[F9zDark]

Mouse and keyboard is the only way. Get a 6 button mouse with a program that binds a macro of controlls and you can be god with gaming. A friend of mine does this when he brings up a sniper rifle's scope in a game, once he clicks that button, his sensitivity goes down to 1 and he can damn near count the hairs on an enemy's head with his crosshair.

Can't do that on a Wii or any console. If it aint broke, don't fix it. The only next way forward is virtual reality. And the Wiimote just sucks ass; its implementation could have been alot better (in fact, I'd damn near call it REGRESSION, since the Wiimote is essentially the NES Light Gun, except alot less accurate; hence regression.

[Cloud_35]

My first FPS was Half Life. Very looooooong sessions of continuous gameplay in this masterpiece won't be beaten (for me) by a little remote controller.

and since even a 4 year old kid can play with that I say...............

WASD IS FOR REAL PROS!!!!

[prettyrandom]

haha agree with cloud:D must have used most configurations out there for fps but mouse and keyboard can't be beat. I've been getting my younger brother into counterstrike since he was about 7 and he's nearly 9 now; you should see him go:D
And you don't need some £80 logitech uberpro G9000 or Zboard with custom keys; a microsoft intellipoint and a simple keyboard with decent response is the way to go:)

[Boardman2411]

mouse and keyboard are the easiest to get used to, but i wouldnt say they are the best. the wii uses the most interesting method, but must be really dificult to get used to (not having played on one yet). the dual analogues are good, but are dificult to get right and lots of practice is needed.

[yoshinatsu]

Twin analogs for me.

[the_eternal_dark]

You are all underestimating the Wii controller setup. Call of Duty 3 on the Wii is probably the best FPS control setup I've used on a home console. The next would be a standard dual analog controller gets the job done as well.

[.:}<3\/!}\{:.]

all this makes psp look bad...........

[SSaxdude]

Mouse + keyboard by far is the best.
After not playing many console FPSs, I was horrible at Halo 2 because I'm used to my PC nowadays.

[Nasty Nate]

ive never had a computer good enough to play FPS games decently, so its the dual analogue all the way, anybody wanna play Halo 2 against me on XBC, im throwin down a challenge

[The_It]

unreal, unreal tournament,etc.
half life, counter strike etc

those are me faforite

[Joe88]

mouse + keyboard = win :D

[Dark_Wolf89]

I think the wii would be the one for me, but I never tried a shooter, so I will say the mouse and the keyboard.

The worst for me is two analogs, I HATE IT!

[Broadus]

Come on, that's a no-brainer. Anyone with a mouse and keyboard could put a major beatdown on anyone using a non-mouse-and-keyboard setup of any sort. I can dominate on PS2 FPS online games because I'm not constantly getting instant-killed by headshot marksmen that are only found on the PC.

[Yobumtin]

I favor the touch screen method for MPH. I like the dual analog controls for games too. I've never tried the mouse and keyboard way since my comp doesn't have much power to run really powerful games.

[Ichijoe]

Mouse, and Keyboard as the First Option.
D-Pad, and Analog Stick(s), as a close Second.

[woods05]

i think Wii shooting style is best. More realistic

[MicroNut]

Mouse and keyboard

I really don't see any other IO giving the same razor sharp targeting and movement abilities

I cant wait to get a chance to help "level" the playing field when Xbox-Live opens its doors to Vista Gamers.

I know that there are K&M adapters for the Xbox
I own two of them.
They just don't have the same feel/reaction that a native PC game does...

[Junixx]

Mouse and keyboard, but I was easily able to play the DS control scheme and hopefully the same goes for the Wii controls:thumbup:

[S34MU5]

mouse and keyboard.

you shoulda made a poll

[Broadus]

Y'know, if we're going to start calling the Wii realistic, why not point out the fact that light guns are perhaps the most flawless and realistic way to play a first-person-shooter? In a video game, it doesn't get much more realistic and easy than a controller shaped like a gun that you point at the screen, pull the trigger and hit whatever you're aiming at.
And, for you people that keep saying your PCs can't handle PC first-person-shooters, haven't any of you ever played Half-Life or Unreal or Quake? Those are fully 3D FPS games designed to work on really crappy computers. There's also slightly more modern games like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault that have really high compatibility.

[d3v1l]

mouse n keyboard is just the best way..look at counter strike, unreal, mouse keyboard just belongs with the shooters..

[bah]

Seems i'm in the majority when I say mouse/kb.

Analogue sticks will never compete purely because you can only have so many usable speed variations in the movement of the stick, you either cant aim accurately or cant turn quick enough. You move a mouse slowly its accurate, you move it fast and can do a 360 almost instantly.

The wii controller seemed like it could be the next best thing, but after playing red steel and call of duty I'm not so sure. Not just aiming wise, but the wii controller isnt really designed to allow you to easily access all buttons. I find myself pressing buttons on the remote with my left hand that should be just dealing with the nun chuck.

[Baboon]

What's the best way to first-person shoot?

Mouse and keyboard!

I havent played games on my PC for a wee while now (not since half life 2 came out), but for me the mouse and keyboard setup is defo the best option. Its the most responsive and fastest way to play a fps!

[muffinman]

mouse and keyboard all the way.

wii style just doesnt give the same effect

[Paradok]

And the Wiimote just sucks ass; its implementation could have been alot better (in fact, I'd damn near call it REGRESSION, since the Wiimote is essentially the NES Light Gun, except alot less accurate; hence regression.

You're kidding, right? I might have my doubts about how the Wiimote would work in shooters, in which it might function primarily like the light gun, but if you think that's all it does, you've obviously never used one.

[Paradok]

As nearly everyone else who has replied has said, mouse and keyboard is the way to go, for the moment. The Wiimote introduces some interesting possibilities, and I think dual analogue controls could be improved by adding a variable speed button or something of the sort, but until those ideas are further developed, mouse and keyboard is the way to go.

[gdf]

yeah, sticks are more precise and the movement is less bizzare than on pc

[Amethyst]

Y'know, if we're going to start calling the Wii realistic, why not point out the fact that light guns are perhaps the most flawless and realistic way to play a first-person-shooter? In a video game, it doesn't get much more realistic and easy than a controller shaped like a gun that you point at the screen, pull the trigger and hit whatever you're aiming at.

You're right.

Time Crisis lightgun with recoil action and Silent Scope fixed sniper rifle FTW!!!

*imagines playing a FPS with the recoil action lightgun and a nunchuk for movement*

EDIT: I recall playing an arcade with a sub-machine gun that had rapid recoil action. Anyone know what game it was?

[Deathnix]

I would of always said mouse/key board, untill I got my Wii!
Now only time will tell, as they bring out more FPSs on Wii

[Xiofire]

Twin analogs for me. The Xbox 360 pad is the best for FPS's
-Xiofire

[Cap'n 1time]

I personally play best with the mouse and keyboard. I have not played any FPS on the wii yet.

The xbox had, and still has, the best FPS game pad with the 360.. but personally I would prefer to play with a mouse and keyboard.

[juancarlos]

Untill wii it definitely Mouse and key board, but with the wiiremote its way easier and fun... no doubt of it!

[Mister Klownes]

I'd have to say keyboard/mouse is easiest, but I always enjoyed the "traditional controller" style Pandemic uses (like in the Star Wars Battlefront, or Destroy All Humans series). I haven't tried the new wiimote style, but it sounds fun.