Keyboard vs Controller

There’s a somewhat constant argument that was brought to my mind thanks to 2k Marin’s Bioshock 2: which is better for the FPS a keyboard and mouse setup, or a gaming pad. The question has gotten pushed to the forefront of my mind, at least, since 2k stated that there will be no gamepad compatibility with the PC version of Bioshock 2. This had many gamers up in arms, oddly enough. I’m surprised because I figure that most PC gamers would hate to leave their mouse and keyboard setup for a gamepad, especially for a shooter.

But I digress.

What the debate comes down to, in the end, is accuracy. Mouse and keyboard enthusiasts will go on about how much easier it is to pinpoint and aim with the mouse. Controller enthusiasts, well, they like how the controller feels, I guess. They’ve been playing with one all their lives and they just prefer it. I’m forced to agree with the mouse and keyboard crowd, really. It’s far easier to zoom in, to get the crosshairs over the enemy’s forehead, to get a bead on your opponent, when you have the accuracy and the control of a mouse. But, in the end, I’m still going to go back home to the controller, that which I’ve spent most of my gaming life using.

Because I’m all about the experience.

A lot of games have you take on the role of a character. In a sense, just about every game, less a few like Tetris, are roleplaying games. And I find myself drawn into games, often treating my interactions with them like I’m in that role. Let me give you an example.

Super Metroid. The game opens with a brief recap of the first two Metroid titles, with Samus leaving the baby metroid on a scientific space station for study. Shortly afterwards, she picks up a distress call from that very station. Upon landing there she discovers that the place has been attacked by pirates. As you explore, you enter the room where the baby metroid was being held. On the floor are the bodies of some of the scientists.

Some people may have simply walked right through this scene, mentally noting the bodies but nothing more. What did I do? I played the role. I walked up to the bodies, knelt down, and examined them. Granted, all I did was crouch then hold the R button to point my gun diagonally downwards, but to me it was as though Samus was checking for a pulse, or doing a scan for life signs. To this day I can’t play that part without kneeling down and checking them.

Metal Gear Solid is another example. At one point in the game, right before your first fight with the cyborg ninja, you come across a corridor littered with corpses. I’d walk up to them and kneel down, as if I was examining the corpses, looking for clues as to what had sliced them up so well. That the game was designed to change camera angles when you knelt by them didn’t hurt.

Which brings us to controller versus mouse and keyboard. See, I have no issue with the mouse. The mouse is fine, it’s great. Love the speed, love the accuracy, love the fact that it has more options during movement than move and stop. The keyboard, on the other hand, has just that: move and stop. Oh, sure, if you hold a certain button you can dash, or if you press another you can crouch and so move more slowly, but it’s not the same. Give me two analog sticks and I have full control over how fast my character moves around as well as how fast they look around. (granted, never as fast as with a mouse, but, with a gamepad, even if I can adjust the sensitivity to match that speed, I never feel comfortable with it)

Take the following as an example: You take your first few steps off the biosphere in the first Bioshock and you look around in awe. Your footsteps gradually slow as you make your way, overtaken by the surreal underwater scenery and the danger of a nearby splicer that just gutted a man in front of you. Try this with a dual-analog controller. It’s easy, right? Now do this with a mouse and keyboard. You can look around in awe quite easily with the mouse, but considering the keyboard’s purely digital inputs, you can’t gradually slow down your walking speed. What could be a nice, dramatic moment gets botched because of the limitations of the controls.

I like the controller. It suits my gaming style. It helps me get into the character’s shoes, helps me play the role, helps make things just a bit more cinematic, a bit more engaging. A keyboard would be perfect for some multiplayer mayhem, don’t get me wrong. Hell, it would be preferred. But when it comes to the single-player story, where I’m asked to pretend I’m someone else, I’ll take the sticks, please.