I thought that a lot of the newer console actioners were co-opting the double-stick ‘first person’ control scheme (i.e. HALO style, aka fake mouse and keyboard). But now that I put my mind to it, I can’t find many.
Any thoughts? What’s got a good third person control scheme out there right now?
I always thought that the N64 Zeldas had one of the most intuitive and elegant control schemes ever, which is part of the reason for their success (and development time.)
Any game that emulates that control scheme (and all its subtle nuances) will have part of their problem solved.
“What’s got a good third person control scheme out there right now?”
A mouse and keyboard.
Kevin why do you ask? Are you looking for a scheme to mimic or just looking for games with good control schemes?
GTA3 has the same kind of Halo type first person controls.
– Xaroc
Both, actually. The intersection between character control and camera control is pretty tricky, and I just want to broaden my sample pool.
I think GunValkyrie for the XBox has some sort of unique third person control scheme. I don’t know what it is exactly, and I think it drives people crazy, but it’s something to investigate.
The only game that should require you to use two control sticks is Robotron.
I’ve played GunValkyrie and it’s pretty wacky to control. It also uses target lock-on to allow it work correctly. I’m not sure that’s the best option.
–Dave
I’m no console expert, but I did check out the demo for the upcoming PS2 Sly Cooper game. Pretty nice control, with one stick controlling movement and the other controlling camera. The fact that Sly doesn’t really have projectile weapons that need to be aimed saved the devs some hassle, freeing up one of the sticks for camera instead of slaving it to facing.
The upcoming PS2 SOCOM Navy Seals game interface has to work for both first-person and third person. You have various zoom levels for third person, basic FPS, and sniper FPS views. One analog stick controls movement (forward, backward, strafe), but instead of controlling the camera, the other stick handles rotation of the character left or right (perspective is usually fixed to either FPS view or just behind character - I didn’t notice any way to pan the camera to a different angle). There’s a demo for this one too.
I always thought that the N64 Zeldas had one of the most intuitive and elegant control schemes ever, which is part of the reason for their success (and development time.)
No pun intended, but wasn’t that all centered around the “lock-on” feature? Eg, whatever you “selected” became the point around which you rotated, circle-strafe Mechwarrior style?
I gotta cast my vote with the default scheme used in N64 Goldeneye (though it was totally configurable), which is basically the same default scheme used in Halo.
Given all these complaints about the camera in Mario Sunshine, I don’t think the console guys have managed to untangle this particular gordian knot yet. Even though they are Japanese Game Geniuses, and everything.
Enclave, the Xbox take on Heretic 2/Blade of Darkness, uses the “mouselook” system. Personally, I prefer it to Mario’s wonky camera, although I’m not sure if I like Enclave’s “switch to first person when against a wall” approach yet.
I don’t see how this applies, since Goldeneye and Halo are first-person games, and the topic is third-person, huge difference. Anyway, I’m all for the Zelda system. When I’m playing a Zelda game, I’m concentrating on the puzzle or enemy that I’m dealing with at the time. The controls are perfect because they allow me to do what I want to do without even thinking about it, it’s just natural. If I want to hookshot to a higher ledge, I just do it. At no point did I have to battle the camera or even acknowledge the fact that it was there, because I was completely into the game. As far as I’m concerned, that is a sign of a perfect interface.