PC Gamers: Do You Have Trouble With Console Shooters?

[00slash00]

I am primarily a PC gamer, but I do have a PS3. Recently I've started trying to get through my backlog of PS3 games that I never played and am currently playing Uncharted. What I'm finding, however, is that I can't aim for shit and am dying constantly. I had the same problem when I played The Last of Us and had to switch to easy mode halfway through, so I would have access to auto targeting. Now it's possible that Naughty Dog just doesn't handle shooter controls that well, but a more likely possibility is that I just really suck at aiming with a controller. So my question for people who primarily pay PC games but play on consoles on occasion is, do you find you have trouble adjusting to a console shooter after being so used to a mouse and keyboard? If so, how do you get past that hurdle?

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Now it's possible that Naughty Dog just doesn't handle shooter controls that well, but a more likely possibility is that I just really suck at aiming with a controller.

Naughty Dog doesn't handle shooter controls that well.

Anyway I started out using PC for shooters then changed to console when the 360 came out. It wasn't really all that hard for me to adjust to.

 

[Caiphus]

Eeeh, not hugely. Myself and my brother completed Uncharted 2 on the hardest difficulty (although that was almost entirely his effort, while I watched). It just took practice, I dunno. Like everything.

It's not as enjoyable as playing on the PC. But it's not diabolical. Multiplayer seems to frustrate me more on the console than single player. Although that could just be me finding excuses not to play multiplayer.

 

[porous_shield]

I would say I find shooting using a controller annoying for me to get used to rather than difficult. I dislike the feel of thumbsticks for aiming so it takes a while for me to get into the swing of things and along with that come a multitude of deaths when my thumbs freak out with their new found responsibility. After that initial suckage I'm good to go unless there is a length of time between play sessions and I have to train myself again.

After spending time with a controller, getting back to aiming with the mouse for me takes some getting use to as well.

 

[shrekfan246]

Sorta.

Lower precision/speed + tons of auto aim means that now I'm used to aiming with a mouse, I tend to drastically over or under-aim while playing on a console. One reason I love the slower pace of Metal Gear Solid so much, it's way easier for me to take the time to line up the perfect shots.

To be fair, I've got relatively bad aim on the mouse as well. It's just that, with the exception of games that have excessive mouse acceleration/smoothing, the faster aiming speed is simply more comfortable for me to use. It means I can correct wild aiming much more easily than on the consoles. Of course, every now and then the sensitivity is just a bit much for my twitchy hands, which makes trying to play with any sort of scoped weapon an absolute nightmare because I have a very difficult time trying to lead targets even when the aiming sensitivity is just perfect for me.

 

[Zhukov]

First person shooters, yes.

Third person shooters, no, not really.

Sniping or other such precision tasks are touch and go. You're ever so slightly right of target, so you give the stick the gentlest of nudges... and your crosshair promptly goes careening off into the never-never.

I got through Uncharted 2&3 and TLoU just fine.

 

[LetalisK]

I absolutely loathe playing any type of shooter on consoles. I'm so inept at shooting with a controller that I feel like a cat with socks on its paws. Thank god for keyboard+mouse adapters.

 

[DementedSheep]

Yes, I have massive trouble aiming with a controller as well. Less so in 3rd person than in 1st.

How do I pass that hurdle? Well by not playing or buying shooters that are console or requiring controller usually. There have been a few games where I wanted to use a controller for other reasons and then I just avoid shooting as much as possible. Only thing that really helps aside from just getting use to it is changing the sensitivity.

Last game I played with aiming using a controller was Tomb Raider because I wanted to use a controller for movement and platforming. Took a little bit to get use to but I didn't actually find it that bad surprisingly.

Before that was the Darkness 2 (1st person). I couldn't aim for shit but since you have the demon arms as well you don't really need to use guns so I just didn't.

 

[Abomination]

I remember the auto-aim function for Dead Red (or is it Red Dead?) Redeption and how silly it was.

Quite literally you pushed a button and Marsden aimed right at some poor bastard's chest. A little nudge of the stick put the crosshair directly between said bastard's eyes.

Easiest game I ever played.

If it was on PC it wouldn't have been as easy but it would have been far more manageable than trying to use a console without the auto-aim feature.

Er... to answer the question. I do not like having to aim with a console. It just doesn't feel natural to me. It is one of the reasons I do not even own a console.

 

[AD-Stu]

Yeah, they give me problems.

I'm actually not that great at them on PC even with a keyboard and mouse, so when I change to a controller everything goes to hell for me. Waggling two thumbsticks for movement and aiming in particular seems to trip my brain up.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Initially it was hard to get into shooters on consoles when I started transitioning. However, it took maybe 30 minutes at most before I was able to aim with relative ease. Of course, this also came at the price of inverting the y-axis, as it feels very unnatural to me to not invert the y-axis on a controller (PC I keep everything standard). I do tend to have auto-aim on, but I put it down as low as it can go. I figure that compensates for the lower precision without overcompensating and making the game too easy, not to mention the sight of your gun snapping to a target and following it without any input on your end is just annoying to watch and takes the fun out of the game.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

usually don't have a problem...i mean sure, i won't be at my "peak" condition right away when switching between platforms+games, but i can usually play any shooter on normal or play the multiplayer just fine without much hassle.


I also beat the uncharted games just fine, it felt great to me from when i remember playing it.

the only troubles i tend to have is if the game's aim assist is fucking drastic as hell (slows/speeds up your aim depending on enemy movement vs your aim's location) (which i turn off aim assist any opportunity i get)

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Now it's possible that Naughty Dog just doesn't handle shooter controls that well, but a more likely possibility is that I just really suck at aiming with a controller.

Naughty Dog doesn't handle shooter controls that well.

Anyway I started out using PC for shooters then changed to console when the 360 came out. It wasn't really all that hard for me to adjust to.

It's not Naughty Dog that doesn't handle shooter controls well, it's the PS3 in general. The controller just really isn't built with shooters in mind.

Personally, I'm a primarily PC gamer, but I do have a PS3 and an Xbox 360, both of which I still play quite a bit (I much prefer action games on consoles over PC). I've never had any issues playing shooters on the Xbox 360, but the PS3 is another story entirely. I always feel like the controls are more sluggish and less precise on the PS3, as if the joysticks on the controller have a larger dead-zone, and the controller in general just feels too small for my hands.

 

[Snotnarok]

Sometimes, but not to the extend that I'm overly frustrated. I had a perfect accuracy years ago in timesplitters, 2 rounds in a row annoyed my friends a bit, just confused me on how I managed.
It does however bother me with obvious autoaim because I've seen games where you'll fire a rocket that has no homing but sorta bend a bit left somehow.

 

[Zetatrain]

A little bit, I became a PC gamer about 3-4 months ago, and I only played FPSs on the PC for that amount on time. Recently, I decided to play Halo: ODST on the XB360 and it took me the better part of an hour to adjust back to the controller and I actually ended up raising the sensitivity of the thumb sticks, something I never did before PC gaming.

I imagine that if I had gone years without playing FPSs on the console I'd probably have a much harder time adjusting back to a console control for those kinds of games.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

When I played Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox with 4 others I have never been more frustrated with a game as I was with those controls, and that was despite that the only person out of 4 that beat me was someone with around a recent 200 hours in MW2.
I abhore controllers for first person shooters. It's a crime against humanity!

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I don't really have any problems switching freely between the two. In many cases I actually prefer to use a controller. I'd go so far as to say that if the game doesn't absolutely require it, I'll probably end up using a controller. Most competitive games on PC thus see me use a mouse and keyboard (and, for both Mechwarrior Online and League of Legends I also use a Belkin keypad) while most single player or cooperative experiences see me using a gamepad.

 

[Creator002]

I played shooters on consoles a lot before (and a long time after) I got my PC, so I'm much more used to the controller. I find that if I'm in a shooter that requires fast and precise movements, I'm a bit of a klutz with the mouse. However, in games like Garry's Mod or when I'm just playing around, I seem to have a lot of control. I'm quite terrible at Battlefield, but I know that patience and persistence will pay off.

 

[zumbledum]

i simply wont play a shooter with a controller its just not fun to be that limited. same as i wont play street fighter on a keyboard , i wouldnt play a racing game on keyboard either and strategy games mostly require a mouse.

bring the right tool for the job or dont bother is my attitude.

 

[Headsprouter]

I find console shooters played with a controller crippling to my aim. Give me a mouse and keyboard and I can be precise.

So in other words I entirely agree. It takes me a while to get used to controllers, nowadays and even when I do, I feel very restricted, as if locked on an axes, forced to travel only in straight lines, no room for a precise swerve and the ability to follow a target without the tug of an annoying auto aim.