Keyboard and mouse control solutions for console FPS players

[Timstuff]

I built my XIM this week!

So far the only games I've tested it with extensively are Call of Duty 4 and Killzone 2. Call of Duty 4, once I got it configured properly works like a dream. I never once felt like I was fighting with the controls to make them do what I wanted-- it was almost exactly like controlling a PC game, with very little lag and very tight, responsive movement. I felt like I was shooting much more accurately than I usually do, and after playing the game with the XIM for several hours I feel like it'd be hard to go back. Definitely a big thumbs up if you like the Call of Duty series.

I also tested Killzone 2. I don't really notice any improvement in my playing in multiplayer, but I didn't really feel like I was doing worse, either. Killzone 2's controls are intentionally "heavy" feeling, and while this works OK on a gamepad it makes the controls feel a bit sluggish / floaty on a mouse. Sometimes I wouldn't move the mouse fast enough to get an enemy in my sights, but other times I'd overcompensate and completely miss my mark, which really isn't that much different from when I play with a gamepad. Perhaps with some additional tweaks and me getting used to it, it will end up being an improvement, but for now I'd consider it more of a novelty than a true improvement. Perhaps Killzone 3 will be different, since apparently Geurilla is modifying the controls to be more responsive.

The last game I've tested was Fallout 3, but only briefly. I haven't gotten a chance to set up one of the setting loadouts for Fallout 3 that has been tested by other users yet, but when I tried playing around with it on my own I ended up with very floaty controls that overall did not feel very responsive. I'll have to try again with some settings that have been tested and recommended by other XIM users. I also have Battlefield Bad Company 1, 2, and Resistance: Fall of Man which I've yet to test. I'm also curious to see how Metal Gear Solid 4's online mode controls with XIM, although I may possibly end up with some floaty control issues like Killzone 2, since MGS4 was designed as a third person game with gamepad control in mind. Only way to find out is to give it a try, though!

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

I wouldn't agree with that at all. I would say that are popular because of this.

In my case, that´s 100% true...and it´s a funny story too.

I couldn´t play fps on consoles, don´t know why, i just couldn´t.
I tried several times, always failed at it.
If it wasn´t mouse and keyboard, i would not even touch it, so i missed some console fps (not much really as fps only got big on consoles this gen).
It was PC or die for me, consoles were only for the non-shooters.
And then it was 2007....and i bought Halo for the PC (late in the game, i know)
In the same year i bought a 360, but didn´t had any fps for it yet.
The only....errr....shooter i played fine on the PS2 was RE4, but even so, i still couldn´t play any other shooters.

A few weeks later i started with Halo, and i thought, because the 360 as a lot of fps that i really don´t want to miss, let me try playing it with a gamepad....and so i plug the 360 controller on the PC and started playing.
Aaaannnnnndddd........it was love at first sight
I played like a pro from the get go, like it was my second nature, which makes me wonder why i never got it in the first place.
Since then, i play with a controller as good as with a mouse or keyboard, be it a 360 controller, logitech, PS2.....any.
Halo saved my life (gaming life i mean)

The mouse gives a better accuracy, but, now, i only play with keyboard and mouse if the game doesn´t accept controllers.
Like i said mouse gives better accuracy, but is not that big of a diference imo, and a gamepad is more user friendly, as you don´t need 101 keys to press, which makes the keyboard less immersive.
The last game i played and finished was Crysis on Delta, and i played it with a 360 controller

 

[Benstamania]

I'd just rather play with a controller... unless it's WoW. DCUniverse would also benefit from keyboard input, IMHO.