Mouse+Keyboard Vs. Controller
 

The topic: For an FPS(first person shooter), what is better; Mouse and Keyboard control, or gamepad control?

Why I brought this up: I'm curious what people think about this, and what arguments they have on either side.

My opinion on the matter: In first person shooters, the fact that people will still argue that Controllers are just as good if not better than Mouse+Keyboard controls fascinates me. How can one think this? Give me a mouse and keyboard and I will own JESUS if he's using a controller, and I'm not that good at FPS games!

Convince me Console Gamers!

I don't know anyone who thinks a gamepad is better for playing FPS's.

I'd be very interested to hear the argument of anyone who has played both ways to a decent extent and is more skilled with a controller. :)

Yeah I don't think this is much of an argument, I've never seen/heard anyone take the controller's side. Heh.

a friend of mine got into a discussion with me about this exact topic. we were playing halo at the time. he was kickin my ass. i suck with a controller. i told him to give me a keyboard and mouse and i would wipe the floor with him. i think the only people who prefer controllers are people who don't have a computer, or have never played a FPS on a computer. you can never have as precise control with your thumb as you do with your whole arm.

i was trying to play Unreal Champ on the xBox with a controller... it was damnned impossible

I used to be adamant about using only the keyboard when playing FPS. I still held up pretty well against everybody else on the keyboard/mouse combo. Of course I eventually had to cave in and admit that the combo works better.

Yep, Doom and Wolfstein got me using just the keyboard. I think I even played Quake that way, but then by Quake II, I had to go to the mouse/keyboard combo. It was the only way to be even slightly competetive.

same here moelester..

doom II, wolfenstein, and quake were all keyboard only for me.
Quake II was when I switched to mouse/keyboard combo.

I have trouble with most 3D console games because I find controllers to be completely lacking in the ability to control camera/movement/aiming at the same time.

Yeah, it's weird. Even using the analog sticks, I can't seem to get the camera where I need it quickly enough... or it moves too quickly... etc... with my mouse I just 'point' at what I want to look at... after I got used to it, it just became a very natural thing to do.

Add my voice to the chorus of those on the side of the keyboard+mouse combo. I've been playing that way ever since Doom [edit](well, with keyboard, at least ... didn't really need the mouse back then)[/edit]. The only times I've ever deviated were when I tried Red Faction on the PS2, and Halo when I borrowed my friend's Xbox. Halo was actually pretty good (of course, it would've been a lot better if I'd had a keyboard and mouse), but RF was just totally unbearable for me for some reason.

Well if someone plays a game a fuckin lot, the controller could become like a second hand to them, they get so they know and feel the controller so well and they have complete control over the game because of this comfort. That's all I can think of, I was like that with Goldeneye for N64.

yeah, if you game a lot with a controller, you can become quite adept with it. but still, nothing can beat a mouse+keyboard combo.

For FPS definitely a controller, having it all at your fingertips on one thing intstead of a half foot apart from each other is much easier.

I agree that if you play a FPS with a controller for a long time, you can get to be damn good. But nothing beats a mouse and keyboard. Halo comes out for PC soon; a mouse and keyboard will make me a lot better. IGN even interviewed the Halo PC designers, asking if the difficulty will be heightened because of mouse and keyboard support.

-Lasereth

NO question that keyboard and mouse is better than a controller but games can still be very playable and fun with a controller. I have become a pretty good shot in SOCOM with my controller.

The use of controllers in a FPS game should be illegal.

Keyboard+mouse wins hands down. Example: I tried to play a fps on Dreamcast with a controller. I did ok with the AI on stupid. I plug in a mouse and keyboard... I own the bots on the hardest difficulty.

I hate hate hate hate hate FPS games on console systems. Using a pad is unbearably slow and unresponsive. There's no point unless you like taking 4 seconds to aim at a target and enjoy being extrordinarily limited in your movement.

I kinda figured this would be the general concensus on this matter. As I'm sure you can tell in my post, I'm a mouse/keyboard fan. I have, however, had many people try to make the argument that a controller is just as good.

I'll just point them to this thread for evidence. :)

Well, there's a difference between the keyboard and mouse being better, and the controller just sucking. I can kick major ass at Halo with a controller. Controllers don't suck once you get used to them, but in the end, a mouse and keyboard are still better.

-Lasereth

There is no way a controller can ever be better than a mouse + keyboard.

I couldn't say I also use a keyboard+mouse and I don't even know how a person can even kill a person with a mere controller :/

Joystick for anything *but* FPS games, mouse+keyboard is the best for FPS

(trackballs should be promptly thrown into a nearby garbage receptacle)

lotta love for keyboard and mouse in this thread huh?

heres the situation IMHO
keyboard+mouse = insane weapon accuracy
controller = somewhat better movement control

If they made a FPS where moving your character around
was more important than railing your oponent in the eye
then possibly controller could win out...

still i've played xboxhalo (is it out for pc yet?),
and its a ton of fun, most especially when youre playing
cooperative throughout the game.... on legendary....

Keyboard and mouse on FPS, that is no contest. The gamer has more freedom of movement and control over the character.

I started playing FPS in a controller [consoles] and then to keyboard and mouse, and I love it. I have better accuracy

Desertcombat is the only game I sometimes use a controller in, and even then it isn't really needed. You can't beat the mouse and keyboard.

On a controller you're using two sticks to do the same thing one mouse can do. Sure, I have some friends who play Halo and Xbox FPS's all day long, and they kick ass with the controller. they somehow manage accurate shots. But then I think maybe your mind has to concentrate more on using the two sticks to target than a mouse. Maybe if they had been using a mouse all along, they would be more adept players, because their minds could have been focusing on where to improve rather than how to move. Or maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about.... Ya.. thats it...

I have a MS Optical Explorer mouse, and in CS or UT, those side buttons are jump and crouch, so on the keyboard, I'm more or less just using w a s d. Very easy, very comfortable.

One more thing from the crazy person - UT on PS2 has usb keyboard and mouse support. Thats how I always played. I beleive several Dreamcast games supported keyboard and mouse play as well.

as for controller having better movement control, ya, those pressure sensitive sticks are nice
should make a keyboard with pressure sensitive wasd

I gotta go with the keyboard/mouse being the best.

But in Halo, as with anything, if you play for more than 15 or so hours in multi, you get really used to the controller, and it comes as second nature :) I dont mind it.

mouse n keyboard OWN a controller
except for nintendo games ROFL

I'll take controller side.

I grew up playing quake, hexen etc etc.

But after playing Halo and other FPS with x-box dual analog sticks... i find it easier to play that way.

I'm pro controller.