For as long as I can remember, there has always been a debate raging about PC versus console shooters, and which are better. I remember leaving the world of PC shooters for some time because of games like Goldeneye, etc, before being dragged back in by Counter-Strike and convinced that no other shooter on the console could come close. But then I go back and play a Halo and realize that sometimes simpler is better. Sometimes.
In a new interview, John Carmack of Id, creators of Doom, says that PC shooters are still the best in the business, as the PC is much more suited to the genre. He says that the mouse and keyboard set up is the “superior interface” for shooters, and that browser based gaming can be the future of the business, as Id is working on Quake Live to be played straight from your browser. He’s got some interesting things to say, so I’d recommend checking it out.
I know we’ve got a lot of PC gamers here, so I dare to ask: what about you guys? What are your favorite PC shooters, and why are they so much better than console shooters?
Source- GamesRadar
Console gamer here! Don’t see what makes PCs better. Mice and keyboard are awkward and confusing to new comers and analogue sticks work fantasticaly well. Mice are all over the place even on the lowest setting. I got Halo for the PC and bought a PC controller because it was too fiddly. Reload at one side, jump at the other. Consoles have got the perfect setup. Easy to get used to but require time to master. Just not too much time.
Never liked PC shooters. Ever. Sorry. Imprecise to me.
But like… how can it be imprecise if you can put the crosshair RIGHT where you want it??
[quote comment=”2369″]Never liked PC shooters. Ever. Sorry. Imprecise to me.[/quote]
I’m sorry Anthony I have to completely disagree with you. Imprecise to me is shooters on consoles where many games have gone so far as to implement auto-aim just so players can keep up w/ the action on screen. Guys like Fatal1ty and Thresh have made a living on being precise with a keyboard/mouse. There is an entire high-end market of crazy high-resolution mice with insane sensitivity for headshoting noobs from across the map. Console shooters have gotten a lot better over the years, but if I want a pure FPS experience I’ll still take WASD and a mouse over a controller every time.
I never said it was imprecise to everyone,lol.
I said it was imprecise to me,lol. I have only played a few of them, but I never felt comfortable. Maybe imprecise was the wrong word to use, but I just never really liked playing them. Sure you can aim the mouse, but I don’t have control over movement with a keyboard that I do with a controller.
I grew up on consoles, so I prefer them. I stay away from PC gaming myself.
But the difference between them now is not nearly as bad as it was in the past, so PC shooter fans need to come off their high horse.
Mainly, I sucked when I played them, so I never really liked them.
Ah, the eternal debate rages. I’m a little on the fence myself. I started as a PC-gamer, but I’ve made the transition to consoles as money became tighter and I couldn’t keep my system up to date.
Overall, I prefer PC controls. Trying to cram all the functions of a modern shooter onto a controller sometimes feels a little squished to me, especially with games like Army of Two where the “A” button is mapped to several different actions.
I actually find auto-aim a little insulting, so I play on the PC when I’m able. Call of Duty 4, while really fun on the console, has one of the most blatant auto-aim systems I’ve ever seen. Halo 3 is a bit better, but that game suffers from some pretty bad bullet lag.
Arguments can be made for both sides, of course, but the finesse of the mouse/keyboard setup is a winner in my books.
DIS…A…GREE! But that’s just me 😛
PC beats console in every genre of games besides platform and driving scenarios beacuse
a. Assignable keys.
b. Mods (i know this is hopefully changing due to downloadable content)
c. Anyone who uses PC’s for business (most people now adays) have a powerful enough machine to run their games, while still using it for everything else.
The only trouble is a game like GTA . . we all know it will be sweeter on the PC (modifying the car stats has been great on the previous 3 games) UNFORTUNATELY, driving with WASD is horrid…
Gotta have a combo of mouse/keyboard and X360 controller to pick up as soon as I get into a vehicle… we’ll see how that works out..
Oh yay, more unfair console bashing! And with the occasional false point backing it up! Woohoo!
Oh man, I used to be so dead set against console shooters. It took me until Halo 3 to accept that playing an FPS with a controller might not be the most ridiculous concept ever. Then again, I was 100% on the keyboard side of the keyboard-only vs. mouse-keyboard debate back in the days of Doom 2, so maybe I’m just a tad resistant to change. At any rate, the PC control interface alone wins it for me, not to mention more options for tweaking configurations, free mods, etc.
Ya, using the PC for shooters is better. I never get to handle two joy sticks at once…
and my favorite shooter would be CS:S. It’s simple, easy to play, and tons of mods for it. I especially like zombie mod.
Hell yes PC Shooters Pwn! Lol, I have played a ton of shooters on the console, even the ones that are on the PC too and I jsut can’t do the controller…it’s too flimsy for me and I can’t be precise at all with the little stick, I move it and instead of moving just a little bit, it moves like a ton…and i’m like, I didn’t push it that hard. So ya, that’s why I don’t own anything other than a PS2 because I can play pretty much every game I need on the PC and it is quite enjoyable…and I got my Guitar Hero and Rock Band for the ps2, who needs good graphics when you’re paying attention to how much you rock! lol
I love it when people forget that Halo is also available on PC
And playing halo on PC is still miles ahead of playing Halo on Xbox. Not to mention theres not a damn XBL fee on a pc game.
If i could bloody well play more games on PC then i would. i play consoles for three things
1: Fighting games. Untill a PC version of a fighting game i actually like has online multiplayer then i don’t care about PC fighting games.
2: Racing. I still kick the ass off any racing game with a control pad over any wheel/paddle crap set up.
3: Playing with friends who don’t own computers.
PC all the way. Console shooters are fine and dandy. Some are even awesome (Goldeneye/Perfect Dark anyone?), but in my opinion a keyboard and mouse beats a controller any day.
I’m quite new to PC shooters, and I do like them, but I’ve grown up on console shooters and I ultimately prefer console shooters. I prefer using a handheld controller to a keyboard and mouse, and there are some awesome FPSs on consoles that aren’t on the PC.
Quake III Arena, nuf said
In theory this could be true…PCs can hook up to xbox type controllers now anyway, so no more excuses. LAG is universal so that excuse is always there
my fav is dues ex