Hardware Blog

pI own Call of Duty: World at War on both the PS3 and the PC. Why? A few reasons (aside from the fact that it turned out to be a pretty enjoyable game). For one, most of my friends can#39;t be bothered to learn to use a PC well enough to troubleshoot the myriad issues that can come up when trying to run games on different hardware configs, and actually setting up and connecting to online matches is still simpler on consoles. Therefore, we play together on PS3. The PS3 also has the draw of collecting trophies for your online avatar, but that#39;s a separate article entirely./p pHowever, despite the solid framerate, performance, and comparable visual polish, I prefer to play it on the PC for two primary reasons: controls and their configurability./p pbr/ The Mouse Rules The Housebr/ While Treyarch made strides in improving console FPS controls, put simply, first-person shooters will never play as well with a controller as they do with a mouse and keyboard. Make all the arguments you want about subtle lateral movement with the analog stick; when it comes down to it, sniping and 1v1 clashes in FPS games are determined by who can aim better, faster, and more accurately. In this regard, the controller will never, ever touch the mouse, unless maybe they replace the right analog with a swappable trackball, something I#39;ve lobbied for in the past. However, I#39;ve heard no plans of developing any such device./p pWith the omnipresent USB ports on the PS3 and already available keyboard support, why the hell aren#39;t developers supporting mouse input for games like this? Unreal Tournament embraced using a mouse on the PS2 several years ago. With the glut of FPS games on the current crop of consoles, it eludes me why nobody is including support for this configuration./p pWhat#39;s sadly ironic is that the opposite is being made possible, as the use of console controllers on PCs is being enabled via programs like SwitchBlade. Beyond that, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty and Brothers In Arms: Hell#39;s Highway seem to actually encourage using controllers with the PC iterations. What the hell? PC gamers are just as devout about their platform as everyone else, and I have a hard time imagining them embracing this affront to one of their system#39;s remaining key strengths. Despite my enjoyment of PC games, if more console games embraced the mouse/keyboard setup, I#39;d probably do most of my gaming there (except real-time strategy and MMOs, which the PC still firmly rules)./p br