Button mashing is primitive, unecessary
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 4:30pm by Jack
“I’ll never, ever push a button to throw a block or make a hard tackle ever again.”
That’s what popped into my head as I played a Striker’s Cup match in Mario Strikers Charged the other day. It took until this afternoon to recognize just how important an “a-ha” moment this truly minor event really was.
I’ve called this Wii thing a paradigm shift in the past, but that’s kind of bombastic. Instead I’ll say it’s like my mind just clicked. Pushing a button to do something like check an opponent feels primitive to me now, like picking up an original Tiger LCD game and expecting to have fun.
The thing is I’ve been playing Strikers for the better part of the past two weeks and I can’t pinpoint the exact moment when pushing a little circular button became so unappealing to me. Instead of me being in control of the game, a button press makes it feel as though I am asking permission to do something in-game. What surprised me, though, was this didn’t happen with Wii Sports. Wii Sports was revolutionary, yes, but it took an arcadey GameCube-inspired game like Strikers to show me that even the “run of the mill” titles will also be changed by the Wiimote. I know the ferocity of my waggling doesn’t affect the hit (or does it?), but now at least when someone’s being really cheap I can let out a little more frustration than what a button press would allow me to do. Regardless, I’ll never play a bowling game that doesn’t allow me to fake bowl ever again either.
I imagine that, for many people, for a variety of reasons, this moment hasn’t come yet. That’s too bad. Hurry up and jump in, the water’s fine.
August 15th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
I had a similar experience when playing the Wii version of Resident Evil 4… The immersion improves quite palpably by the Wii remote controls and the expansion to a widescreen format, but now the interruption of the action every time you have to pick up an item by having to confirm twice that, indeed, you REALLY want to pick it up kicks you out of that immersion in a most rude manner.
Some classic titles like this one will have to reconsider their user interfaces now that Wii has changed the nature of the game…
August 15th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
I got that click since the very first moment i played wii Sports, but the real bomb in my head was when i picked up Red Steel. While FPS games never interested me that much because the clumsy feeling of controlling a character via two analog sticks, Red Steel blew my mind, it´s not a AAA title(however i have high hopes for RS2) but i´ve never had so much fun in Halo, while playing with all my friends and 4 Xbox wired, as playing this; the freedom i felt was incredible, and it made me realize the potential of this and every genre on Wii.
Long story short, Wii has increased the amount of fun i have while playing games like a 100%, i have nothing more to say.
August 15th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
@ sakuragi
I couldn’t have said it any better myself. People can stay jaded all they want and nit-pick the flaws, but as Jack states above, “Hurry up and jump in, the water’s fine.”
Not only is it fine, it’s generally more refreshing and entertaining.
August 15th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
It clicked for me when I first played Wii Sports.
August 15th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
When i first played Wii Sports…
and while we talk about srtikers… does Blake uses DK?
Can someone describe his Mii? B/c i think i might have played him.
August 15th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Resident Evil 4 was when I first realized that I would much rather shake or point than to schtick and press. I saw my friend play the PS2 version of the game. It looks so much harder! Shooters just don’t work anymore for me. Having to adjust your shot takes forever with a control stick, and, by the time you get your crosshairs on the target, it moves and you have to re-adjust or die. And the simple breathing of your character adds a sort of timing deal to it. But not with my Wii!
August 15th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
I’m holding out hope that MP3 will be the real clicker, the “point of no return” for me.
I don’t think ANY game has perfected the wii controls yet. InvisibleMan made a good point about RE4, but I think the idea goes further than that. I think every game thus far has an immersion-killing factor, some inconsistency in the control that makes you think about the controller instead of the game.
August 15th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Well we will always have our button mashing. I think it’s a must have for certain games. I have other gaming systems, but the Wii and DS are my favorite. I don’t want any other company doing the motion control thing.
From the moment I played Wii Sports, I felt I had experienced the coolest, most exciting thing in gaming history. It had nothing to do with graphics. It was all about fun and the feel. This is something special.
August 15th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Any game where you hold the wiimote with one hand and you need to use the 1 or 2 button at any given time will remove you from the “experience” no matter what. MP3 will be superb but if you are required to use the 1 or 2 buttons consistantly [Pretty sure you do] that will be the one flaw in the overall control scheme. But it won’t matter because MP3 will own all…
August 15th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
RE4 really put the icing on the cake to demonstrate that Wii will own the FPS genre. You know it’s true the instant you have to switch over to your rifle and aim with the analog stick - it makes you feel like you’re playing with mittens on or something.
August 15th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
1 and 2 buttons can really be awkward, but once you get used to it, you don’t even notice it.
August 16th, 2007 at 12:08 am
– Brian said it right.
I also feel that the button-mashing is here to stay. FPS with the ‘traditional’ style analog pad (so N64), is difficult now that I am used to the RE4 and soon MP3. Free-hand control is just like Nintendo stated, ‘revolutionary’. Although I still remember sometime back, Nintendo had stated the Nunchuk will not be the only ‘attachment’ to the Wii Remote. You can use the expansion port for many other things. Kinda makes you wonder what those possibilities would be…
August 16th, 2007 at 1:03 am
Hmm… if they make REZ for the Wii I’ll bet there just might be a “Trance Vibrator” attachment for the Wiimote. I’m not gonna say any more than that.
Rez for the Wii… how cool would that be though?
August 16th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
I’m getting kicked in the nuts by 6 year olds in Mario Strikers. there, I said it.
August 16th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
“Regardless, I’ll never play a bowling game that doesn’t allow me to fake bowl ever again either.”
Nail on the head, my friend. The Wii has eliminated so many games for me to play on older consoles for this very reason. Bowling on Monkey Ball 2? No way. Any baseball game other than The Bigs? Nope. Can’t swing at it, don’t wanna play it. I can’t even bring myself to play Battalion Wars, knowing that it will be so much more rewarding to use the Wii remote to play. I had the same experience when shifting from Advance Wars to Advance Wars DS. Once you have the upgrade… you can’t go back. Not for everything, sure… but the paradigm shift is totally evident.
“I’m getting kicked in the nuts by 6 year olds in Mario Strikers. there, I said it.”
Uh, yeah. I’m glad I rented that game, because the “piss-me-off” factor was through the roof. I love games that are challenging, sure. But there’s just something about Strikers that pisses me off to no end when I lose. Happened with the Cube version too. Oh well.
August 16th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
I don’t think pushing buttons is outdate or primitive or whatever.
In some cases, it sure as Hell is.
But there are other games I love, like platformers and fighters and beat ‘em ups and shmups where button mashing IS what makes the game so much fun.
The control scheme can only compliment the game, whether it uses motions or buttons to implement actions.
August 16th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
I’ll will never play a Call of Duty game the regular way again after I played and beat COD3 for the Wii, I felt that I was in the middle of battle with the others, to bad it didnt have oline multiplayer..
Now RE4 implements the controllers the way it should be done , its amazing..
Metriod Prime 3 : Corruption will be prove of the Wii being best suited platform for FPS games…
I want Nintendo to backup this statement.
August 16th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
I’ve got the ultimate story
So I was playing the virtual console version of Zelda Ocarina of time and I was just about to attack the enemy. Now i had been playing for about 10 minutes anyway but when i got into a trouble spot fighting a giant mini boss I started to swing the gamecube controller around hoping for a hit. then I realized “hey thats not going to work.” and it hit me how much the swing effect changed my gameplay.
August 17th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
RE 4 did it for me, because I hate FPS because of analog 1 and analog 2 and all those damned buttons. But at the same rate, I still rather use the control pad to steal and hit in Mario Strikers. For me its because I can’t shake the Wiimote to do my juke move so I get confused in a fast paced game.