After leaving Sonys Gamers Day event last week, we were much more impressed with the PlayStation 3 than our prior experience with it at Tokyo Game Show and other press events. What most notably grabbed our attention was how first, second, and third party developers have tailored their PlayStation 3 titles to work with the motion sensing Sixaxis controller. While some games utilized this new technology better than others, weve got the details on how each title works with the Sixaxis, and our thoughts on whether or not this added immersion is necessary so far.
Note: Each of these games is still in development, and Sixaxis controls could change prior to release.
First Party Titles:
Resistance: Fall of Man Resistance uses the Sixaxis differently in single player than in multiplayer. The only portion of the single player game that uses the Sixaxis is when you are attacked and grabbed by a Leaper or Menial. By shaking the controller you can free yourself from the enemy and pummel it with a melee attack.
On the multiplayer side of things, things get much more interesting. If youre tagged by a Chimerian bullseye rifle (that attaches a homing beacon), set on fire, about to get flamed from an air-fuel grenade, or zapped with an Arc Charger, you can shake yourself free.
Finally, by tilting the controller either left or right you can get updated real-time leaderboard stats and map callout.
NBA 07 By jabbing the controller forward you can execute a juke step, backwards to hesitate, and left or right to crossover in that direction. Spin moves are controlled by treating the controller like a steering wheel, and rotating the controller left or right.
Genji: Days of the Blade When your character is approaching enemies you can tilt the controller left, right, backwards and forwards to dodge enemies. However, this can also be done by pressing the right analog stick.
Third Party Titles:
Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII There are two alternate control schemes that utilize the motion and tilt functionality: Arcade and Simulation. The Arcade scheme has you turning the controller to turn the plane, and tilting the controller up and down to control pitch. Roll is mapped to the right analog stick.
In Simulation mode, roll the plane by tilting the controller left or right, and pitch is still mapped to tilting the controller up or down. Turning the plane left or right is mapped to the right stick.
Call of Duty 3 If youve ever wanted to effectively smack your enemy in the face, melee attacks are now mapped to the tilt functionality. A quick twist right will butt enemies with your weapon.
You can also steer vehicles such as a jeep, and twist to arm an explosive.
Fight Night Round 3 Its time to fight dirty. Each of the boxers has dirty moves (either default or you can choose), and by shaking or thrusting the controller forward a little bit you'll unleash an upper illegal move like a headbutt or elbow. If you rattle the controller while holding down L1 it'll release a lower illegal move like a knee or a low blow.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: There are no plans for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to support the Sixaxis controller.
F.E.A.R.: There are currently no plans for F.E.A.R. to support the Sixaxis controller.
Full Auto 2: Battlelines: There are no plans for Full Auto 2: Battlelines to support the Sixaxis controller.
Madden NFL 07: Fake snaps by jerking the controller backwards or forwards to draw the defense off guard. You can also initiate hit-stick shots on defense and lead-blocking blocks on offense by jolting the Sixaxis up or down.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance: Gestures with the Sixaxis allow you to power-up charges, jump higher, and throw objects harder and further. Some of the playable characters get a statistics bump when pulling off Extreme Powers by thrusting the controller down at the right time.
Many of the Marvel: Ultimate Alliances boss battles incorporate a rhythm pattern in which to do specific movements with the controller to combat the boss more effectively.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire: There are no plans for Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire to support the Sixaxis controller.
NBA 2K7: The only portion of the game that uses the Sixaxis is with free throws. You can actually hold the controller like you would toss it towards a basket.
Need For Speed Carbon: The Sixaxis controller basically acts to assist your steering by turning the controller like a steering wheel hard while you've got the analog stick pegged. Depending on how fast you are going and how tight the turn is, the Sixaxis assist may give you a little extra help to steer you in harms way.
NHL 2K7: 2K Sports has implemented Sixaxis control with both checking and Crease Control. By shaking the controller when next to an opponent youll check them. For Crease Control youll be able to rotate the direction of the cone of what youre blocking. Youll also be able to make saves by moving the cursor to block shots.
Ridge Racer 7: Namco plans on allowing for steering and gear shift changes with the Sixaxis. You will be able to shift gears by jolting the controller away from you to downshift, and towards you to upshift.
Sonic the Hedgehog: There are currently no plans for Sonic The Hedgehog to support the Sixaxis controller.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07: Instead of having to pound on a button to control how fast the ball should spin after a shot, you can tilt the controller in the direction you want the ball to spin. The more you tilt the faster the ball will spin.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas: With Vegas, the Sixaxis controller is used in conjunction with the snake cam. When snake caming under a door, tilt the controller left or right to move the camera and tag terrorists.
Tony Hawks Project 8: There are two main control schemes for Tony Hawks Project 8 the normal setting, and the Sixaxis setting. With the Sixaxis setting almost everything is controlled with the tilt functionality. Tilting the controller side to side allows you to steer your boarder, and balance while grinding. Flicking the Sixaxis enters your skater into a manual and balancing is done by tilting forward and backward. Revert or pivot by quickly twisting the Sixaxis. By tilting the controller with a combination of button presses allows for grab and flip tricks.
When youre attempting Nail the Trick, tilt the controller forward and backward to pull off either a kick flip or heel flip. Rocking the controller side to side executes an impossible, and twisting the controller will perform a shove-it.
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom: There are no plans for Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom to support the Sixaxis controller.
Initial Thoughts:
So far, our experience with the PlayStation 3 titles that support Sixaxis functionality are hit and miss. Its actually quite surprising that any games truly benefit at all since almost all of the developers found out about this control scheme the same time we did at E3 2006. While we havent tried every single PlayStation 3 title thats appearing in the launch window, the few that do a solid job are Resistance: Fall of Man, Call of Duty 3, NHL 2K7, Tony Hawks Project 8, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07.
Even though all the games in the above list have Sixaxis motion sensing as optional, for the few that have some serious benefits it could be what sways people from buying the Xbox 360 version of the title, and opting for the PlayStation 3 version. While we dont have any final verdicts until we get our hands on review versions of the game, for now were excited about what little things that the Sixaxis can offer gamers with certain games. We dont expect every game to use or need it, but were all for being even more immersed into the next generation.
-Billy Berghammer
