Jamul
08-28-2003, 03:32 PM
Is there just something wrong with me? This game has gotten absolute universal acclaim around the world, it's beloved and adored... and I got it a couple weeks ago. I HATE it. I tried really hard to like it, since it must be good, but it has the most ridiculous control scheme I've ever used! EVER! To do a trick, you do this:
Line yourself up with the left stick
Hold down X to get ready to jump
Hold down directions on the d-pad to pre-wind a spin
Release X at the top of the ramp to jump, but keep the directions held
Hold any or all of the 4 triggers to do different tricks while spinning (keep those directions held too though!)
Hold the square button while holding those things, to tweak the trick
Release it all before you hit the ground, and use the left stick again to line up for a landing
All done! Wasn't that easy?
And on TOP of that for doing normal tricks, when you get your meter charged up, you can do Ubertricks... only thing is, the ubertricks take an hour or two to complete, so you can only do them when you have tons of air... which would be fine, except that the command to do an ubertrick is the SAME COMMAND as doing a normal trick!!
And my last control complaint: holding X is extremely inconsistent. For instance, if you have X held before the race starts, it ignores the fact that you're holding it. You have to release it, and begin pressing it about 1 second into the race - if you do it too soon, it won't count! The same goes for after you fall down. You have to release the button, and press it again, or it doesn't know you're holding it.
Now, I'm sure some of my problems come from my Tony Hawk obsession and my fighting game history (I tend to play games with my fingertips on the face buttons, making the triggers pretty unusable), but this doesn't seem to be a usable control scheme at all. Yet the reviews I read say it's easy! I am so confused, frightened and lost, like a little lamb. I am very curious to see what sort of hand position it takes to be able to switch easily between d-pad and stick with your left thumb while having all four trigger buttons readily available to press at all times. And of course don't forget your right thumb - you need to switch it between the right stick (for shoving other boarders) and the X and square buttons!
Games are just too complicated.
Line yourself up with the left stick
Hold down X to get ready to jump
Hold down directions on the d-pad to pre-wind a spin
Release X at the top of the ramp to jump, but keep the directions held
Hold any or all of the 4 triggers to do different tricks while spinning (keep those directions held too though!)
Hold the square button while holding those things, to tweak the trick
Release it all before you hit the ground, and use the left stick again to line up for a landing
All done! Wasn't that easy?
And on TOP of that for doing normal tricks, when you get your meter charged up, you can do Ubertricks... only thing is, the ubertricks take an hour or two to complete, so you can only do them when you have tons of air... which would be fine, except that the command to do an ubertrick is the SAME COMMAND as doing a normal trick!!
And my last control complaint: holding X is extremely inconsistent. For instance, if you have X held before the race starts, it ignores the fact that you're holding it. You have to release it, and begin pressing it about 1 second into the race - if you do it too soon, it won't count! The same goes for after you fall down. You have to release the button, and press it again, or it doesn't know you're holding it.
Now, I'm sure some of my problems come from my Tony Hawk obsession and my fighting game history (I tend to play games with my fingertips on the face buttons, making the triggers pretty unusable), but this doesn't seem to be a usable control scheme at all. Yet the reviews I read say it's easy! I am so confused, frightened and lost, like a little lamb. I am very curious to see what sort of hand position it takes to be able to switch easily between d-pad and stick with your left thumb while having all four trigger buttons readily available to press at all times. And of course don't forget your right thumb - you need to switch it between the right stick (for shoving other boarders) and the X and square buttons!
Games are just too complicated.