You may have stumbled across this article on Kotaku already and while I'm a little tired of all things Valve, because of it's endlessly annoying fanbase, this is neat news.
With the release of Portal 2 on PS3 (due to Sony's more open source PSN) you can see Valve's desire to meld PC and Steam with PS3 and I really find that exciting. You could run a limited version of Steam on your PS3 and even do the coop campaign with a PC player over Steam. Nothing outstandingly groundbreaking, but it is another step towards a potential one console/rig/system future that people keep saying will eventually happen.
What's neat about the new Counter Strike is that, on PS3, you'll have not only cross-platform play AND cross-platform skill based matchmaking, but the PS3 will also have built in mouse and keyboard support.
As all gamers know the "Master Race" has the far superior control scheme and it's a really great addition to the console. Not only does the cross-platform play allow for a much much much larger pool of players (especially for a Valve Counter Strike game) to play with, but the mouse and keyboard support will actually allow console players to be every bit as good as their PC Brethren. If there's one thing Shadowrun on 360/PC taught us it's that cross-platform is cool, but PC player will own your ass with the better controls.
So basically this game has taken a giant leap forward as a future purchase for me. I would have liked to given it a try because I've always really wanted to give PC gaming a really good run, but the initial start up costs of a new rig are too much and I don't want to jump into an old Valve PC game and get owned for being a noob.
Thoughts? Do you guys think these are good things or should they remain separate like they've always been?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm excited to see the technical leap forward, but not looking forward to what it's going to change with the gameplay. Like you said, mouse and keyboard controls and console controls are entirely different beasts.
ReplyDeleteTo me it would be like showing up a a tennis match and I've got a regular racket and the other guy has one twice as large... or maybe 2 of them at the same time. We might be playing by the same rules for scoring, but without a standardized rule to govern equipment, the experience can end up just as unfair. And the solution shouldn't be, "get a bigger racket". I don't want to have to learn mouse and keyboard controls just because I won't have the competitive edge otherwise.
The solution to make them work before hasn't been a fitting solution either. Halo 2 and Shadowrun both crossed platforms with controls, but as soon as that happened, the experience as a whole broke down. It was really clear who was playing on the PC with Halo 2 because they were the ones getting no scope headshots with the sniper from really far away, whilst jumping through the air. Give me a break... It's almost the same thing with modded controllers. It gives an unfair advantage to a player, an advantage that isn't earned through the games rules.
I guess my complaint only applies towards competition though. The cross-platform controls only need to be monitored in the event of competitive play. In casual or cooperative play, control preference won't change anything specific for the player's overall experience.
Hell yeah! I freaking LOVED counter strike on the pc! This is gonna be a day one purchase for me
ReplyDeleteI understand what you're saying and, upon writing this, knew you'd bring this up as you have in the past, but I'm still very excited. I'd love the chance to play it with a mouse and keyboard and be able to FINALLY play some FPS with Juniper.
ReplyDeleteI welcome the change and hope it's one that more games participate in in the future.
You could always just play it on 360. No other control inputs allowed!
At first I was going to agree with 3N3MY, but then I read Amateria's post.......and changed my mind, sort of.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great to give console players the option to use a keyboard and mouse if they want to, but that does put them at a disadvantage if they're playing against somebody with a keyboard and mouse (barring ungodly skills with a dual-stick controller).
I think the solution would be to just make different playlists for the console players who want to stick with using a controller. Again, give the option of playing against everybody, or only PS3 users, or only PC players (just in case someone felt like getting their crap pushed in). I don't even know if dividing the playlists like that is even possible. Even if it was, I have a feeling that it would get hacked somehow.
I think the article stated that the cross-platform play would only work on Valve servers which, to me, indicates active work on Valves part to make sure it plays hack free.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly the PS3 version of Portal gave you the option to play with PC or PS3 so I do expect them to do the same for CS.
Upon further thought you'd HAVE to make a Steam account or already have one to play cross-platform. Since Valve doesn't force you to have an account you will be able to play with just PSN people.
ReplyDeleteCrisis averted!
CS 1.5 brings back so many good memories..it was the game that sucked me into competitive online MP. So i was stocked to hear about CS:GO. I still play a little CS:Source from time to time and I still believe it offers one of the best FPS experiences available, i really hope they dont fiddle too much with the tried and test formula. Love the economy system and really shocked nobody else has ever copied the idea. Think Homefront had something similar, shame the shooting mechanics weren't up to standard so they might of had my attention longer...
ReplyDeleteI'll most likely be picking it up on the PC and all for the PS3 cross platform integration...more the merrier.
Wow, consoles with keyboard and mouse capabilities... it's too incredible for words so I will make up one for it right now - scrumtrulescent.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I love a controller for platforming or racing or GTA type games with some sort of push-button aiming but when it comes to FPS, give me my mouse and keyboard. It really is superior and bringing this option to the consoles is a great idea. I use a $12 Microsoft keyboard, cuz I'm a cheapo when it comes to peripherals, which plugs right in to an I/O port. My mouse is an amazing gaming mouse, the Logitech MX518. You can get a similar mouse, with thumb buttons for around $40. So altogether, mouse and keyboard would be the same as a controller.
If anybody is really worried about handling it, most people use a computer for something so a mouse and keyboard isn't truly alien. And go play a SP shooter for practice. I don't think it takes much to become familiar with the mouse and keyboard but that could just be me...