Wednesday, July 14, 2010

5 Games That Motion Controls Could Improve

The Barrel Roll

5 Games That Motion Controls Could Improve

It’s really quite undeniable at this point: motion controls are the future of gaming. With the Nintendo nostalgia machine known as the Wii, Sony’s Wii 2.0 (a.k.a Playstation Move), and Microsoft’s suspiciously family friendly Kinect, motion control has taken a firm grip on the Game Industry. There are some promising games on the horizon, but there are many existing series that need or atleast could benefit from motion control.

In no particular order, here are five games that would do well with motion control.

God of War

The head ripping, blade throwing, impale-everything-in-sight Ghost of Sparta could do with some motion control. Imagine using the Move controller as your own personal Blades of Chaos. The level of control could allow for some amazing combos, and videos of fat guys swinging their arms and pretending to be Kratos on Youtube could be the best marketing ploy ever. The real plus would be replacing all those pesky quick time events and instead of showing what buttons to press, showing how to move the controller. Using both Move controllers could allow players to use the two blades independently, allowing them to strike at opponents on either side of Kratos at the same time. With a little creativity, Kratos could be decimating the pantheon of Greek Gods with a level of ingenuity unsurpassed by current games.

Mortal Kombat

Any who might be on the fence about the idea of a Mortal Kombat game with motion controls need only think about the endless possibilities for Fatalities. Let your viciousness out. The best idea possible would be taking motion control and putting it online. Put your best moves against other MK nerds over the internet. Perhaps a practice mode could be put in place for those who’d rather use Move or Kinect over a traditional controller. Also, each character could have motion specific special moves. Extend your arms toward the screen as Sub Zero to freeze your opponent, or rotate them as Liu Kang to perform a bicycle kick. While this would work well for other big fighting series as well, MK’s limitless brutality and its gruesome style would guarantee the most visceral action.

Left 4 Dead

Who hasn’t dreamed of the zombie apocalypse? Get chased by some overenthusiastic Romero fan, blast them in the face with a shotgun, and throw Molotov cocktails at their headless body in the safety of your home with motion control. Left 4 Dead is a great choice because of its simplicity. Even on rails, the game could prove to be a majorly successful and enjoyable title. Try to imagine the old school House of the Dead arcade games with Left 4 Dead visuals and style all on your TV. Use an assortment of guns, axes, frying pans, chainsaws, pipe bombs, and snarky comments to blast, chop, and otherwise obliterate the mindless hordes facing you.

Grand Theft Auto

Getting drunk, stealing a car, doing a drive by, picking up a hooker, killing said hooker, wrecking the car, and going to town on the wreckage with a baseball bat has never been so much fun. If you don’t think a GTA game with motion control would be fun, you’ve never really played a GTA game. The beauty of GTA being motion controlled is the sheer diversity of the controls. Melee combat such as bats and crowbars, gunplay including assault rifles, rocket launchers and the like, and great driving missions could all be available in the same package. All with the freedom we’ve come to expect from Rockstar. If done right, players could act out all their fantasies of being a hardened criminal without all the real life punishments.

Metal Gear Solid

Now, if the whole point of motion control is putting yourself in the action, the Metal Gear Solid series needs at least one game with it. I want to destroy walking battle tanks with rocket launchers, sneak up on genetically enhanced soldiers, and hide under cardboard boxes. I can do that last one without actually playing the game, but still. Now, playing an entire Metal Gear game with motion control might get a little tiresome, so I wouldn’t want Kojima to get rid of the controller completely. However, working through a mind-bending plot (and I mean actually working through it) would be decidedly awesome. You could actually use your hands to hold guards at gunpoint, and rob them of their dog tags. You could actually get down low to sneak around, or conveniently forget being sneaky, and shoot wildly into the air. Talking in a gravely voice, however, is entirely optional.

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