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Post your comments for Is the Xbox 360's Thumbstick in Gears of War 2 Too Sticky? here

[ksk386]

You know...at first I was gonna say "you're nuts!" But actually I do hear what your saying.

I do feel that the Gears of War aiming is very nice and clean, although it is a bit strick. It kind of reminds me of an Etch-a-Sketch in the way its x-y movment...very slow and strick.

Although, it is only Gears and this is not an Xbox gamepad issue...the Xbox gamerpad is near perfect...cept for the d-pad when hitting the angles.

Thanks!

[mattpeckham]

Thanks for not toasting me on a spit, ksk386. :-) It's always a dangerous proposition, digging into this stuff publicly, passionate as some people are, but I thought it bore mentioning, just to see what other people think.
That said, it's not really affecting my enjoyment of the game one way or another.

[Rickster]

I also think that the little nubby bumpy thingys on the Xbox 360's analog sticks (i think you know what i mean) are actually quite irritating to my thumbs after long hours of gaming. So those don't help too much either. I wish you could use PS3 controllers on the 360! That would be awesome!

[Number3124]

Thats why I don't do gamepads. I'm a mouse/keyboard purist and only play a game if it comes out for PC.

[jupiterjazz]

Eh, I just think you are being a little biased. I have no problems with the 360 joysticks, it wasn't uncommon for me to walk away from a halo 3 match with 12-15 headshots, now granted it has a little bit of a magnetic pull to the aiming but it wan't much of a difference, and I didn't see too many people that it helped at all.
The sensitivity is different that is all it comes down to really you just need to adapt, anyways you can change the sensitivity of the joystiqs on most games anyways. No different than someone who plays with a 4 sensitivity than a 7 on steam games. Both people can be equally as good.

[WilliamRLBaker]

HUH? B+ of a game the original was, as soon as i read this i knew not to take much of any thing you say seriously but regardless of that you say ""Maybe I'm noticing it more coming off Resistance 2, but it's definitely there. Popping in Gears 2, my finger-memory's trained to the loose, easy feel of the PS3's thumbsticks.""
Um of course...your finger memory is going to give you trouble if you've been playing with the hack Analog of a ps3 controller let alone that nearly every source agrees the analog control and setup on the 360 controller is much better one needs to actually play with a completely different controller till they get the hang of it I still remember my hands being molded to the NES controller then wondering what the hell was wrong with the SNES controller when i first got one, I have no problem in tracking enemies zigzagging...ect in Gears of war 2 i wonder why you do?

[mattpeckham]

Hi Bill. Don't let a polite disagreement over one point wreck your ability to dig into a bunch of unrelated others. I might disagree with your assessment of the game, but that doesn't mean I won't take what you say about the controls seriously.

In fact you raise a good point. Is finger memory the culprit? Does owning multiple interfaces and routinely switching between them throw off your accuracy? I guess I'd only caution that my issue extended throughout the game, a game I thoroughly destroyed on the second-highest difficulty setting incidentally, but an issue that persisted nonetheless. Don't think of it as difficulty aiming -- we all adapt in our way, even to the most fiddly interfaces -- but more as a very slight and subtle mechanical design issue with the Xbox 360 thumb stick itself, where the amount of force necessary to slip past the controller's initial threshold of movement is such that you can't help but overcompensate a trifle. The best analogy my half-asleep brain can conjure this morning is of pushing a sticky door open, which since it takes more to get going, sometimes springs open, and you have to grab the handle and pull back on it slightly to arrest its velocity. It's much more subtle when you're talking millimeters of movements and just your thumb, but I think it's definitely there.

[WilliamRLBaker]

We'll first off is there a Bill in my user name? no? then call me William since that is my first name thank you.
As for that every argument you bring forth can be applied to the sixaxis as well with its floppy analog wouldn't one find them selves overcompensating in any FPS? you mention smashing a games 2nd highest dificulty, We'll I've beat Geow2 on hardcore and insane now, as well as playing coop on insane with a friend on the original game the one you say is B+ material and neither of us find a problem with the control method of the 360 controller my question being why were you having a problem? it cant be just a deadzone problem or strictness of movement because nearly every one i talk to the FPS and 3PS types of games control better with the 360 controller ease of use, ergonomics, all play key into the choice of nearly all my friends of the 360 controller over the sixaxis when it comes to these types of games most games have a sensitivity option if your finding problems with pinpoint aiming then increase this but do not make out its some sort of design flaw in the 360 controller because your in the major minority on this. I have a much harder time aiming with the sixaxis then i ever did with the 360 controller but i adapt once i've used it for a few hours or a day it becomes second nature for any gamer to adapt to the controls hes being presented with i still wonder why your not.
It seems more to me that sony compensated for an inability to make a pinpoint analog system with a much looser deadzone which makes it all most cheating since your not actually doing pinpoint gaming your controllers design and the game are compensating for you not able to pinpoint aim with the sixaxis. regardless of that I have no problem with either controller in FPS games after a few hours of gameplay so there is no real factual backup to any claims made since controllers are personal preference and in this case the vast majority of people when given the chance to play the same game on both specially FPS games will say the 360 is the better.

[mattpeckham]

Sorry William. Bad habit.

I guess it comes down to the way I relate to the controllers, but it's not just me. This guy had a similar reaction:

http://gamer.blorge....ler-comparison/

I think the PS3 controller handles better. Just my opinion. You call it floppy, I call it much, much easier to fine-tune tricky shots since there's less "dead" space from dead-zero to the minimum motion threshold. I'd love to have a go head-to-head with you in Gears 2, but with me using the PS3 controller, you using the 360 controller. Impossible, I know, but assuming we're both the crack players we claim to be, it'd be one way to settle the disagreement. ;)