How can I adapt to playing FPS games on a PS3 instead of PC?

Question

So, I've been a PC gamer for virtually all of my life, and I finally bought a PS3. I found racing / sport / classic 1v1 fighting games the best and the easiest to adapt to. But one thing bugs the crap out of me though, I just cant get the hang of playing First person shooters on PS3. I used to be an avid Counter strike 1.6 player on the PC, so it's not that the genre itself completely new to me, but it just seems that the PS3 (consoles in general) is just not designed to play these games.

It's probably just me, but I was wondering if anyone else had the same issues, and if so, what did you do to get better at them?

Answer 1

PC gamers think consoles aren't designed for FPS games. Console gamers think PCs aren't designed for FPS. :)

It unfortunately just comes down to practice and preference. I've struggled for a while to get used to thumbsticks for aiming/moving and I'm slowly getting better, but mostly I've just resigned myself to buying FPS games on the PC and saving everything else for the console.

To practice FPSs on the console, stick to single player for a while, turn down the sensitivity on the sticks, and play a lot. Turn sensitivity back up as you get better. Also make sure the meat of your thumb, not just the tip, is resting flat on top of the stick. You should find it easier to make small, controlled movements. Good luck.

Answer 2

It just takes practice. Coming from a PC FPS background myself I was also worried about the loss of accuracy switching from mouse to controller. However there a couple of things to note. Move and shoot is easier, having two analog controllers instead of keys and mouse make it easier to do sweep a circle while aiming with the cross-hairs. I've also found the fact that everything is on the controller (secondaries, grenades, zoom) is better than having to stretch my fingers across the keyboard while moving and firing.

Finally it's a more level playing field. Everyone is working to the same "limitation" of the controls so it's less down to you opponent having a slightly faster more accurate mouse or is rendering their screen 5FPS faster than you. In my opinion it encourages more tactical play.

Of course I've been playing FPS on my PS3 since it came out (and a bit on the PS2 as well). It's been a while since I've played on a PC but I honestly can say I don't miss the world of PC FPS games.