Control Issues

Both official and off-brand versions of the Nintendo 64 controller just plain suck. Comfort and ergonomics are the most outwardly visible issue. I still can't figure out why there would be three prongs for two hands.

When you actually play games with it, there are two results. Either it's perfectly fine (Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Super Smash Bros.) or painfully awkward (every other game).

First person shooters have always been... interesting on the N64. Everybody knows and loves Goldeneye and are familiar with the control scheme. By default, all movement with the exception of strafe comes from the analog stick. Looking up or down and strafe are controlled by the C buttons to the right of the analog stick. This is conducive to the run-and-gun gameplay of Goldeneye's multiplayer, but Train God help you if you need to stop and hold the right shoulder button to precision aim.

Perfect Dark uses the same setup, with just a bit more control over weapon select. Other games, such as the Turok series and Quake II, use the C buttons for forward, back, and strafe, while the analog stick aims the camera. After getting used to this scheme, I have found it to be superior to the default Goldeneye style.

True, movement is not as fluid or precise when buttons are used. But the ability to free aim overshadows this disadvantage. To my delight, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and Quake can be modified to use this system, complete with inversion. Turning the sensitivity to maximum (if possible) is just as useful for this old schoolery as it is for modern console games.

Now, in Perfect Dark multiplayer, I stand a slightly better chance of getting headshots on those pesky AI bots. However, with both thumbs working in concert for movement, one has to be diverted to hit the A or B buttons to reload or switch weapons. If the rumors of Perfect Dark coming out on Xbox Live Arcade are true, this won't be a problem.

If that ever happens, I will cry tears of joy, just like I did when Metroid music was played at Video Games Live earlier this year. Hey, I'm a sensitive guy. Especially in my thumbs after playing N64.