How Sixaxis works in a multitude of games...

After leaving Sony’s Gamers’ Day event last week, we were much more impressed with the PlayStation 3 than our prior experience with it at Tokyo Game Show and other press events. What most notably grabbed our attention was how first, second, and third party developers have tailored their PlayStation 3 titles to work with the motion sensing Sixaxis controller. While some games utilized this new technology better than others, we’ve got the details on how each title works with the Sixaxis, and our thoughts on whether or not this added immersion is necessary so far.

Note: Each of these games is still in development, and Sixaxis controls could change prior to release.

First Party Titles:

Resistance: Fall of Man – Resistance uses the Sixaxis differently in single player than in multiplayer. The only portion of the single player game that uses the Sixaxis is when you are attacked and grabbed by a Leaper or Menial. By shaking the controller you can free yourself from the enemy and pummel it with a melee attack.

On the multiplayer side of things, things get much more interesting. If you’re tagged by a Chimerian bullseye rifle (that attaches a homing beacon), set on fire, about to get flamed from an air-fuel grenade, or zapped with an Arc Charger, you can shake yourself free.

Finally, by tilting the controller either left or right you can get updated real-time leaderboard stats and map callout.

NBA 07 – By jabbing the controller forward you can execute a juke step, backwards to hesitate, and left or right to crossover in that direction. Spin moves are controlled by treating the controller like a steering wheel, and rotating the controller left or right.

Genji: Days of the Blade – When your character is approaching enemies you can tilt the controller left, right, backwards and forwards to dodge enemies. However, this can also be done by pressing the right analog stick.

Third Party Titles:

Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII – There are two alternate control schemes that utilize the motion and tilt functionality: Arcade and Simulation. The Arcade scheme has you turning the controller to turn the plane, and tilting the controller up and down to control pitch. Roll is mapped to the right analog stick.

In Simulation mode, roll the plane by tilting the controller left or right, and pitch is still mapped to tilting the controller up or down. Turning the plane left or right is mapped to the right stick.

Call of Duty 3 – If you’ve ever wanted to effectively smack your enemy in the face, melee attacks are now mapped to the tilt functionality. A quick twist right will butt enemies with your weapon.
You can also steer vehicles such as a jeep, and twist to arm an explosive.

Fight Night Round 3 – It’s time to fight dirty. Each of the boxers has dirty moves (either default or you can choose), and by shaking or thrusting the controller forward a little bit you' ll unleash an upper illegal move like a headbutt or elbow. If you rattle the controller while holding down L1 it' ll release a lower illegal move like a knee or a low blow.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - There are no plans for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to support the Sixaxis controller.

F.E.A.R. - There are currently no plans for F.E.A.R. to support the Sixaxis controller.

Full Auto 2: Battlelines - There are no plans for Full Auto 2: Battlelines to support the Sixaxis controller.

Madden NFL 07 - Fake snaps by jerking the controller backwards or forwards to draw the defense off guard. You can also initiate hit-stick shots on defense and lead-blocking blocks on offense by jolting the Sixaxis up or down.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Gestures with the Sixaxis allow you to power-up charges, jump higher, and throw objects harder and further. Some of the playable characters get a statistics bump when pulling off Extreme Powers by thrusting the controller down at the right time.

Many of the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance’s boss battles incorporate a rhythm pattern in which to do specific movements with the controller to combat the boss more effectively.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire - There are no plans for Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire to support the Sixaxis controller.

NBA 2K7 - The only portion of the game that uses the Sixaxis is with free throws. You can actually hold the controller like you would toss it towards a basket.

Need For Speed Carbon - The Sixaxis controller basically acts to assist your steering by turning the controller like a steering wheel hard while you' ve got the analog stick pegged. Depending on how fast you are going and how tight the turn is, the Sixaxis assist may give you a little extra help to steer you in harms way.

NHL 2K7 - 2K Sports has implemented Sixaxis control with both checking and Crease Control. By shaking the controller when next to an opponent you’ll check them. For Crease Control you’ll be able to rotate the direction of the cone of what you’re blocking. You’ll also be able to make saves by moving the cursor to block shots.

Ridge Racer 7 - Namco plans on allowing for steering and gear shift changes with the Sixaxis. You will be able to shift gears by jolting the controller away from you to downshift, and towards you to upshift.

Sonic the Hedgehog - There are currently no plans for Sonic The Hedgehog to support the Sixaxis controller.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - Instead of having to pound on a button to control how fast the ball should spin after a shot, you can tilt the controller in the direction you want the ball to spin. The more you tilt the faster the ball will spin.

Tom Clancy' s Rainbow Six Vegas - With Vegas, the Sixaxis controller is used in conjunction with the snake cam. When snake caming under a door, tilt the controller left or right to move the camera and tag terrorists.

Tony Hawk’s Project 8 - There are two main control schemes for Tony Hawk’s Project 8 – the normal setting, and the Sixaxis setting. With the Sixaxis setting almost everything is controlled with the tilt functionality. Tilting the controller side to side allows you to steer your boarder, and balance while grinding. Flicking the Sixaxis enters your skater into a manual and balancing is done by tilting forward and backward. Revert or pivot by quickly twisting the Sixaxis. By tilting the controller with a combination of button presses allows for grab and flip tricks.

When you’re attempting Nail the Trick, tilt the controller forward and backward to pull off either a kick flip or heel flip. Rocking the controller side to side executes an impossible, and twisting the controller will perform a shove-it.

Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom - There are no plans for Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom to support the Sixaxis controller.

Initial Thoughts:

So far, our experience with the PlayStation 3 titles that support Sixaxis functionality are hit and miss. It’s actually quite surprising that any games truly benefit at all since almost all of the developers found out about this control scheme the same time we did – at E3 2006. While we haven’t tried every single PlayStation 3 title that’s appearing in the launch window, the few that do a solid job are Resistance: Fall of Man, Call of Duty 3, NHL 2K7, Tony Hawk’s Project 8, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07.

Even though all the games in the above list have Sixaxis motion sensing as optional, for the few that have some serious benefits it could be what sways people from buying the Xbox 360 version of the title, and opting for the PlayStation 3 version. While we don’t have any final verdicts until we get our hands on review versions of the game, for now we’re excited about what little things that the Sixaxis can offer gamers with certain games. We don’t expect every game to use or need it, but we’re all for being even more immersed into the next generation.

-Billy Berghammer

From GameInformer.

It’s time to fight dirty. Each of the boxers has dirty moves (either default or you can choose), and by shaking or thrusting the controller forward a little bit you' ll unleash an upper illegal move like a headbutt or elbow. If you rattle the controller while holding down L1 it' ll release a lower illegal move like a knee or a low blow.

Sweet!

I' m glad to see it' s being used. I was worried it would become a cheap gimmick in the beginning, but the one thing that does dissapoint me is the fact that not every game uses it, and it is what the controller is named after. I mean, what would it look like if " DUALSHOCK" became " DUALSHOCK for all of our games except the ones we really don' t think DUALSHOCK will advance gameplay in" ?

I would wish they used it to lean in fps games, that would be a very cool feature :).

It would. Good idea.

the sixaxis has a tremendous potentiel , i' ve never seen it as gimmick but rather a genius move, the obvious thing to think about is that you have like 6 boutons extra over the original dualshock without making it too loaded.

there are many ideas that could be implemented, (nice one you got there jallenalle), you can use it mainly in fps and racing and do with it some original stuff.

I really like the Call of Duty thing

Call of Duty 3 – If you’ve ever wanted to effectively smack your enemy in the face, melee attacks are now mapped to the tilt functionality. A quick twist right will butt enemies with your weapon.

Simple, yet very effective, and it hasnt been done before.

Change is inevitable. Except from a vending machine.

Viva La Revolution! erm, I mean Viva La Wii!

...somebody should tell those flat-scans at game-homo about Monster Kingdom: Unknown Realms......

...Sigma' s gonna use it too.... ...like anyone with half a brain really expects launch games to make good use of SIXAXIS.......

...Billy Berghammer = nub...

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i know i' m gonna sound like a hater but heres my 2 cents -

Resistance? shaking off enemies, homing devices fires etc is not my idea of innovative. IF anything this could have easily been mapped to a stick (side to side movement etc). Its a novel idea but it should not be seen as a major reason for implementing six axis.

Tiger woods PGA? tilt the control in the direction you want the ball to spin, the faster the more spin, i can see this breaking alot of wrists (joking). I think most will agree that actual making a swing motion ala Wii is much more better use of motion sensing technology

Rainbow six? to move a snake cam? Thats pretty lame, what this can' t be done on an analog stick?

And almost half the games don' t even bother using it.

I' m sorry but most of these things that the six axis is doing could simply have been done on a normal control stick, to me the six axis is simply a glorified analog stick (ie instead of dual analog it should be triple analog). That does not seem like anything really new, different yes but not really new.

I' m not saying that its necessarily a bad thing, offering more control i guess is a good thing, i' m just saying the current implementation still seems rather tacked on more then built intentionally for it. This could improve in the future, but i' m currently not convinced, nor am i impressed.

intriguing..maybe in the next 2 years I' ll get one :P

" What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things."
~ Unknown ~

I would wish they used it to lean in fps games, that would be a very cool feature :).

And I wish they would leave lean out of non-swat FPS' s, it only slows the action down and is usually a cheap tactic...

But by all means put it in a game like R6, but if I ever see it in something like Halo, UT, or Quake, Im gonna mail anthrax to someone...

P.S. to the FBI: that was a joke, I am not a terrorist. Please dont use your big bad patriot act to kill me over this. Please.

I dont want to celebrate, I want to sell you hate.

The ideal kind of game for something like this would be Super Monkey Ball. I also like the idea of free-throws in NBA 2K7, and obviously dodging in games like Sigma will be good uses for it.

Y' know what i can' t wait for though?! Snapping peoples necks in MGS4 by violently twisting the pad...

I think that it has some nice uses as alternative control schemes, some of the games it just seems gimmicky.

And Fight Night R3, wtf? They should have made, when you press R1 (like on ps2 version) you are in the dodging ' mode' well why not when R1 is held, moving the sixaxis moves the players dodge? especially in first person mode

NiGHTS into Dreamcast

I like how a certain game happens to be missing from that list...

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

I like how a certain game happens to be missing from that list...

What game?

Warhawk.

...don' t see Liar on that list either.......

Currently accepting Article & Review requests

ORIGINAL: Bishonen

...don' t see Liar on that list either.......

Liar?

...that' s " Lair" ...

....you know, dragons mercilessly chomping, stomping and setting fire to people while you sit nice and safe on it' s back....

Currently accepting Article & Review requests

I think it' s because they wanted to see how the controller would be handled in games that were not ' built' around it.

It' s kinda unfair, but it also helps to point out when companies are tacking random stuff on to make use of Sixaxis so it doesn' t look like a hastily copied gimmick ( which I still think it is, all things considered).

Considering how ports between 360 and PS3 are going to be rather frequent, I doubt Sixaxis support on ported, third-party games would be anything to shout about, or be anything significant to affect gameplay.

I' m a bit skeptical about mapping so many movements to the controller though, like Marvel Ultimate Alliance:

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Gestures with the Sixaxis allow you to power-up charges, jump higher, and throw objects harder and further. Some of the playable characters get a statistics bump when pulling off Extreme Powers by thrusting the controller down at the right time.

Many of the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance’s boss battles incorporate a rhythm pattern in which to do specific movements with the controller to combat the boss more effectively.

Just that, that means any accidental movement might trigger various things in the game, and players must in fact, stay inert to make sure they trigger only the things they want...