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Our intern Sal thinks that the controls for "Resistance: Retribution" is the only way shooters on the PSP should play.
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By Sal Basile
I often daydream of a world where the PSP has two analog sticks. But I'm not sure if that dream will ever become a reality.
Until then, Sony Bend is the closest developer to date to get as close to the feeling of having two analog sticks as possible. The studio tossed aside the traditional use of certain buttons and created a control scheme that works for the game, and not just the system. The studio's latest game, "Resistance: Retribution", follows the same overall control scheme Bend used in its "Syphon Filter" games. Using the "shape" buttons for something other than changing weapons or other actions, Bend added a level of fluidity to "Retribution" not found in other PSP shooters.
Using the Triangle, Square, Circle, and X buttons for aiming and the analog stick for movement, "Retribution" does the best with what the PSP has. Fortunately, this isn't a bad thing. The aiming controls are easy to get used to thanks to the addition of an aim assist function that locks on to enemies and a useful "cover" mechanic reminiscent of "Gears of War."
When these three features come together, the result is an intense third-person shooter for the PSP. If no second analog stick is in the works for the PSP, other third-person shooters such as the "SOCOM" franchise (of which I was a huge fan) would be received much better if it adopted these controls. Then again, if PSP shooters all together adopted these controls, we could possibly have the first great PSP first-person shooter. I would happily by a portable version of "F.E.A.R." or "Far Cry" if the game used these controls.
I tip my hat to Sony Bend. But what do you guys think?
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