Four Questions, One Controller

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How can Nintendo's new Revolution change the way you game?

How can I play games with this?

The most immediate question at hand is: how the hell do you play games with a remote? What about all the buttons and sticks? Imagine replacing most of that with one motion sensitive device. Instead of pushing a button to jump, you flick your wrist. Same goes for swinging a sword, golf club, tennis racket or whatever else you can think of. Piloting a plane or driving a car would also be stripped to the simplest of interfaces, as the Revolution controller can measure distance, angle, and rotation as well. Now, before you picture people flailing about on their living room couches miming a football pass, it's important to note the controller doesn't need big, exaggerated movements. It's designed for ease of use, and requiring a large empty space for gaming acrobatics isn't what Nintendo has in mind. A simple flick will do the job.

It's a safe bet all of Nintendo's big franchises are on their way to the Revolution and you can assume at least one launch title will be at least faintly Mario-related. How 3D movement will translate with the controller, let alone using fire flowers, magic hats or whatever the intrepid plumber might come across, is unclear. Many adventure games will likely use the so-called "nunchuck" attachment, which plugs into the controller's bottom slot and adds one analog stick and two extra buttons.

At first it seems like Nintendo's doubling back on itself by offering an attachment filled with things ordinary controllers already have. But the nunchuck working in tandem with the remote opens new possibilities. For example, in Metroid Prime 3 you'll be able to look around freely and fire with the main controller while moving your character with the analog stick on the attachment. Either way, it'll definitely feel new compared to the relatively unchanged controllers of the PS3 and 360, and gamers who have trouble dealing with the cumbersome camera control of current games should find the Revolution refreshing.

The potential only grows from there. It may be possible to hold two controllers at once and play a set of virtual drums or step in the ring for the most physical boxing game ever made. It's still too soon to say. Once May rolls around, and Nintendo blows out the Revolution at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles, we'll know just what the possibilities really are.

Brett Elston
Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.