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- Posted Jul 3, 2008 4:08 pm PT
- 13 comments
The Novint Falcon is a controller unlike any other. It's shaped like half a large egg with three arms connected to a small ball. The main egg-like structure houses the large motors and arms, all of which control its complicated haptic gear. The controller brings a whole new level of tactile feedback to games. Instead of just vibrating with various levels of rumble, the Novint Falcon attempts to replicate the real-life feel of weapons, movement, and events. Shotgun blasts have a strong recoil, whereas machine gun fire is peppered with lots of small pushes from the arms. Jumps give you a momentary feeling of weightlessness, and curbs actually represent something more than a visual change when you're playing. But the extra sensation doesn't come cheap, as the Falcon retails for $190.
We tried the Falcon on the bundled games that ship with the controller and with Half-Life 2: Episode One. The vast majority of the games that work with the Falcon are of Novint's own creation. Unfortunately, they're also of shareware-level quality. The bundle includes a few basic sports games like golf, bowling, and table tennis. Newton's Monkey Business is a collection of minigames that include events like racing and archery. They make decent use of the Falcon's range of motion, but none of them provide a great experience when it comes to tactile feedback.
Novint already has plans to make modifications for more mainstream titles such as Battlefield 2142, Battlefield 2, and Need for Speed ProStreet, among others. The company also recently announced a deal with Valve to build Falcon support into several games including Counter-Strike: Source, Team Fortress 2, Portal, and the Half-Life 2 episodes.
Our experiences with Half-Life 2: Episode One were mixed. We liked the feedback the controller provided, but we felt hindered by its limited range of motion. The Falcon's feedback response lets you feel the ground as you walk and climb to different elevations. Hopping down to a ledge actually felt like a drop, as the motors momentarily let go and the resulting effect was remarkably similar to being in a state of free fall. As with any fall, the landing was a big part of the experience. The motors kicked in and jerked the arms violently to simulate the buckling of knees and the impact of landing on firm ground. The Novint also had great effects for several of the weapons. We could actually tell the difference between firing the regular handgun versus the .357 Magnum; the former had some recoil, but a big gun like the .357 blasted our arms backward with great force. However, other weapons such as the RPG offered no sensations at all.
For all the tactile benefits, the control scheme was painful. Prolonged use (anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes) will tire your arm out quickly. The little nub of a ball isn't particularly comfortable to hold, and the buttons are a poor substitute compared to those found on a mouse. Aiming the cursor wasn't too difficult, but quickly doing so was. Whereas the mouse travels on only two planes (the x and y), the Falcon makes you deal with the z, depth. The extra plane of movement is unnecessary to the gameplay and acts to complicate simple movements. We'd also have to fight with the arms from time to time to get the ball to move in the right direction, making turning a bit more complicated. Turning around quickly also proved difficult. With a moderate amount of sensitivity we'd hit the movement limits of the arms, and then an automated turn would kick in. We could up the sensitivity and turn speed, but the turn and movement never felt as clean or as quick as a mouse twitch. You're dead meat in a game like Counter-Strike, where executing quick 180s to see what's behind you isn't an option. The first-person shooter game genre isn't the Falcon's strong suit.
The gaming scene is littered with the carcasses of innovative gamepads, joysticks, and other control mechanisms. Many controllers introduce a new gameplay mechanic, but whenever you use existing games to demo your controller, it's going to be compared to the traditional input devices associated with those games. If the new controller doesn't let you play the game as well as the traditional controllers, that new controller isn't going to be a viable option.
The Falcon is an interesting controller that can offer a compelling haptics experience, but it's a device very much in need of a killer app, a game that can take full advantage of its capabilities.
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