6 Games That Would Have Been Better With Motion Controls

Summary

• Shatter's innovative gameplay could benefit from more precise motion controls for gravity manipulation and paddle movement.
• Tower defense classic Plants vs Zombies could reach more players by incorporating motion controls for unit selection and deployment.
• BioShock's immersive world could be enhanced by gyro aiming, while The Sims 4's console experience would be more user-friendly with motion controls.

If you bring up motion controls among any group of gamers, there’s bound to be a heated discussion about their implementation, purpose, and overall effect on the industry (both in a positive and negative sense). While it’s a divisive topic in gaming, the simple truth is that some games could benefit from the increased maneuverability afforded by motion controls.

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Fueled by the Wii's popularity, motion controls were implemented into many games, some of which were far better than others.

That isn’t to say that these games necessarily feel lacking in their current state, only that the option for motion controls could provide an interesting way, possibly even an improved way, to play them. While there are plenty of examples of games that would have been better off without motion controls wiggling and waggling their way throughout the design, the opposite can also be true: Some games may just be that bit better if they allowed for a motion-based control option.

From conventional examples like the FPS genre to more unexpected ones like tower defense, here's how the myriad options provided by motion control (of all shapes and sizes) could improve a wide range of titles.

6 Shatter

Manipulate Gravity With The Wave Of A Hand

• With its paddle controls and gravity manipulation, it would be highly intuitive to explore the game's core mechanics through motion gestures.
• Faster responses to your inputs would be a big plus, but the motion controls would need to be precise to pull this off.

Shatter is a block-breaking game where you can manipulate the flow of gravity to either pull or push the ball away from the paddle. The game is highly innovative for its genre, but for such action-packed and frenetic gameplay, the addition of motion controls could make things even more interesting.

If the movement of the paddle matches the movement of the controller, then it could mitigate some of the frustrations that arise from not being able to cover the screen fast enough through button presses alone. Motion controls could also be implemented for the gravity mechanics, pushing and pulling in real life to cause all sorts of exciting chaos on the screen.

5 Plants Vs Zombies

Wave Away The Walking Dead

• Quick and precise real-time plant placement would be possible, without touchscreen or mouse and keyboard functionality.
• An ill fit for conventional controllers, Plants vs. Zombies has typically required a different control scheme.

One of the key benefits of motion controls is that, when done well, they can emulate the speed and accuracy of a mouse or touch screen for home consoles. Tower defense games are an obvious example of a genre that would reap the rewards of motion controls, and they don’t come much more iconic than Plants vs Zombies.

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This beloved Popcap game has already proven to be a smash hit on computer and smart devices, but hasn’t always translated as well over to button-based setups. Motion controls, allowing the player to smoothly point to select units (a la the Swords & Soldiers games) and deploy them as needed, could be the key to unlocking this game’s potential across more systems. It would certainly offer a unique twist to playing a title that so many are surely familiar with.

4 EA Sports PGA Tour

A Swing And A Hit

• A golf sim allowing the player to emulate the motion of swings could work very well, but again, consistency in those controls would be key.
• A motion control option in the title could expand its reach, while not negatively affecting those who wish to stick with the traditional controls.

It just makes sense. Ever since the release of Wii Sports, golf and motion controls have gone hand in hand. While this proud tradition has continued with other arcade-oriented golf games, the more realistic titles haven’t been as accommodating in this regard.

The biggest culprit is EA Sports PGA Tour, which is shockingly devoid of any motion control play options across its ports. This isn’t to say that its traditional controls are poor, only that it seems like such a natural fit to provide players the fun opportunity to immerse themselves further in these games through the adoption of motion controls.

3 BioShock

More Precise Aiming Is Always A Boon (Unless You're Only Using The Wrench)

• Gyro controls can greatly enhance play in an FPS, allowing players to fine-tune their aim in a way typically quite difficult with controllers.
• Full-blown motion controls could be too unwieldy for intense multiplayer shooters, but a perfect match for more methodical singleplayer games like BioShock.

Motion controls lend themselves well to first-person shooters, especially slower-paced, predominantly single-player experiences (as seen with the Metroid Prime Trilogy on Wii). BioShock fits this description nicely, as exploring the underwater city of Rapture may feel even more immersive if motion controls were available to the player.

What’s somewhat frustrating is that the BioShock Collection for Nintendo Switch had the opportunity to add gyro-aiming to its gameplay, but it wasn't implemented. While none of this detracts from BioShock’s status as a great story-based first-person shooter, it does leave you wondering if the gameplay could have been made even better, especially after seeing how well gyro-aiming works in other games.

2 The Sims 4

The Point And Click People

• The Sims 4 is another title that is very difficult to optimize for a button-based control scheme.
• "Directing" Sims and navigating the game's menus using motion controls could make the console experience rather more user-friendly.

The Sims 4

The Sims 4 is a terrifically detailed life simulation game that has occupied many fans' afternoons and evenings since its launch. While there are home console versions of The Sims 4, it’s hard to argue that this game isn’t best suited to the PC format.

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Motion controls would help alleviate some of the clunkiness that comes with playing The Sims 4 on consoles. Every input could be made easier, quicker, and more accurate, from moving your Sims to rearranging their homes. Given the fact that pointer controls emulate the feel of a mouse much more effectively than controllers, adding in a touch of motion could be the feature that The Sims series needs to truly thrive on consoles.

1 Severed

Frantically Slicing Your Mystical Blade

• An action title revolving around swift sword combat, designed to be played using a touchscreen only.
• Motion control schemes may struggle to keep up with the speed of attacking and defending in the game, but it could be a blast.

For one of Drinkbox Studio’s best games, it’s a shame that the Nintendo Switch port of Severed feels somewhat compromised. This hack-and-slash dungeon crawler showcases some of the studio’s best writing and art direction, but there isn’t any way to enjoy this game outside of devices with touchscreens.

Motion controls seem like the perfect way to translate the gameplay of Severed onto other devices, and wielding the protagonist's blade and piecing the game's mysteries together using the format would be fascinating. The difficulty in this particular case would be accurately translating the frantic pace of touchscreen swipes the original scheme demands. Still, we can dream.

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