Revolutionary: Answering the Call

Every Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities.

Metroid Prime 3 has proven indeed that a Wii Remote and Nunchuk is the next best thing to a keyboard and mouse for first person shooting and action. Although we have few FPS titles being developed and released on the Wii (relative to party games and family-friendly content, or the main attraction of a certain other platform), the genre is among the most popular in the scripting community. This is naturally so with FPS being a favored genre among hardcore PC gamers and hardware enthusiasts.

With the recent release of the demo version of Call of Duty 4 and its imminent final release, I felt it was time to pick up arms and serve you a script for this spectacular shooter.

Infinity Ward, founded by former members of the team that developed the acclaimed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, developed the first Call of Duty exclusively for PC. The game was a big hit, and helped establish the WWII FPS sub-genre as a category of its own. Activision followed up on it by using the IP to make spinoff games for other platforms. After some time, Infinity Ward was once again at the reigns, shipping Call of Duty 2 simultaneously on PC and the Xbox 360 - just in time to make the console's launch window. More advanced graphics, a solid framerate, and even more epic battles were enough to keep PC fans entertained, despite the series starting to feel more "consolized."

The 3rd time around, Treyarch was at the helm, and Call of Duty 3 made it onto all three now-gen platforms, but sadly (or perhaps fortuitously, depending on your perspective) the PC was overlooked for that one. The Wii version was fairly well-received for its intuitive controls, though the graphics were not up to par with even old gen fare.

Now Call of Duty 4 is near release, and even though our favorite console isn't getting blessed with a taste of modern warfare, it doesn't mean we can't waggle our way to victory on a contemporary battlefield. If you wonder why I write so often about GlovePIE, wonder no more. It's only right for a Wiimote to be our interface for firing a javelin at enemy tanks.

It's been many months since I've tried playing a PC first person shooter with my Wiimote. Back then, my enthusiasm was high, and I took a stab at creating my own script based on VKapadia's IR mousing script included in the GlovePIE download. The results weren't very good, as I wasn't mature enough in my understanding of mousing code and what I needed to do to make motion smooth instead of puke-inducingly spastic. After that, I didn't give FPS scripting much more thought, all the while fellow scripters were working feverishly to create "The Ultimate FPS Script." Well, tastes vary, so there could never be one that exists as the favorite of everyone. With my revisiting of this genre, I decided to try out a script that is held in high regard amongst the community.

It's important to note that not all games respond to the same mouse input commands. Call of Duty 4 (like prior installments in the series) uses GlovePIE's Mouse.CursorPos commands to track mouse movement, while Unreal Tournament 3 uses Mouse.X and Mouse.Y, while other games may use Mouse.DirectInput commands. If you want to tackle writing your own scripts for mouse controls, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with how each of those works, because the functions change in addition to the names.

The script was built for the original Call of Duty, which was developed primarily for PCs. It has a few more controls than are found in the multiplatform sequels, and different mapping of keys, so I had to modify the button mapping a bit to fit Call of Duty 4. I didn't have to do any fiddling with the aiming code, as it tracked quite nicely already. I must say Arianol, the original script's author, did a terrific job!

This time around, I didn't try so hard to get my hands in view of the camera. It's just really uncomfortable to play this game that way, and it's much harder to keep a steady aim when you've got your hand extended way out in front of you as opposed to resting on your lap. But you can trust that the gameplay is entirely controlled by the Wiimote and Nunchuk alone.

As you can see, the Wii Remote worked great for strafing and sniping. Accuracy was spot on, and the experience felt overall more realistic, with precision shots requiring a steady hand. Using a mouse almost feels like a cheat in that regard, which is why games like this often have some swaying built-in when aiming through iron sights or scope views. With a grounded mouse, you don't naturally experience the tremulous wavering of an object in an outstretched hand.

With this script, a bluetooth adapter, GlovePIE, and a Wii Remote and Nunchuk (which you undoubtedly already own), you're armed for modern warfare. Are you ready to enlist, or are you holding out for an announcement of a Wii port or spinoff? Or are you simply sitting out this tour and waiting for a return to the golden age of battle? Let us know down in the comments.