My earliest first-person shooter experiences — Doom, Hexen, Quake — were all for the PC, and so a keyboard and mouse will always feel more natural for me than a gamepad. Fortunately for people who feel as I do, but who otherwise prefer the convenience of a gaming console, soon the PlayStation 4 will have a keypad and mouse controller.
The Tactical Assault Commander 4 is a wired keypad and mouse designed to mimic PC controls on a PS4. This allows for the greater degree of accuracy afforded by aiming with a mouse. The DualShock’s d-pad is mapped onto the WASD position on the keyboard, with the triangle and circle buttons mapped to Q and E, respectively. L3 replaces the left shift key. X sits down where your thumb would rest on the space bar. Next to that are both “Walk” and “Quick” buttons, for when you need to be cautious. There is also a “Snipe” button up where R would be. The Square button, meanwhile, is mapped over onto the left edge of the mouse. Lights and profile settings indicate that it is all programmable to whatever configuration suits your tastes.
Manufacturer Hori is noted for making high quality gaming accessories, particularly arcade sticks that are frequently preferred by top-level competitive fighting game players. Based in Japan, Hori has been working with console manufacturers to make peripherals since 1983, when the original Nintendo Entertainment System was released.
The TAC4 is currently listed on the UK Amazon for release on October 9, 2015. It will cost £86.35, or roughly $135. No word yet on a US release, but it seems likely.
The release is timely for the November 6 arrival of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. It will be interesting to see whether players think this confers an unfair advantage, as PC controls are widely considered to be more accurate than consoles, which frequently add aim assistance to compensate.
