The first oddity you'll notice about Trespasser is character control. Moving Anne around the island is no easy task. Whereas other first person shooters allow for two planes of control, free look and body movements, Trespasser has six. That is to say, in Quake II, players can control the upper torso movement for the purpose of aiming and lower body movement for the purpose of directional travel. Trespasser goes one step further… four steps to be precise. In addition to directional movement and free look, the game requires the mastery of controlling Anne's right arm. "Her left arm was broken during the crash", comments Dreamworks product manager Rich Flier, "that's why she can't use it". Without an intimate knowledge of the ability to control her arm, you'll go nowhere in the game. The first plane of control is Anne's right arm as a whole. Using the default keys, mouse movement plus the left mouse button will function as a free look for the arm while the rest of Anne's body remains stationary. Fans of Rare's Goldeneye64 on the Nintendo64 will recognize this feature. It is primarily used to position the arm over objects, push doors open and to aim, and in of itself, is fairly easy to get accustomed to.

You'll also have to learn how to control her wrist and shoulder. Sound like overkill? It is. Again, with the default keys, the left mouse button and the shift key will enable free look movements for Anne's wrist. When holding an object, you can twist your wrist inwards and outwards as well as upwards or downwards. Using the left mouse button with the ctrl key will enable Anne's shoulder to be rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise for a movement that resembles the action of twisting a doorknob or a corkscrew. Lastly, Anne's hand can be opened and closed in order to pick up or drop objects. Thankfully, this action, engaged by the right mouse button, is an on/off feature and doesn't require actual manipulation of the palm and fingers.

How does all this translate into actual gameplay? Let's use Quake II as an example for comparison again. If, while playing a marine in Quake II, you happen across a weapon on the ground, you simply run over it and it automatically appears in your hand or inventory, depending on your configuration. In Trespasser you're required to walk up to the weapon, stop, crouch over, look downwards at the weapon, move Anne's hand over the weapon and close her fingers. From there, the weapon can either be stowed away or aimed in front of you. Using your arm, wrist and shoulder movements, you'll have to line up the crosshairs of the weapon to line up directly in front of you. Initially, these steps are as aggravating to execute as they are to read. However, after a few hours of playtime, the entire time it takes to complete the process is cut down significantly, as you become familiar with controls.