Mantis controller configuration

On the level "The Composer" you will come across a marine helping someone in a mantis (the big mechs). He asks "Can you try looking up for me?", a reference to the typical halo configuration gameplay. The marine says "whose the idiot who inverted the stick", "this thing's a mech, not a fighter" implying inverted thumb sticks are for piloting aircraft and not using in FPS games.