Poll: does anyone EVER read the manual to a game

[laikenf]

I read them, you never what you might find in those (especially the GTA booklets).

 

[ultra920]

For some reason i like the new game smell, so i sniff the manual. I then inadvertently read it.

The last time i can think of reading the manual that wasn't because of installing was Oblivion.

 

[Sabbad]

I almost always read the game manual.

I regularly go back to read the Warcraft 2 manual even though it's been about a decade since I've played the game and I've read it 50 odd times already. It is simply too awesome to be neglected.

 

[LadyZephyr]

I don't read them, per se. But in certain games (especially ones with unorthodox art styles), I look through them for character concept art and such. I love that stuff.

 

[Theo Samaritan]

Read the downloadable TF2 manual. Its a handbook on how to operate your sentry as supplied by manufacturer. This is why a lot of manuals deserve reading.

Also the GTA manuals from III through IV.

 

[gibboss28]

I usually do when i'm on the bus home after buying the game or when i'm installing it.

 

[Vexer_Zero]

I usually do when i'm on the bus home after buying the game or when i'm installing it.

Exactly. When i've bought a game from town, the bus is the best place to read it. Otherwise I'm just wasting time.

 

[tregon75]

I usually read them on the way back from the store.

 

[Splitter]

I always read them.
And as I mainly buy online, I read them at home before even installing / putting the game in my console.
I usually enjoy reading them, and would prefer to do that than scrabble around trying to figure shit out.
Though lately I've found games pander for the people who can't read and just explain the entire game through the first hour or so of it, so all manuals are really good for is plot background and for some extra info which 7/10 is unnecessary.
I think everyone should be forced to do a bit of reading before they sit down to play their game, unless of course the manual is really boring and you can pick up the controls in two minutes.
But you've got to remember the average game of is criminally short at between 6 and 9 hours it seems nowadays, if the first 20-60 minutes is explaining the game then thats a lot of good time wasted.

 

[MrTrivia]

I read the manual cover to cover before I even put the game disc in my console. Also, if it's a fighting game, I keep the manual open to read the move list of my character.

 

[AntiAntagonist]

If it's a PC game that I've been anticipating for a long time I almost always read while it's installing.

Everything else almost always has tutorials in the game. With the current trend of fewer pages there's nearly no point to read. If it's an RPG or anything that might have extras in the manual I'll probably have my interest piqued.

 

[Anarchemitis]

I read the manual mainly for the history of the game or info on the units in the game

Yeah, or to give away the first 2 minutes of the story.

 

[Auron555]

Yea, on the drive home/while it loads.

 

[The Irrelevant Gamer]

I glance through the section on controls just to make sure nothing is screwy. If there is a system in the game I'm not familiar with I'll read that section as well.

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

I don't always read them, but by god, if I buy the game used it had better have that fucking manual.

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

I always read them. New games without manuals p-ss me off almost as much as people who use the words "it's just a game". (And you just know people who use that phrase will always be the most hypercompetitive cheating as-holes in the game, whether it's CoD Deathmatch or Snakes and Ladders.)

 

[B4D 9R4MM3R]

I used to never read the manuals, but after reading the manuals to many RPGs it's become a force of habit. That's for every genre mind, including the ones that have a 3-page-thick manual.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

I NEED that manual man, reading Mass Effect's manual beforehand made everything much easier. The Manual for The Witcher is huge but that's good because if you are confused about something you don't need to go online, just look at table of contents and find out what you need.

Some games don't really need a manual, like say, Call of Duty, or God of War, but an in-game tutorial can't cover everything. Take GTA and it's 5 hour tutorial for instance.

 

[That_Stevens_Guy]

Personally, no I never read the manual for a game... I just hit every button on the controls and interface till I know what it does.

I guess something as complex as an RPG needs one, but then an RPG is best played on a PC and a PC has access to PDF etc, but simple games like FPS, Racing, Fighting etc really do not need a manual, waste of paper if you ask me.