Poll: does anyone EVER read the manual to a game

[GothmogII]

Yup, always, well, almost, if it's full of info on units, characters, lore, plot etc. etc. then yes, if it's just some gloryified key sheet with nothing more then some technical specs and controls, then no.

I remember some of the manuals for games by Troika actually had recipies for cookies and cakes and things at the back, tying into the lore of whatever game of course. I think the one for Arcanum had a Halfling recipe for 'Chocolate Chip Cookies of the Gods'...or that might of been in the Temple of Elemental Evil manual...and the Arcanum one had a banana bread recipe, not sure. Damn fun either way

 

[KimMR251]

For the most part, I read the manual. Just a habit I suppose and it's part of the "new game" feeling for me. (I even like the smell of it...yup i'm a freak, what can i say). I like the art work and graphics in some, but I always admire the japanese manuals more...I think they do a better job with presentation. They have nice art and most of the time are in color!

There are certain games where I am so anxious to get the damn game started that I don't even look at it...until hours later.

 

[EnzoHonda]

What, I'm the only one who reads them on the can? I find they make awesome bathroom reading.

I'm offended by strategy guides. The way I figure, the game should provide everything you need to complete the game, though I make an exception for sims/strategy games. I would like to see more designers' notes and game histories though. I live for that sort of thing.

And a related question:

Does anybody ever write notes in the notes sections of game manuals? They've been included since the days of the the 2600, and I've never written anything in any manual ever.

I have a huge stack of manuals in my bathroom. Some, like ones for racing games, are meaningless, but others are awe-inspiring. I've read the WarCraft II manual more times than I can count. And the Myth: The Fallen Lords manual was one of the most inspired pieces of Dark Fantasy ever written. There was a game called Dragon Lore for the PC, the game sucked monkey-balls, but the manual was an epic encyclopedia of a world of gods and dragons.

As for the "notes" in the back of the manual, the only time I'd ever write anything in them was back when I was a kid renting games for my SNES. I'd write swears and draw penises and naked ladies in the manual so the next guy who rented the game would get to see my art. I only did this a few times before I got scared that the video-store would catch me and tell my parents. Ahh... good times.

 

[HomeAliveIn45]

I I may have to start doing it again, after I found out that right bumper fires a cannon in Mass Effect's vehicles. I went almost the entire game (sidequests too) using only the machine gun on that thing.

I may be suffering from some internal bleeding, I pity you knowing how underpowered that machine gun thing was

 

[nickkcin]

i always read the gta manuels, can always get a laugh out of them, other than that, i'll read the manuels if stuck or during loading times.

 

[Caboose669]

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

Same

I suppose the other side to the coin of this question would be do you watch all the start up movies of a game, especially the first time you play it. I dont think i've ever not watched the start up movies of a new game, if I dont I just feel dirty ¬_¬

 

[Pingrash]

I just take a quick glimpse at it before playing it and often that'll be the only time I look at it. It's rare that I actually need to refer to it at all.

 

[Asehujiko]

And then there's things like the 200 page thick wow manuel which is almost completely obsolete by now because how much the game changed.

 

[Stomp224]

Good toilet literature...
And besides, there is usually some ultra-useful hint hidden in the manual somewhere (Mega Drive version of Altered Beast Level Select being a prime example!)

 

[Theo Samaritan]

i always read the gta manuels, can always get a laugh out of them, other than that, i'll read the manuels if stuck or during loading times.

PIG-E-ON

Sorry, couldn't resist!

 

[Zangado]

It all depends on the game and how bored I am during the cut scenes.

 

[AceUk]

I normally have a look through them.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

I pretty much always read the manuals, but there is one thing that really annoys me; when you spend several minutes dutifully reading the manual, only to have the game slowly and painfully teach it to you all over again in the tutorial. That's why I loved the tutorial on Dawn of War, because it let you do whatever you want but pointed you in the right direction at the same time. Plus, there was actually an enemy (even if it was set to easy), so if you were really retarded then you died.

i always read the gta manuels, can always get a laugh out of them, other than that, i'll read the manuels if stuck or during loading times.

PIG-E-ON

Sorry, couldn't resist!

Good one!

 

[roo18]

I read it on the bus, while coming back from whichever shop I go to buy the game.

 

[Gnomeking]

Sometimes controls are really weird. Like... hold down this shoulder button while pressing this other key. And since I'm currently viewing my current generation games through a standard definition television set, when it tells me to do something, after about five minutes squinting at the text trying to discern what button it's telling me to press, I give up and check the manual.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

I almost always read the manual, if only for something to do during install times.
For example I found the Assassin's Creed manual extremely interesting, although it was made rather obselete by my crappy laptop not being able to play it.

 

[Owlkeeper]

I didn't read the manual to Over G.
That was a mistake.

 

[shatnershaman]

I only read the seventh word of the seventh sentence in the seventh paragraph of the seventh page in the Halo manuals.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

I only read the seventh word of the seventh sentence in the seventh paragraph of the seventh page in the Halo manuals.

Huh?