The Video Game Critic

Have you guys noticed that despite increasing game prices and DVD-sized game boxes, the quality of the instruction manuals has really dropped.  They rarely tell you what you really need to know, and sometimes even finding a decent description of the control scheme is hard.  EA is probably the worst of all.  Not only are their manuals paphlets made of tissue paper, but most of their games are complex enough to be well-served by some well-written instructions.  Cheap bastards!

It wasn't always like this.  The Atari 2600 manuals (the white ones) looked like works of art, and always went into a lot of detail.  In the 90's the SNES manuals set the high water mark with their glossy, colorful pages.  Have you ever read the manual for Donkey Kong Country?  That thing was hilarious!

I can't remember the last time I even read the instructions.  Most games since the SNES/Genesis era have in-game prompts that show you how to play.

Although I remember the instructions for the old NES version of Rygar, the page that showed the enemies in the game said, "Animalized Men Wriggling Eerily."  I didn't know if that was a bad translation or an attempt to be poetic.  Either way, it'd make a great name for a band.

Yes, I totally agree with you Critic. I for one like to see "the full package." With prices of games going to $60 and up, would it be too much to ask for a real manual? The Madden 07 Xbox 360 manual is a joke. It's basically a "quick reference" card that isn't printed on card stock.

But there's a culprit here. the stratagy guide. That's a profit center, and I've suspected that to protect it, manuals are poorly made so as to require the guide.

-Rob

My Game Manual Hall of Fame :

1. Spirit of Excalibur. (P.C.) Half of it is lore and references to Aurthurian Legend. An unbelievable effor for an awesome game, that you should find on freeware or shareware right away! The game that is.

2. Sentinel Worlds : Future Magic (P.C.) Great instruction book, well written, provides backstory and atmosphere to game. Game also came with a "Paragraphs" book, that the game would direct you to so you would not have to read a wall of text on your screen. A great R.P.G.

But  no one really tries anymore, Nintendo has horrible instructions. Take Wii Sports, especially boxing. I guess it would be to much to detail how to throw a punch other than a jab. Would be a lot less frustrating to figure out hooks and uppercuts if you actually had a reference point.

 Super Mario Strikers had some really nice artwork in it though.

I certainly agree that EA is cheap and money grubbing beyong belief and that manuals are of significantly less quality now than they used to be.  I think that perhaps companies believe that having a control map and helpful tutorial in-game will suffice for those who can't get access to the manual (like when renting games from GameFly).  

For that reason (as well as many others), that's a noble offering, yet when buying a game (or even renting with a manual from somewhere like Blockbuster), those barely 5 page manuals really exhibit a lack of effort and care for their jobs, as well as a lack of respect for the customers (especially those who buy EA's Madden every single year).  

I don't look at the instructions.

I do miss the 2600 instructions though. Tons of paragraphs and beautiful artwork painting a backstory about a game that is an orange blob on a beige background shooting blue blobs.

FUNK

REAL MEN DON'T READ INSTRUCTION MANUALS.
Seriously, it's like maps, asking directions, trying to carry groceries by hand in a store rather than getting a cart, if we need pants we go to the mens jeans section, grab a cheap pair our size and make a run to the registar, not SHOP! Guy stuff.

Well, except maybe for the RPG / extremely deep adventure geeks. But really, I recall figuring out 2600 ADVENTURE and HAUNTED HOUSE and Intellivision DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS sans instructions. I thought half the fun was figuring out what to do. I agree the 2600 manuals had charm though. I have the pac-man manual, and it's amazing how the cartoon drawings and story make that blocky game better. On the other extreme was COLECO; as much as I love Colecovision, their manuals needed help. 4 pages, and you were lucky if they explained all the control functions!

If all instruction manuals were as funny and well-written as Donkey Kong Country, I'm sure people would read them.  I know I'm always glad when a CD or DVD comes with a little booklet providing some color pictures and extra info.

Personally, since I jump around from game to game, I like to check the instructions when I'm playing a game I haven't picked up in a few weeks - like to get an idea of the controls, or find out how to do something specific.  But most of the time, the instructions are only reliable for telling you where the X button and O button is.  Can someone please tell me why this obligatory page is still included in every manual?  How stupid do they think we are anyway?