Be Excellent To Each Other

WTFF?

Manuals are now almost entirely shit, the only thing they really tell you is the controls. Fair enough that they at least still perform this function. So why then do I get a picture of the 360 pad and an arrow pointing to the X button with "X Button" as the label. I fucking know. And I know the left and right triggers are the left and right triggers. Then, they do a list - A = Jump, B = Fart etc.

I can much more easily learn the controls by looking at a picture of the device with each button/stick labelled with the actual function. I know context sensitivity is a bitch spacewise, so just have a couple of pages of control - on foot, in car etc. A number of games do use this method, but not half and not nearly enough.

Looking at a picture of the control map I can learn it in seconds, takes a few refers back when scanning a table of mappings.

On the upside I'm cross about this because of Saboteur which I've just bought and am tremendously excited by.

I'd rather that there was no diagram of the pad as that's best suited to in-game where there's a bit more room to fit stuff in. I'd rather just have a list of the game functions and what button I need to press next to it. That way, they can list the moves in order of priority and I can quickly skim down the list for what I'm looking for.

The last manual I though was any good was for Might & Magic on the Mega Drive. 170 pages (I just grabbed it from the pile of games.. I don't actually know that number) of maps, equipment lists, monster stats etc. With modern games, you'd probably have to buy the official guide for that info or just use the internet.

Yes, we're a good way away from the Elite Manual these days. More's the pity.

The last time I looked at a manual it was to find the sync button on a guitar peripheral. Had to use yahoo in the end.

I love big thick game manuals. Even when most of it was just background info that you never needed, it all adds to the overall experience. If "limited editions" came with big books to read on the bog instead of worthless in game tat, pointless arty prints of concept art or sculpted Soap McTavish head display stands then I'd actually buy them.

Is that not what the Official Guides are for? Publishers found out a while back that they could make money off 'more info' documents.

I used to love it when they put some care and detail into the manual. The early/mid 90s seemed a good time for that, particularly with your strategy games. It's better when it's incidental detail, obv, and not required reading for your 436-button nerd-o-matic. But still.

Paying for a "collector's edition", though? Sod that.

I'll still sometimes go through my old PC games just to see how manuals used to be done. I guess it's part of the "collector" mentality, really. Hell, I get grumpy when I buy a DVD and there's no little info sheet inside. To me, it's somehow wrong to open a DVD case and see nothing on the left hand side.

You should see the manual that came with Steel Battalion. It was a massive, thick A4 book that practically told you how to build a mech. It was awesome..

But for the money, it should have been.

I've not read a manual for years. I think the last time was to look at the moves in a wrestling game on the Gamecube.

And all games should do the controls like Halo.

That would certainly uncomplicate Eve Online.

With that in mind and because I had absolutely nothing better to do this evening, may I present End of an Era's XBox 360 Controller Crib Sheet (EoaEX360CCS v1.0)?



A nice printable PDF version is available here

HOW THE FUCK DO I START MY GAME?

Whatever you do, don't for the love of Christ press the start button

It's always really disappointed me with the Dynasty Warriors manuals in more recent years that they are printed in black + white. They used to be gorgeous full colour and you can tell the pictures were originally meant to be colour. Cheapo bastards.

Also when I've had in some Japanese games for say Snes or Megadrive, the manuals have usually been a gorgeous work of art and are worth reading.

Either make an effort or don't print one at all.