A few days ago, Stephen Totilo discussed his time with Fallout 3. While Stephen liked the game overall, he also had a few complaints about it. One of these was regarding the lack of proper tutorials for some of the functions in the game. This got me thinking overall about tutorials and games in general.

I distinctly remember the day when it was a prerequisite to read the instruction manual before starting a game. This day (for me) came somewhere after Super Mario Bros. and before Castlevania (pick one). While most of the basics could be gleaned from pressing random buttons, most of the advanced techniques where hidden in the pages of the manual. Somewhere along the way, though, developers began focusing on providing detailed tutorials on basic and advanced controls for the end users (aka: gamers). For me, this led to less detailed manuals which were essentially worthless.  I like to see games with fully fleshed out manuals and adding more information about the back-story which you won't find in the game.  This is just something you don't find much anymore (it is almost exclusive to AAA titles at this point.)  Maybe someday we will only find fully fleshed game manuals with limited editions of games - why pay to print if your audience isn't reading it?

Just as I never expected the aforementioned Mario games to teach me how to run, jump, or stay away from Goombas, I don't expect every Call of Duty game to teach me how to run, shoot, and kill the bad guys trying to blow me up. The problem is that Call of Duty and most games like it do just that - waste a good fifteen to twenty minutes teaching me the most basic of controls.  I do think the best way to learn something is by practice, but rewards should be provided for obtaining knowledge as well. Just as Fallout increases your stats in-game for reading books, it also rewards you in-game for reading the manual.

Reading instruction manuals should gift players with knowledge they would not obtain otherwise.  I know that I usually end up with more information and play somewhat better after thumbing through one. For example, I played through nearly the entirety of Final Fantasy VIII before I knew I could boost summoning  Guardian Forces by holding Select and mashing square. Never did I encounter a tutorial which taught me that. If there was one, I must have overlooked it near the beginning of the game. (Which tends to be the other problem with tutorials - lack of retention.)  

One final point to make before closing this out.  Today's gamers should be glad the internet exists to provide them with pieces of information they don't glean from the instruction manual or the game itself.  It seemed the only way to find out some pieces of information was to buy a strategy guide to reveal the hidden secrets of the game.  Do people really think it would be possible to find every possible item in Final Fantasy VII (or just about any other RPG) without a strategy guide?   Without sites like GameFAQS, I would be forever roaming virtual fields trying to find Golden Chocobos and Halo skulls.

So, to Mr. Totilo and others screaming for more tutorials I urge you to always reference your handy instruction manual. After all, someday they may not exist and all we will have left are some shoddy tutorials teaching us how to turn on a PlayStation and insert the game disc.

I believe at this point I need to thank the fall crop of games for addicting me again. In one week, I purchased Rock Band 2, LittleBigPlanet, and Dead Space. These three games have left me completely engaged since I purchased them. Not since the days of Final Fantasy X have I felt so compelled to complete everything in the game.

The first culprit to blame for this is LBP. This game is almost like a drug. First, I was addicted to building a level. I would play five hours straight without a break and not even realize it. Then I was obsessed with acing every level. Now I am trying to focus on collecting all the items. This game seems as though it could be near endless.

Carrying my completonist attitude over to Rock Band 2 is just about as bad. I want to play every gig while earning every star and beating every challenge. Overall, this may take quite a while. Although I do have a lot of fun doing it. I have also had a chance to check out the online part as I hopped online with a friend one nite and spent about three hours rocking out with them.

Finally, there is Dead Space. This game had me hooked until I picked up LBP. Then I got in the mood to shoot things up again. I did finally beat the fame and was fairly satisfied with it. Now I just want to max out all I the weapons and find all of the logs. Beating the game gives you 10 power nodes - so that should help me in my endeavor. The only problem I had with the game was its inconsistent difficulty levels. Outside of that it was a great game in my opinion. I'll try to put up a full review later.

Overall, these games have excited me about gaming again. For a while, I was just going thru the motions and doing just enough to get thru a game. Now I am recommited to completing everything which lay before me.

As always, thanks for your time.