Your Gaming Quirks

How do you setup and play games? Do you check the achievement list beforehand, mess with the control scheme or tweak the brightness? Maybe you still read the manual?

For example I always turn on the subtitles. Doesn't matter if the voiceovers are in English, Bavarian or Swahili, I simply can't stand to play without them.  
 
 
So what about you? 

I always head to the options menu first. 
I like to tap the shoulder buttons to some random tune during loading times. 
Never not taking the opposite route of where I need to go during the game.

Options first. 
 
Audio first. 
 
Subtitles first. 
 
Always go the wrong way first (Then sometimes it turns out to be the right way and if I can't go back, I just reload.)

I'm an audiophile so I tend to mess with the sound a bit. Often turning down the music and the voice... then turning up the headphone amp to perfectly hear the sound effects shooting straight into my brain. 
 
Other than that, nothing.

I always got to options first, see what I can mess with. Definitely need those subtitles, I just can't follow dialogue with explosions and gunfire or whatnot all around me. 

I never check the options. Just hop right in.  But first thing I do when I'm actually in to gameplay after cutscenes and shit is push every button and see what it does. 
 
I always make fun of the game and talk to myself when I'm playing, getting excited and crazy is hilarious sometimes.  I make myself laugh.

I generally check the options and extras menus first, just to see what's there, if nothing else.
 
When I was a kid, I used to read the text dialogue in RPGs out loud.  I drove my younger brother nuts doing that.

I always check the options, usually to turn on subtitles.

Adjust the game on the fly. I just start playing and change as I go from the pause menu.

Look at options/settings to set things how I would want it.  I used to read the manual from start to finish, until I began noticing that most games starting to offer in-game tutorials.

I'm used to going options first from being a long time PC gamer, but I've finally realized that console games never ever have anything worthwhile to configure so I just go straight for it. I've usually checked out the achievement list before I get the game though :P

Add me to the list of people who turn on subtitles right away.  Always.

I check the achievements to see whether they update in real-time, or they just open the guide button's achievement list. 
In game I always reload after getting a kill in shooters, and press buttons when hits land for Ultras in Super SFIV.

"I always turn on the subtitles. Doesn't matter if the voiceovers are in English, Bavarian or Swahili, I simply can't stand to play without them.    So what about you?  "

not me, but my dad has the worst: whenever he's on a breakaway in football or something, he will always ALWAYS move the controller the way the dude's running.

If I go out and buy a game the first thing I do is rip it open and read the manuel. Then about 90% of the time I am disappointed because it is just two black and white pages of seizure warnings and the button layout.  
 
I also used to check the achievements before I played to see if there were any missable ones but I find that too many games spoil parts of their game with achievements and achievement names.

When there is a loading screen, I constantly click the mouse buttons. This also goes for when I am respawning in TF2.

I used to be an options checker, and a manual reader but a while back I turned in a "jump right in" kinda guy.

I generally mess with the graphics, turn on subtitles, and then launch to test the newly configured graphics.

I don't actually do anything but jump right into the game...and then think "hey, what, I don't know what their saying" and turn on the subtitles. I really should start doing that before beginning the game!

" If I go out and buy a game the first thing I do is rip it open and read the manuel. Then about 90% of the time I am disappointed because it is just two black and white pages of seizure warnings and the button layout.   I also used to check the achievements before I played to see if there were any missable ones but I find that too many games spoil parts of their game with achievements and achievement names. "

I check if subtitles are on as default and activate them if they are not. That's usually all I do, unless it's a game like Call of Duty where I prefer a certain sensitivity setting or control scheme that is not default. I tend to put the sensitivity on shooters one notch up even if I've never played the game before.

Always be checking options -> graphic settings & other goodies.

Whenever I get to a really exciting moment in a game I tend to stand up until it's over.
 
No idea why.

I usually switch to my pistol, first thing.

I am one of the ones who always needs subtitles, and I will usually check the controller layout options to try and find a better one.  
 
Also, any shooter gets its sensitivity bumped up to max, and I work my way down from there if its too jerky. I grew up playing CS =)

"Before playing a game for the first time, I tbag the game for about a minute and proceed to playing. "

I always play games for the first time when I am completely alone. I load up the game, go to the options, and make sure subtitles are turned OFF. Then I start a new game on the normal/default difficulty.

Subtitles

My weirdest quirk: I research the achievements/trophies and figure out what percentage of them that I will likely get when I play the game.  If I think that percentage is significantly before 50%, I play the game on a throw-away XBL/PSN account that I have for guests who play on my consoles. 
 
I just don't like having games on my console accounts where I have little to no achievements on.

I will invariably stop playing a game about an hour before the ending.

"For example I always turn on the subtitles. Doesn't matter if the voiceovers are in English, Bavarian or Swahili, I simply can't stand to play without them."

Game comes in the mail to work
Read the manual fervently for the next 8 hours until I get to go home
Go to options and change the controls when applicable
Go to options and turn on subtitles when applicable
Start new game (with difficulty set to ~Hard when applicable)

I always mess around with the resolution (for PC) and graphics setting as soon as I start the game.
 
In fact, I change the game settings and the settings on my TV once about every 5 hours when I'm playing any game.

" @kurtdyoung said:

" If I go out and buy a game the first thing I do is rip it open and read the manuel. Then about 90% of the time I am disappointed because it is just two black and white pages of seizure warnings and the button layout.   I also used to check the achievements before I played to see if there were any missable ones but I find that too many games spoil parts of their game with achievements and achievement names. "

I used to do that too. I wouldn't even touch a game before I finished the manual, but now they're just sad. Black and white and only a couple pages long (I've seen some that are just a single sheet folded in half). There's not even a page for your notes anymore! Hell the AC Brotherhood one flat out states: "The instruction manual for this game is conveniently embedded within the game itself." "

Set resolution to 1920x1080, textures to high, and draw distance to as high as I can get it.

whenever i play a game 
i always watch the clip before the game title screen (that can be skipped by pressing a button) 
for some reason, those clips are pretty important to me (tatsunoko v capcom is one of the best) 
i also check all of the options in a game every time i start up the game 

I always turn the brightness up slightly for some reason.

I peel off every sticker on the game case/box, flip through the manual in the vague hope of its containing anything substantial, suppress a squeal if there's a map of the game world, then load the game &sit through the entire set of pre title screen animations before digging into the options menu. 
During gameplay, this: 

@animateria said:

"...  Always go the wrong way first (Then sometimes it turns out to be the right way and if I can't go back, I just reload.) "

I have started turning on the subtitles for most games even though I wear headphones when I'm playing games. Curiously some dialogue is hidden or otherwise not heard without subtitles, playing through Dead Space 2 is a good example of this; a monitor plays mostly static but with subtitles turned on you can see the message that had been recorded. 
 
Autosave off, don't tell me when to save!

Usually go to control settings to invert Y. Depending on the game i'll start it up and customize a character for quite awhile until I get them looking silly. Dive in, and learn/adjust on the fly. 

I jump right in and play for about an hour or so. Then I check the achievements. I mostly don't bother with the options, only if the contoller sensitivity is too low.

Subtitles.
Invert some camera controls.
Put it on hard.
Check the achievement list during the first load screen.