Game boxes annoy the f*ck outta me...

[JaFO]

If the game requires a decent manual (= flight sims for example) then it should have one ... any other game should not need a box that's bigger than those DVD-boxes that are so common these days.

// ---
Shops are to blame for this too as they want to spent as little space as possible to sell as many software they can.
You can't do that if everyone has a different sized box ...
And that's the reason DVD-boxes are so popular now ... not some "it's better for the environment"-type bs.

 

[Kibbles-N-Bits]

F*ck the boxes, f*ck the jewelcases, f*ck the manuals. Give me games. Give me graphics. Give me entertainment. The rest does not matter.

 

[jaunty]

Manual? What the f<u></u>uck do you need a manual for? If you've played Counter-Strike, you're already over-qualified to play about 90% of the new releases.

 

[MetalMickey]

lol

 

[Gryphon]

F*ck the boxes, f*ck the jewelcases, f*ck the manuals. Give me games. Give me graphics. Give me entertainment. The rest does not matter.

You suck!

 

[JaFO]

Originally posted by jaunty
Manual? What the f<u></u>uck do you need a manual for? If you've played Counter-Strike, you're already over-qualified to play about 90% of the new releases.

Try taking off in a flightsim like IL2-Sturmovik ... that isn't as easy without any manual.

 

[Goat Fucker]

"Try taking off in a flightsim like IL2-Sturmovik ... that isn't as easy without any manual."

Tell me about it (you dont get a manual with the demo...), took me some time to perfect taking off with the P39...lets not think about how meny i crashed before i figured out a good airspeed

 

[ragingsamster]

The collectors edition of Diablo II had a big @$$ box, but at least it had alot more stuff in it.

 

[ElectricSheep]

At one time, the sacred user manual was a place where the developers could leave their witty mark and provide the end user with some shread of 'plot' and 'backstory' as well as familiarize the gamer with controls and environments.

Are those days forever gone...?

 

[Mad_Dog]

Originally posted by ElectricSheep
At one time, the sacred user manual was a place where the developers could leave their witty mark and provide the end user with some shread of 'plot' and 'backstory' as well as familiarize the gamer with controls and environments.

Are those days forever gone...?

Sh<i></i>it ES... you're making me cry. The wonderful manuals of days gone by.... Its not quite that bad though. Cut scenes and presentation within the game make up for a lot of what a manual did.

 

[JaFO]

*yuck* cutscenes usually are a waste of space ... a real manual (one the developers put some effort into) is more fun than any cutscene ever will be. Especially the ones for (historical) flightsims are fun to read simply to learn a little history.

 

[Khutan]

The manual for Empire Earth is something to behold, lots of historical background etc, it's really good 238 pages. I always read the manual before I play the game, the only time I wish I hadn't was with Black and White, if I'd just used the (unavoidable) in-game tutorial on it's own, I would have been a lot better off
Anyway, I think all games should come in DVD cases. If there's a super huge manual etc, then the dvd case should be inside the big ass box. Then at least you can throw away the cardboard box, and put the manual in a drawer, while having the DVD case to put on your shelf

 

[Farouk]

Speaking of Black&White: I think the Ingame Tutorial stuff ruined it (some other stuff too). I can still have lots of fun on the first island when I need just some relaxing time. But these forced boring tutorials suck. What I am missing most is a complete "sandbox" mode in that game. One where you don't have to care about opponents, to serve your villagers like a slave. Just do whatever you want including miracles without mana limitations and so on.
I prefer proper and complete manuals over any ingame tutorial anyday.

On the package question I fully share Gryphon's view.
Ok, the boxes don't have to be as big as the Deus Ex box but I simply don't buy games in some cheapo plastic envelope (aka DVD case) for full price.
That kind of **** is ok for the bargain bin though. Last year I've bought Alpha Centauri (DVD case) and Jagged Alliance 2 (jewel case) both had only pdf manuals on CD but I don't complain because they are both old and I got them really cheap.

 

[D.Turtle]

What I'm happy about is, that Vivendi Universal doesn't use DVD cases for their games. That means all the games (All Blizzard games ) I buy have a nice big Cardboard Box.

Why I want a Cardboard box?

Well, I want those manuals!

Why?

They are simply FUNNY (Damn, can't find the Diabo 2 Manual for a quote ) and Informative (How many pages does that Falcon 4.0 Manual have???)

The thing with DVD cases is, that either there is no Manual, or they added the manual as a PDF on the CD(which really helps when you want to check something while playing the game...)

 

[Khutan]

The thing with DVD cases is, that either there is no Manual, or they added the manual as a PDF on the CD(which really helps when you want to check something while playing the game...)

I don't know where you buy your games, but I have 10 games that came in DVD cases and every one of them has a paper manual... anyway, having a DVD case in the big box is the best of both worlds, they're already putting jewel cases in the box - they should just use a DVD case instead. But they should only use a cardboard box if they have something to fill it with, and even then, they should have a smaller "quick guide" or something to keep in the DVD case. Huge manuals with a lot of background info etc, are a good thing, as they help to set the scene and they tend to impress (shows the people behind the game knew what they were doing) some manuals are even quite educational

Of course, the worst thing of all, is when the CD is in a paper sleeve (Civilisation 3). Just what drugs where these people taking? If my CD gets snapped in two, they'll be hearing about it!

Black & White: The forced tutorial is annoying, but because I read the manual first (like your supposed to), I already knew how to do most of the stuff, so when the tutorial restricted what you could do, but didn't tell you it had, it was confusing as hell. I didn't like the rest of the game too much either The level where they take away your creature totally kills the game The creature AI was good though, I hope to see that level of AI competence in more games soon

 

[Catalyst]

Agree 100% with you Khutan.

 

[Eliwar]

_-_

I think most of you guys will like this

almost every single manual I've recieved from every game I've gotten.

 

[God_0016]

If the DVD - boxes with its .PDF manuals had pushed the prices down, then it would be nice, but now we are basically paying the same and gettig less....