Just a word of warning - - Walmart Prima Guide

[timelycorruption]

One does not simply walk into Walmart and buy a Prima Guide. There is evil there that does not sleep.

[Hook]

Given the sorry state of game manuals these days, the Prima Guide serves as the manual for the game.  I'm surprised more people aren't bitching about having to buy a manual separately, but then what percentage of the game buyers ever read their manuals?

Anyone remember the days when games came with nice thick manuals?  Those manuals had no more errors in them than the Prima Guides do today.

Condemning the Prima Guides for an error is like condemning a shop manual for your car because an illustration showed a screw in a different place, especially when that screw wasn't important.  Do you trust the info in the Guide 100%?  No.  Do you trust it more than a bunch of random people posting on the Internet?  Hell yes.  

Yeah.  I'll buy the Prima Guides (already did, actually).  But thanks for the heads-up on the Wal*Mart mini version.  That sucks.

Hook

[Zazazu]

The NeverWinterNights manual is epic. Heck, the manual that came with Ultima IV had maps and was huge.

[Tsarina]

Given the sorry state of game manuals these days, the Prima Guide serves as the manual for the game.  I'm surprised more people aren't bitching about having to buy a manual separately, but then what percentage of the game buyers ever read their manuals?

I read the manual for games. It's a part of the anticipation. You buy the game at the store. You just can't wait to play it, so you take out the manual and look through it on the bus. Then, when you get home, you start the installation of the game, make a nice cup of tea and read the manual thoroughly while the game installs.
Manuals probably got thinner because computers got faster, eh?  

Anyone remember the days when games came with nice thick manuals?

I think I enjoyed the brick that is the World Of Warcraft manual more than the game itself.

[Kyna]

Anyone remember the days when games came with nice thick manuals?  Those manuals had no more errors in them than the Prima Guides do today.

*sniffs sadly* Yes.  Like the one Civilization came with (that's Civ1).  Roughly the same size as a TS2 Prima Guide, or possibly slightly bigger.  It was also on the floppy disks in a text file.

I think the reason nobody minded if the manuals had errors back then was because they were included with the game.  Part of the reason we're so quick to criticise the Prima guides is because we now have to pay for something that used to be included when we purchased a game, and we resent paying extra for something with errors.  People figure that if we have to pay separately for the manuals then those manuals better be as close to error free as possible and unfortunately that's not the case.

[Budgie]

They have the same guide at Target as well, but it isn't locked up in the glass box of death, just shrinkwrapped. I managed to liberate the book from its wrapping and I looked at it, but it doesn't have anything that I didn't already know. The only interesting thing that I saw was maps showing where to get specific rocks and specific bugs, but that is just as easily found with the collection finder ingame.

[Jack Rudd]

Civilization has come with a good manual throughout the life of the series.

[HomeschooledByTards]

I think the reason nobody minded if the manuals had errors back then was because they were included with the game.  Part of the reason we're so quick to criticise the Prima guides is because we now have to pay for something that used to be included when we purchased a game, and we resent paying extra for something with errors.  People figure that if we have to pay separately for the manuals then those manuals better be as close to error free as possible and unfortunately that's not the case.

The only time I got pissed about errors in game manuals is when those errors wouldn't allow me to get through the copy protection. If the fourth word on page 110 is supposed to be "tiny" but the manual printed with "huge", then JESSLLA RAEG.

[Sammy]

The NeverWinterNights manual is epic. Heck, the manual that came with Ultima IV had maps and was huge.

The game manuals that come with the Guild Wars campaigns are beautiful things. Fully coloured, more information than you can shake a stick at, gorgeous artwork... I was simply floored when I looked through mine for the first time and immediately compared it to the pathetic little pamphlet that EA offers.

[Fubuki]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the very impressive manual that came with the original release of The Sims; it's probably the only one I've read through more than once.

[Bass Junkie]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the very impressive manual that came with the original release of The Sims; it's probably the only one I've read through more than once.

Wow, that was truly epic for a manual.

[scutum]

Anyone remember the days when games came with nice thick manuals?  Those manuals had no more errors in them than the Prima Guides do today.

*sniffs sadly* Yes.  Like the one Civilization came with (that's Civ1).  Roughly the same size as a TS2 Prima Guide, or possibly slightly bigger.  It was also on the floppy disks in a text file.

I think the reason nobody minded if the manuals had errors back then was because they were included with the game.  Part of the reason we're so quick to criticise the Prima guides is because we now have to pay for something that used to be included when we purchased a game, and we resent paying extra for something with errors.  People figure that if we have to pay separately for the manuals then those manuals better be as close to error free as possible and unfortunately that's not the case.

It wasn't just Civilization; anything that MicroProse put out had a great manual. Silent Service and the original Railroad Tycoon had fantastic (and *heavy*) manuals with lots of play tips, and historical background that was both interesting to read and helped to provide a context for the gameplay. Unfortunately, those days are long gone, and usually the manuals provided with the game are simply documentation of the game functions; you can almost see  "For more information and gameplay tips, see the official strategy manual, available at fine retailers everywhere" lurking in the docs for the game.

As to the errors in the manual, I don't have too much heartache with one or two oopsies, but seeing "Refridgerators" as a table title made me flinch, and feel pity for the copy-editor who signed off on that (yes, I checked the manual to find her name). There are often last-minute changes in the game which may make the hint book wrong, but errors like that are simply unprofessional.

[ShortyBoo]

Why would Prima print two different sizes of the same guide? Is the smaller guide at Wal-Mart cheaper?

[iHateyou]

Why would Prima print two different sizes of the same guide? Is the smaller guide at Wal-Mart cheaper?

OH MY FUCKING GOD! That's what this whole thread is about! WTF!

[Roflganger]

Why would Prima print two different sizes of the same guide? Is the smaller guide at Wal-Mart cheaper?

OH MY FUCKING GOD! That's what this whole thread is about! WTF!

Really?  I have to admit, I haven't seen anything that explains why it's printed in two different sizes, or even whether one is less expensive than the other.  I saw you say that you returned yours at Wal-Mart and bought a new one at Game Stop.  I didn't see you mention anything about a price difference.

[Quill]

It wasn't just Civilization; anything that MicroProse put out had a great manual. Silent Service and the original Railroad Tycoon had fantastic (and *heavy*) manuals with lots of play tips, and historical background that was both interesting to read and helped to provide a context for the gameplay. Unfortunately, those days are long gone, and usually the manuals provided with the game are simply documentation of the game functions; you can almost see  "For more information and gameplay tips, see the official strategy manual, available at fine retailers everywhere" lurking in the docs for the game.

Oh, I remember my beloved Railroad Tycoon manual!  In order to play the game, you had to match the picture of one of 25 or so locomotives on the screen to its name.  To figure out which one it was, you had to match the picture on the screen to the one in the guide.  Unfortunately, the picture on my screen was always so badly pixelated and generally poor graphics that I used to count wheels, stare at the position of the little bells and dohickeys on the locomotive and generally destroy my vision in order to figure out which one it was. 

Ah, the memories!  One of the other games I had, Castles II, made you answer a history question that was in the extra information included in the manual.  Who won the battle of Agincourt?

Of course, this type of copy protection has disappeared now that everyone has access to the internet.  Instead, we get Suckurom. 

I understand the desire for lists, but I've found that the Prima guide is more frustrating to have than it is to find correct lists online. Instead, try the sims2wiki, I believe they're continuing it for the new game, and you can contribute to the correct information!

[zceepy]

I remember the manual that came with Simon the Sorcerer 2. As well as all the explanations for the controls and things it had a transcript of Simon explaining the first game to his psychiatrist. Brilliant way of getting through the 'previously on Simon the sorcerer' bit. Then when they re-released the game for later versions of windows they skipped the manual and stuck it all on a pdf on the disk. Somehow wasn't the same...

[Budgie]

Why would Prima print two different sizes of the same guide? Is the smaller guide at Wal-Mart cheaper?

The micro-guide is fifteen dollars, the legible one is twenty, from what I remember.

[jolrei]

Of course, this type of copy protection has disappeared now that everyone has access to the internet.  Instead, we get Suckurom. 

I remember the original Prince of Persia had a sequence based number or something (Page #, Line #, Word #).  This code would give you a letter. (1 in 26 chance of being right).  You had to enter a code every time you entered the game or levelled up.  There were lots of chances to enter a letter.

Given this, and the finite number of actual page/line/word numbers used, it was easy to note which letters did not work, and thus never enter the same letter twice for the same code.  Also, since the game did not shut down when you answered wrong, you could simply restore to your last saved position and try again, going through and testing letters for whatever page/line/word prompt came up.  You never had to see each prompt more than 26 times.   I recall cracking that code within a day.

[Stitches]

Ah, Secret of Monkey Island. The manual was beautiful and the install would required you to enter the first word on page 10.

The wii remake just won't be the same. 

[LadyVatrovia]

The guide I got at Best Buy is a large one. It was $19.99, came with a mouse pad and huge town map of where to find all the gems, bugs etc....after your frequent user thing-a-jig...it was $18 something after taxes

[Interfection]

The guide I got at Best Buy is a large one. It was $19.99, came with a mouse pad and huge town map of where to find all the gems, bugs etc....after your frequent user thing-a-jig...it was $18 something after taxes

I've been toying with the idea of getting that one, but I couldn't find out anything about the mouse pad.  It is one of those foam-ish ones or one that is friendly to wireless/laser mouses?

[Brick_town]

You could just download it like i did. =]

[racerua]

You could just download it like i did. =]

Where have you downloaded TS3 Prima Guide?

[Tsarina]

There's links in the "Prima guide PDF"-thread.