The games with the Best and Worst of Tutorials

[DrDeath3191]

What are the best and worst of videogame tutorials? Note that I said tutorials, not first levels. There's a difference. A tutorial is specifically designed to teach you the basic controls and gameplay of the game. Not all games have this, to my knowledge.

Now, the best tutorial I've experienced goes to Scribblenauts. It's well implemented, and teaches you all the basic things you need to get through, while leaving plenty of room to explore.

The worst goes to Superman 64. It says 'Tutorial' in the menu, but it's just the first crappy level of the game, only without actually progressing through the story. It's utterly useless.

 

[cambodiancam]

Grand Theft Auto IV, Does a tutorial really have to take 3 hours?

 

[Julianking93]

Obviously worse would go to GTAIV

10 hours into the game and you're telling me how to use a gun now? What the fuck?

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

Best is definitely Army of Two

"You can DIE in combat."

Thank you, captain obvious!

 

[cambodiancam]

Obviously worse would go to GTAIV

10 hours into the game and you're telling me how to use a gun now? What the fuck?

I like when it tells you how a cell phone works when you get the second one.

 

[grimsprice]

Original Ghost Recon for the Gamecube.

The voice guy actually said, and i quote...

"To perform an action, press the perform action button."

 

[A random person]

One of the better ones is Half Life 2, which doesn't entirely have a tutorial but has certain parts of gameplay to teach you basic controls and functions (like picking up that can, for example). It also did a very good job of merging tutorial and gameplay with the Gravity Gun.

As for bad tutorials, I can't remember any in particular.

 

[Dr. UBAR]

I rather liked The Path of Neo tutorial, can't remember too much but I think it was good.

 

[Xanadu84]

Best Tutorial ever was probably in Opposing Force, for 1 reason: In it, the Drill Instructor is talking to you generally about your armor, or healing, or some such thing. Then, he indicates for you to stand on an X. Looking at it, you see that it is covered in blood, and not too far away is a grunt with a SMG. At this point, the Instructor starts to yell at you to hurry up. I literally said out loud, "Aw helllll no!".

I suppose that the best tutorial ever would have to be Portal, since you could likely consider well over 75 percent of the game to be the tutorial. Of course, that's a technicality.

 

[Julianking93]

Obviously worse would go to GTAIV

10 hours into the game and you're telling me how to use a gun now? What the fuck?

I like when it tells you how a cell phone works when you get the second one.

I know, its fucking bullshit. The 10th mission to have you use an automatic rifle is when they decide to tell you how it works.

 

[WorldCritic]

I like the Ninja Gaiden tutorials because they don't waste your time, they just tell you stuff as you go along. A tutorial that failed was No More Heroes in which it makes absolutely sure it wastes your time, half an hour of it in fact, granted you can skip it (I think) but it's still annoying.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Call of Duty 2 had an epic tutorial

Potatoes!

 

[Dr.Sean]

Dystopia's tutorial could have been replaced by a rick roll [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK2tWVj6lXw] and it would have taught you more about the game

 

[A Weary Exile]

Kingdom Hearts II has the longest tutorial ever! It gives me homicidal thoughts about the game designers.

 

[Avatar Roku]

One of the better ones is Half Life 2, which doesn't entirely have a tutorial but has certain parts of gameplay to teach you basic controls and functions (like picking up that can, for example). It also did a very good job of merging tutorial and gameplay with the Gravity Gun.

As for bad tutorials, I can't remember any in particular.

Yeah, if you listen to the commentary, that's one thing they talk about. Whenever they introduce a new topic, they give it to you first in a controlled, safe environment in which you can spend as much time as you want/need, then they have you do it under pressure very soon after as a sort of pop quiz. Not just the Grav Gun either, pretty much every gameplay concept. Hell, even the crowbar: your first target is a few boards blocking the way, then you get in the first fight.

 

[chromewarriorXIII]

Kingdom Hearts II has the longest tutorial ever! It gives me homicidal thoughts about the game designers.

Yeah. Although I actually preferred Roxas to Sora so I guess that sorta countered my hatred for the length of it.

Spider Man for the GameCube had a good tutorial. It took you through a virtual simulation with Stan Lee telling you how to do basic stuff.

 

[Aqualung]

Mass Effect, because it didn't have one, and the combat can just become another run 'n' gun shooter if you don't bother to teach yourself.

 

[Katana314]

First I have to give a nice shout to Bruce Campbell. His Spiderman 2 tutorial (a random narrator who berates you for doing things your way, or wanting to do things "fast") was just awesome.

The best tutorials are the only semi-existant ones, that just let you play the game learning at your own pace. Half-Life abandoned their training mission in favor of the second game, where each mechanic is slowly introduced as you get to it. The first few chapters of the game are a relatively unpunishing sandbox area to be sure you know the controls.