Carra: People still read manuals? *before they play a game*?
Oh sure. Reading the manual cuts down on reference later and can be fun in it's own way! I remember when I first got Baldur's Gate. It was the middle of the winter and I cuddled up under my wool covers with some hot chocolate and read the manual.
Contra 4 had a manual that was so hilariously self-aware I lol'd more than once ("Multiplayer Mode: continuing the time honored tradition of taking all the best powerups and moving the screen too fast.")
Of course, its' not quite the same on a glowing computer screen... but you get the idea.
DD's manual starts with a nice little letter from Larian, and there's a little short story for background in another pdf.