Achievements are extra challenges added into video games that sometimes carry a point value or unlock bonus material, and are sometimes solely for bragging rights.
Being a completionist is annoying sometimes, intensly gratifying other times. Finally getting that last achievement for 100% or the fabled S-Rank on Giant Bomb will never lose its buzz. It does however take time, time I could be using to play other games. I will say that being a completionist does squeeze every drop of value out of a game, multiple playthroughs for difficulty achievements, finding every collectable, doing things differently that you normally would... I love achievements. But again, the time you put into one game to get 100% would have been 2 other games normal playthroughs.
This is where my downfall is. I love gaming, I love going for those achievements, I want to experience every "big" game released. However the stack of games piling up waiting to be played gets higher and higher every month. In one way I do save money. I used to buy games when they came out, only to get to them a month later. I've put a stop to that now. Which for a while was good because I was making progress through my pile, but now the games I havn't been buying are dirt cheap and I end up buying 3 or 4 a month in one fell swoop as to not miss the bargins. So it's two steps forward, one step back... but I love it.
This past E3 week was 6 times the experience in Gears of War 2 (one of the games I bought when it came out, only to have never put it in my system untill the start of last week). I had to take advantage of this, make some big headway to that most grumbled about level 100 multiplayer achievement. In one week I got from 0 to 47(at the moment, I'm still hoping to push for 50 if it's still 6x when I get home) a decent effort, although nothing in the big scheme of things. It is however lowering my completion % and anothing huge grind I'll be dumping hours and hours into that could be used to complete, even 100%, multiple other games.
Here's the crazy thing... I've begun to love the grind. Grinding is mindless, repetitive, boring... but turning on your xbox and having a clear longterm goal that isn't stressful, swearing at your tv as some other achievements (Mile High Club, most of Lost Planets achievements, Dead Risings aslo etc) is oddly relaxing. It does mean my pile will slowly fill up higher and higher, and the idea of one day being ontop of it and just concentrating on one new release at a time slips further and further into pipe dream territory. It hurts... It hurts so good.
Being a completionist is annoying sometimes, intensly gratifying other times. Finally getting that last achievement for 100% or the fabled S-Rank on Giant Bomb will never lose its buzz. It does however take time, time I could be using to play other games. I will say that being a completionist does squeeze every drop of value out of a game, multiple playthroughs for difficulty achievements, finding every collectable, doing things differently that you normally would... I love achievements. But again, the time you put into one game to get 100% would have been 2 other games normal playthroughs.
This is where my downfall is. I love gaming, I love going for those achievements, I want to experience every "big" game released. However the stack of games piling up waiting to be played gets higher and higher every month. In one way I do save money. I used to buy games when they came out, only to get to them a month later. I've put a stop to that now. Which for a while was good because I was making progress through my pile, but now the games I havn't been buying are dirt cheap and I end up buying 3 or 4 a month in one fell swoop as to not miss the bargins. So it's two steps forward, one step back... but I love it.
This past E3 week was 6 times the experience in Gears of War 2 (one of the games I bought when it came out, only to have never put it in my system untill the start of last week). I had to take advantage of this, make some big headway to that most grumbled about level 100 multiplayer achievement. In one week I got from 0 to 47(at the moment, I'm still hoping to push for 50 if it's still 6x when I get home) a decent effort, although nothing in the big scheme of things. It is however lowering my completion % and anothing huge grind I'll be dumping hours and hours into that could be used to complete, even 100%, multiple other games.
Here's the crazy thing... I've begun to love the grind. Grinding is mindless, repetitive, boring... but turning on your xbox and having a clear longterm goal that isn't stressful, swearing at your tv as some other achievements (Mile High Club, most of Lost Planets achievements, Dead Risings aslo etc) is oddly relaxing. It does mean my pile will slowly fill up higher and higher, and the idea of one day being ontop of it and just concentrating on one new release at a time slips further and further into pipe dream territory. It hurts... It hurts so good.
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