While trying to decide whether or not i should purchase Raze Hell (a game that intrigues me) from the originals section of xbla, i realised that if the game came with any sort of achievement points, it would likely sweeten the deal enough for me to be swayed into the purchase...

I enjoy achievements, they make a second or third play through feel like it has more meaning, trying to get that achievement for taking a slightly different path than last time. For the most part though I don't worry myself over them and I can't really be bothered with attempting to get the painstaking ones. But I'm guessing being able to show off your achievement and saying with the proof to back it up; "I did that", sounds alright to me. Besides the people that argue against the achievements because they are a "waste of time" might as well give up gaming and any other hobby they have because they aren't accomplishing anything by "wasting" their time, right?

I used to not really care about achievements/trophies, and to some degree I still don't. I'm not going to rent or buy a game I don't want just to get points. I admit though, for games I do enjoy playing, hearing that little sound and the words flashing across the screen are nice, especially if you receive one after a difficult segment in a game. What I recently thought about was the fact that having achievements are good in the sense that no matter what happens to your game saves, the points will always be there. Back in the day, if a file had gotten erased from your memory card, you not only lost your progression, you also lost the proof of it as well. Now if you lose a game save, at least you have evidence that you went through it, in the form of an achievement or trophy. Achievements/Trophies also add an incentive to try something new that you would have never thought you could do before, and can lead to having a better experience with the game.

How are achievements/trophies a hindrance, though? It creates people who become obsessed with a score, and like the Major Nelson blog that you linked to, creates cheaters. I don't understand why people would be proud of faking their score, the rewarding thing about getting an achievement or trophy is the fact that you actually did what was required to get it.

I think achievements and trophies are a good thing. They add incentive to play a game, persuade you to try new things, and add replay value too.

Wait, wait... Dash of Destruction is actually good? I wasn't planning on playing it because I thought it was just a short crappy game that everyone was using to gain points.

Good write up Rowr. :)

Dash of Destruction is probably best described as an amusing distraction. There are certainly worse games on xbla, and those ones cost points!
If you've got access to local play with someone you could have some fun with it. I found it a fun enough way to spend 10 minutes.

Achievements are retarded imo.

It's more important that I enjoy the game, than get achievements. I do love achievements, but I never go out of my way to get them if doing so disagrees with my playstyle.

That was a great blog. Anyway, I'm not bothered by achievements. I enjoy getting them, but won't ever do something unenjoyable just for some points.

While I do have many achievement points...I never go out of my way to get them, I just happen to play a lot of games. Though there was a month when I was in a contest to win a $100 Best Buy gift card...which I won by whoring the shit out of myself. Besides that dirty month I've never actually played a game just for achievements...I personally like them, but in the wrong hands they can turn some people crazy.

The achievements points don't really matter to me.  I just hit 30K not too long ago and couldn't care less.  However, I'll sometimes take great strides into getting some of the more unattainable achievements.  I think it's just fun to do and gives you a good reason to continue playing games you wouldn't normally play for that long.

Razes Hell is on Xbla?  Dude, I got that for $5 at gamestop.  The end is pretty awesome...but it's hard as all hell and won't let you get there easily

I find achievements actually can hurt a gaming experience more than making it enjoyable. Atleast for consoles where there is little reward for gaining said achievements other than points which as far as I know, do very little other than accumulate.

As a PC gamer I find achievements to be negative to my enjoyment of a game. I enjoy TF2 but the only reason I get the achievements is for the new items, once I have them all then I leave it at that, I don't go out of my way to get anymore, they just with the nature of TF2 accumulate themselves over time playing the game.

Honestly I don't get the kids that think nothing more other than gaining every achievement in a game, sure its cool to show off to people I guess. But I personally would rather show off by just playing the game really well and playing it how I want to instead of spending hours on the same area trying to get the same ridiculous achievement.

Achievements are bad in my opinion, bad!

I knew it, the Matrix runs on.....Windows!!!

The Matrix is a lie. When given the choice, I chose the Red pill. All that happened was that I got chased down the Street by giant spiders. Dont buy pills from random men outside Farringdon tube station at 3am. Lesson learned.

Achievements only matter to me in games that matter to me. I just use them as a way of demonstrating how awesome I am. The total abstract gamerscore number is pointless, as is how competitive people have become over it. I dont care if you have 1000 points in some game I have never heard of, but getting 1000 in COD4 takes time and skill - and consequently earns you respect.

I agree.

Gamerscore on a whole, doesnt really earn any repect from me.

If you've got all the points from geo wars 2 or ikaruga or some difficult ass games i suck at, THAT earns some respect.

If you have all the achievements for collecting flags in assassins creed, I just think your weird.

I really like achievments. They give me a reason to keep playing or to play through on a higher difficulty. Plus, they are sometimes really fun to earn.

How I feel about achievements...



To be honest, I just like linking my gamercard. Anyway, my two cents: achievements improve replayability and can sway desire over wanting a game. There are probably more than a few games I won't try just because I would end up having to get them all. My current completion rate is 76%+, which is about 90,000 out of a total 115,000 gamerscore. On top of that I seem to have, in my opinion [but not diagnosed], a small case of OCD. I like to complete everything, my room has to be organized, everything should be neat. Achievements sell games, especially XBLA games, and everyone knows that by now. If you call them stupid...

pause422 said:

"Achievements are retarded imo."

I gotta agree with Vinchenzo on many of those same points.  However, the inverse side of this argument comes down to stuff like this:

I don't go for achievements as some kind of proof to others that I'm an awesome gamerdude, I use achievements more as a reminder of some of the more difficult things I accomplished in a game. Plus, it helps support my addictive personality, and keeps me from playing World of Warcraft again.

If you have all the achievements for collecting flags in assassins creed, I just think your weird.

Personally I dont worry about achievements at all. The only achievement that bothers me is to complete the game. And when I say that, usually it just means to complete the story line or accomplish each aspect of a campaign in a non story driven game such as a sports title or some such. Getting 100% or 1000 points has never been a consideration for me. I never know what my gamescore is at any given point, in fact when my first 360 kicked the bucket I made no attempt to recover my previous profile to salvage the points to my new system. And I couldnt even guess at how many trophies (if any) I have gotten. Still in spite of that, like you say, there is still a little moment of gratification each time that little Achievement Unlocked memo pops up.