Achievements & Trophies - Wrong or Right?

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Rayne
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Achievements & Trophies - Wrong or Right?

Post by Rayne »

If you were to ask me what the biggest and most exciting addition to gaming this gen has offered us, I wouldn't say the digital download services, I wouldn't say online gaming and I wouldn't say advanced graphics.

I'd say the most exciting thing about this gen has been the addition of those wonderful little achievements & trophies.

To me, the best and most fun part about gaming has been bragging to your mates. In the older generations you'd be claiming you beat M Bison, caught a Mew or played as Luigi in Mario 64. Now we get a really easy way to compare and contrast just what we've managed to do!

On top of that, I'll now not only play a game to completion once, I'll beat it again on a harder difficulty, again with a quicker time, again to collect everything and once more to get a particular ending. I'm getting a far greater replay value for my 40 quid than I've ever done in the past.

In spite of that, there's those cynics out there that claim they're the worst addition to gaming history since the Atari Jaguar :/ that they're annoying bleeps, that they make people buy crap games, that they take the fun out of everything.

What'cha think? Fantastic addition or a stupid idea that hit the mainstream?
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Reknoc
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Post by Reknoc »

I don't think they're wrong or right, they're just there. Some are fun to get, some just happen by playing a game, some are good way to checkpoint progress (Demon's Souls), some are fucking awful, some are completely obnoxious. That said though if someone plays a game just because it's an easy 1000/plat or they refuse to play because it'll make their score look bad because the things are hard to get, well then they're complete cunts.
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Killer French Bread
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Post by Killer French Bread »

I don't see the point in the ones you just get for playing. If they all had to be earnt by going out of your way a bit or getting good at the game it'd be better. Some games have it right, but there's not much point in trying to 1cc ultra mode on some shmup if you get even more points for getting your dog to play king kong.
Tic Tac, sir?
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Matty
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Post by Matty »

i like trophies, its a way to say i can do this/that & have proof (like with the i can beat M bison)

i mean when i got mw2 people said i'd fail as im a noob at FPS (and mw2 was my 1st fps game) a months or 2 later i got most of the trophies & was just short of platinum, went & got it, now when i see them i laugh as they cant get plat as some of the spec ops are too hard (a good mate with patientce is whatcha need ;) )

trophies are also a reason i buy games, i like trophies, but im not a whore like some people :P
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richarddavies
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Post by richarddavies »

They have there place. If your not into them you can just play your games and ignore them but if you like them they can add alot of extra value to a game if you want to replay a title to get all the achievements. If I really like a 360 game I'll try and get the achievements. I've only got a PS3 pretty recently though and I feel i've missed the boat on trophys. I have absolutely no inclination to try and get them.
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Tru
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Post by Tru »

I've seen how achievements are used as a game design mechanic, to encourage players to experiment and try new things within the game rather than just sticking to the default method, and I quite like that. I also like achievements that actually feel like an achievement, as you have described Rayne.

I do know some people who take it too far and play rubbish games just to get their gamerscore up, but it's their loss, both on time and their own money, but if it makes 'em happy, let 'em get on with it. A bit of healthy competition isn't a bad thing, but maybe not to the extreme of buying every game :P
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Reknoc
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Post by Reknoc »

My only problem with achievements gameplay wise is when it means completely pointless collectables that do nothing but to give you an achievement. Games are getting abit better at it now though with audiologs and stuff like that. Uncharted still remains to be the only game to have get them really right though, not in the ways to get them, but the way that it unlocks actual rewards for the player in game.
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Tru
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Post by Tru »

Yeah, in game rewards as well as achievements are better. There are loads of Avatar/Home awards now though for games, what do you think of them?
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Reknoc
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Post by Reknoc »

CapnCloudchaser wrote:Yeah, in game rewards as well as achievements are better. There are loads of Avatar/Home awards now though for games, what do you think of them?
Terrible.

Actually I don't mind Avatar stuff because people can easily see it and it's not a complete waste of HDD space.
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Post by Gavvie »

That, and the Avatar rewards can be pretty cool. Depending on the game, you're even gifted certain props for buying the game as well. That's how I got my HP broomstick and Crackdown 2 Agency helicopter :D
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