What's More Important: Ethics or Gamerscore?

[PaleGringo]

I was thinking of this as I rolled into a five-digit score.

Is it better to be a score whore, playing anything and everything just to "compete" for points, or to take a firm stand on the gaming belief that we ought not pay for or endorse crappy games?

It's a tough question. The very nature of this site lends itself to the first half, but at the same time, my inner gamer tells me that I shouldn't buy OR rent Madden 07 because I'm tired of EA taking a dump on sports fans. That I shouldn't buy or rent the next movie to video game adaptation because that only encourages more mediocrity. That I shouldn't buy or rent half-fast games that could have been done on previous gen consoles.

What do you guys think? And why?

[doadea]

I have no ethics, morals or general codes of conduct so I say gamerscore is more important. ;D However I doubt that we can ever stop the flow of bad and useless games....they will continue to be made as long as there is an audience for them and they can make money....can anyone say 9 expansion packs for "The Sims"?

[graf1k]

Yeah, my moral constitution is ambiguous at best. I steal candy from babies for God's sake. But then I give it to the homeless. See?! AMBIGuOUS!

I say whore now while there is still time because with the flood of games coming in March and then the apparent steady stream from then on, most people won't have time for the bad games unless they actually like them.

[Hardware]

I haven't been extremely dissapointed in a game yet. Tony Hawk was somewhat boring as I think I had enough of it over the years, but that's the only game I tried to play longer to get some points. I like the fact that if it wasn't for GP I would have never tried to beat COD2 on Veteran. Yeah someone might have 8,500 more points than me, but some of these people are beating COD2 on Default. Any of us can beat King Kong, NBA2K, Etc, etc. we just need to invest the time. GP definitely causes competition. Such a simple idea, but it's awesome.

[DarkLif3]

I don't care what people do with their free time. If they have time to play all of the games and sit there to unlock all achievements then more power to you.

Personally I don't do it because of other commitments in my life. Well, come to think of it I don't think I would do it any way because I tend to get bored with only one hobby. I like to spread myself over many activities so I don't get bored.

[g4m3r7ag]

im agreeing with what doadea said, so Gringo it looks like your on your own

[PaleGringo]

I suppose its wishful thinking. I just wish that there were more developers that make great games like Criterion, Bungie, or Rare and fewer ones like Midway (though they used to be good), Atari (which can have the rare gem but usually tripe), and Sonic Team (Ever notice the abundance of "Hedgehog" games nowadays?)

I really want to see quality gaming, especially from "next gen" games. I think its a sad truth that great games will get overlooked and mediocre games will get hyped and artificially assigned good reviews.

Well, here's to making the best out of it either way, I guess.

[Minty]

im with you Gringo!!

[DarkLif3]

I suppose its wishful thinking.  I just wish that there were more developers that make great games like Criterion, Bungie, or Rare and fewer ones like Midway (though they used to be good), Atari (which can have the rare gem but usually tripe), and Sonic Team (Ever notice the abundance of "Hedgehog" games nowadays?)

I really want to see quality gaming, especially from "next gen" games.  I think its a sad truth that great games will get overlooked and mediocre games will get hyped and artificially assigned good reviews.

Well, here's to making the best out of it either way, I guess.


There will always be bad games as long as movies are around. ;D

[Tron]

there are two points about this... one, achivements make utter shit (ie Madden 06) somewhat redeemable and gaurentees that more than the usual crowd will play this game (achievement whores)... and two it makes achievements a factor as to how good you are at gaming, and i think that is utter bullshit....

Microsoft was wily to ensure that even the shittest games were played...

ethically i still play Halo 2 more than any 360 game because it is still phenomenal... for my gamerscore i play NHL 2k6, not because i want to but because i have to (mainly to beat DaKrazie1 ;D)...

to be honest i would rather have some sort of ranking system like Halo 2 for each game, that way you knew who was really good and who wasnt, and do away with the gamerscore, but until then i will be wasting 8 bucks a game for 1000gp

[Hardware]

but until then i will be wasting 8 bucks a game for 1000gp

Sounds like you rent games at Blockbuster. Not sure where you are located but for $12.99 a month, GamezNFlix gives you 2 games out at a time. So far they are awesome for me. I get games the day after they send them. My only complaint, games aren't always in stock. It took 3 days one time for them to send something out. I feel that it is acceptable at the price.

[Tron]

i grease their palms at BB, it may cost 8 bucks but i get every game the day before they put it on the shelves, plus they hold games i want and call me, ... i do not like waiting :)

[PaleGringo]

achivements make utter shit (ie Madden 06) somewhat redeemable and gaurentees that more than the usual crowd will play this game (achievement whores)... and two it makes achievements a factor as to how good you are at gaming, and i think that is utter bullshit....


I wholeheartedly agree with point #1. It was EA Sports' clever "Bullshots" (courtesy Penny Arcade) that enticed me to buy Madden 06 as one of my launch games. But having completed the 1000GS for it, I have absolutely no desire to put that disc back into my system. In fact, I think I'll be returning it tomorrow when I pick up Black. I can't see myself tying AmFootball to my online gaming profile or gaming hobby in general until, as Spider NY puts it "NFL 2K11" comes out. No team representation at all... from gamertile to "custom faceplates" for my 360. I don't want to be reminded of the EA monopoly any more than I have to be.

I do disagree with the second one... it may be true to some extent, but even on the more difficult (read: time consuming) games to get 1000 points on like CoD2, Condemned, PGR3 or Kameo, all it proves is that you have more time to get that score, not necessarily that you have a braggable right.

Achievements ≠ Skill, bottom line. I just wish there was a way to live in a blissfully happy medium between the two extremes.

[k_dog]

i grease their palms at BB, it may cost 8 bucks but i get every game the day before they put it on the shelves, plus they hold games i want and call me, ... i do not like waiting :)


Our Blockbuster doesnt even carry 360 games. I have to really on Hollywood, but I get those for FREE....

My opinion is biased, I like the fact that Achievements open up the industry to beter broad the minds of Biased gamers, but that still doesnt mean I'm going to drop MSRP on just ANY game. That doesnt mean I wont try it. I still research and study a game before I buy it.

-Brian

[Slyght]

I'm with you on this PaleGringo. I think the Achievements system is an interesting idea. It adds replayability to some games, as forced as it may be. But it's also a cheap ploy to get people to play games they would otherwise have no intention of playing.

I don't just look at a player's score, I like to break it down game-by-game. I only care about the games I've played, I could care less if somebody's played NBA 2K6 or Kong. We all know why you played them :) I only plan on playing games I want to play, not renting games just for the points. But, if I have a game, I'm probably going to try to get as many points, as long as the tasks don't become a boring chore in themselves.

So, my opinion is Achievements are cool on a game-by-game level, but the total score is just a pissing contest.

I'd also like to point out I'm a newb with less than 500 points who's only had his 360 for 3 days :)

[Minty]

welcome to the world of 360 8)

i agree mainly with what you said, but there are exceptions. like scooby plays madden loads cos hes a huge fan of the sport. i play fifa a lot for the same reason. and im sure there are the basketball fans out there that do really like the games.

the only way round it would be for some link between the achievements and how long you played the game- like every game should have an achievement for 100 hours played or something, so you can tell the people that genuinly played the game rather than just rented it.

[k_dog]

the only way round it would be for some link between the achievements and how long you played the game- like every game should have an achievement for 100 hours played or something, so you can tell the people that genuinly played the game rather than just rented it.


Like DoA, I could NEVER, and I mean NEVER ligitly play that game for that long. I'm terrible at it.

-Brian