Achievments and a New Attitude Towards Gaming

[lordponcho]

Sorry if similar threads exsist (I bet they do), but try searching for "achievment" on this forum and finding the thread you want :p And with that over...


I've been thinking about how I used to play games, and how I do now. What I get out of them compared to the days of playing on PS2, PC or even C64. When I first got GTA: San Andreas the first thing I did was to play through the story mode. It was a good game, one of the best I played. But it didn't pick up until a few missions in, after all of the tutorial missions and riding a bike around. Then GTA4 comes out, I put the disk in and watch the intro scene and drive Roman home. Then the "Off The Boat" achievment pops up. The game had started! There were a load more learning curve missions left, but the 5G really kicked it off.

Then with games like Assassin's Creed, there are several hundred flags to hunt down and find. I would never have bothered doing it on any other platform, but as I picked up the last flag and the achievment unlocked I felt a relief that I wouldn't have to find them all again. It was done, the game was actually completed. And I only did it because I can now show off my 1000/1000 score in the game.

This isn't to say that people didn't 100% games for the bragging rights before Xbox 360. I have a friend who used to be a hardcore N64 player. He strived to get 100% stats in all of the games he bought. He finished Golden Eye. He even bought the official N64 magazine, which had a list of extra things you could do, new challenges once you'd beaten a game. Things like "Reach the top of a certain mountain on this level on Mario 64". And he would go through the list, ticking them off. Now you would get 10G for it, then you just had the satisfaction of knowing you had done it.

I was never really bothered with getting 100% stats on games before, but getting a 360 and being able to show that I did it, it's changed how I approach games.

Has anybody else felt this?

[gatorbait]

Yeah, this topic has come up a few times but I think it is a good one.

Achievements have certainly changed the way I and many others play games now. I was someone who used to play the first few levels of the game and probably never come back to it. Many games that I did enjoy I usually never even finished because I'd be off to another game. When I heard about achievements coming to the 360 I thought well that'd be cool because I usually play a lot of games but then thought I probably wouldn't have too many points for games as I tend to just play a little bit of each. Now I'm playing games I never even thought I would be playing and it's a good thing because although there are certainly some games I regret playing aside from the points, some games have been pleasant surprises. I think I have finished more games on the 360 then I had ever finished before. I've even gone back and beaten a few old games of mine. Now my problem is that there is not enough time to keep up with the new games for 360 and Wii and trying to go back and play old games that I still have for last gen's systems.

[loren83]

I would have to say that Achievements have definitely changed the way I play my games. I am by no means a perfectionist but I will give you an example. I have a 360, Wii, and PS3. I do not own any games, nor do I plan on buying any, for the PS3. I only play my Wii if I have a group of people over or if the wife wants to play Wii Fit. The reason behind all of this is simple. Achievements!!!!! I love seeing that little blip come up and especially when it's the last one for that game. I am currently playing 4 games that I would have never played and just finished two other. For those who want to know the 4 current are Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Shrek the 3rd, CSI, and X-Men. I just finished Bully and Jumper(didn't get 1000 on this because it was terrible).

[dm master]

I agree with you about these little bundles of joy.

Although i would never buy a game JUST for points i do love the feeling when one pops up espically if you wernt tryign for it. It is the only reason i play thought some games over again and sometimes then ponly reason i try the online.

One example for me is if you get an achivement for say 49G i want to get the otherone which equals my score it anoys me to have an odd one..

[Parkerktm]

Yea, it defiently changed the way i play games. I always strive to get try to get maximum points in every game, even if it it's a awful game.

Achievements also make people rent/buy games that usually don't sell, so they increase sales for MS