XBox 360 achievements: fun or chore?

[dwarf]

I remember reading an article about how achievements were so much better than trophies, and when I clicked on the link I was like 'Well not really', but it turned out to make a lot of sense.

 

I do like the platinums though, they sound more valuable than a 1000/1000 score because you get a token for it and they have a proper name.

[Pantsu Man!]

With the trophies, people already know what they are. They know what bronze, silver, gold and platinum are. Through years of use we know them as highliy valuable metals (some of them) and also we associate them when people win things, because their worth relates to how good someone is at something.

People who're saying trophies are better are saying so because they can relate it to something already, whereas a simple number, which can go on for infinity, is harder to feel like it's worth something.

Getting that Platinum trophy can give you the exact same feeling as watching the little pop up say you've just unlocked the last achievement in the game.

Trophies and Gamerscore are the same thing, neither is better than the other. Both are a measure of how long you play games, and in some cases how good you are at them (Mile High Club achievement Yus!).

[dwarf]

Forgot to mention the crappy load times for trophies, sometimes you have to sync them, watch a load symbol and games sometimes need to load the trophies before you get to the main menu.

[Oxigen_Waste]

Well, you could get all the easy achievements in lots of games (and easy games) and these would still add up to a big score. But if you did this on PSN you'd just have a chunky of shitty bronze trophies.

 

He's right, you know. Still, I don't like the whole "I'm better than you" thing about trophies/achievements. I think they're pretty much something you should do for fun, not to show off.

[Daft]

Forgot to mention the crappy load times for trophies, sometimes you have to sync them, watch a load symbol and games sometimes need to load the trophies before you get to the main menu.

 

In a weird way I actually started to enjoy the ritual of syncing my trophies.

[Cube]

Well, you could get all the easy achievements in lots of games (and easy games) and these would still add up to a big score. But if you did this on PSN you'd just have a chunky of shitty bronze trophies.

 

Some games will still have easy gold trophies.

[Daft]

Over time though, the more you play, the less that would be a problem. It would average out.

[Emerald Emblem]

Before Achievements/Trophies. You would probably have just just completed the game or not gotten all you could have done out of the game, Achievemnts/Trophies probably get you more out of the game than you might have done without them.

[dwarf]

^ That's kind of obvious though, sometimes it's a bad thing because it makes players 'grind' or carry on playing for a needless amount of time to an extent where you actually become bored and therefore it dampens your thought of the game somewhat.

[nightwolf]

^ That's kind of obvious though, sometimes it's a bad thing because it makes players 'grind' or carry on playing for a needless amount of time to an extent where you actually become bored and therefore it dampens your thought of the game somewhat.

 

I suppose really it depends on the player, for example I love the achievements but I'm not going to sit there every day until I get them all, I'll do it every so often when I feel like it, whereas others are like you mentioned.

 

For me they are awesome, I like being able to compare and hear that little ding when your half way through a game, it makes it more interesting, even with the game being exciting, it means you have something to show for the game you've spent hours or days even weeks completing.

[dwarf]

I'm a big fan of trophies I think they're one of the best additions this gen. Some games just aren't suited to them though, and I don't think they should be a requirement for each title. Heavy Rain for example... There's just no point.

[Pit-Jr]

i enjoy seeing a trophy pop up but not really for bragging rights, just a little cool thing to see that ill forget about 5 seconds later. Most of the time theyre a suprise because im not actively trying to get them, except for the 10 online win-streak on SFIV, which still eludes me to this day

[nightwolf]

I'm a big fan of trophies I think they're one of the best additions this gen. Some games just aren't suited to them though, and I don't think they should be a requirement for each title. Heavy Rain for example... There's just no point.

 

Sorry I seem to be picking on your points, but I like them so.

 

I agree, viva pinata for example is a pain in the ass to get achievements for, considering its really a kids game I don't see a child making 100 pinatas or whatever having sex as dancing. But maybe I'm being cynical.

[Ganepark32]

^ Viva Pinata is indeed a pain in the ass to unlock achievements on. I was kinda playing it for them but mostly for fun but when I read through how to unlock them, I just gave up and just messed around. Damn badger things kept killing each other or the other animals in my garden. Used to just hit them with the spade as punishment :p

 

Anyway, for me, I normally go after achievements for fun. If I'm not going to be cursing or throwing the controller around trying to get them, then I'll normally do them but I will sometimes sit down and go for the harder ones as a way of beefing up my gamerscore.

[Sheikah]

Some games will still have easy gold trophies.

 

Which? I've not come across any particularly easy gold trophies in the games that I own (and I'd say I buy mostly good games).

 

Regarding Viva Pinata... if we're talking about the first one, I found it quite easy to get the achievements on that, as a lot are given away for the most trivial things. I didn't actually get them all (980) since the last one was to have played for a long amount of time (possibly 50 hours). So I guess that shows it's kind of achievable. But really a lot of them just came as I basically played the game.

Edited August 18, 2009 by Sheikah

[Daft]

Which? I've not come across any particularly easy gold trophies in the games that I own (and I'd say I buy mostly good games).

 

Terminator. 12 gold trophies. 1 Platinum. More fun than Mirror's Edge.

[Sheikah]

Terminator. 12 gold trophies. 1 Platinum. More fun than Mirror's Edge.

 

Oh dear, lol. Well I guess there's not too many like that, surely. It seems to have pretty bad/average reviews so I guess those trophies would be compensation for those who bought it. :P

[Daft]

Yeah, from what I know it is the only game that's badly weighted in terms of trophies.

 

Although some games are really bronze heavy with no Golds which is also annoying.

[MATtheHAT]

Call of Duty: World at War has some silly Trophies. You get silver for completing levels on the easiest difficulty, and bronze for finishing on Veteran. Really Treyarch?

[Jimbob]

I'm not an achievement whore as such, as you can tell from the low score i have. I play my games and if there are fun achievements there, i most likely go out of my way and get that achievement. Some of them are a chore (i'm looking at titles like PDZero + GoW) and others seem to unlock as you do the main story (Fable II, Force Unleashed).

[Goafer]

I quite liked the hidden achievments on PGR4. Some excellent movie tie in moments. For one, you have to drive a Delorean above 88MPH as lighning is flashing. For another, you have to park an Aston Martin outside Casino Royale in Vegas and take a picture.

 

I also thought Fable 2s achievments were good. Especially the way they handled the extreme good/bad one. You only have to be one of the other, not 2 seperate achievments. I thought that was a good way to allow you to focus on one character instead of having to divide your time between 2.

[Coolness Bears]

Achievements are fun.

 

I don't really go about collecting them though. I look at them and see which once I can realistically do and then go from there.

[Jimbob]

I also thought Fable 2s achievments were good. Especially the way they handled the extreme good/bad one. You only have to be one of the other, not 2 seperate achievments. I thought that was a good way to allow you to focus on one character instead of having to divide your time between 2.

 

There is one achievement there which needs you to go between good, pure, corrupt and evil, which is the one where you get all expressions. Thats pretty fun. And its easy to return to where you were.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Words can't describe how little I care about these. If there's something to be gained then I may do it. But I don't give a shit to go out of my way to do something and be told I've "won" 5G's for it [suddenly got a flashback to Gamezville], which have no use whatsoever.