Poll: X-Box 360 Achievements

[Raziel5150]

I just realized something while posting a reply in another topic about preferring the X-Box 360 over the PS3 as far as consoles go, when something started to bug me. Achievements. A majority of some people are crazy about them & it just doesn't make that much sense to me. You can't use them for anything except bragging rights. Why doesn't Microsoft actually make them count towards something? Unlockable items in a game if you get so many of the achievement points. Exclusive X-Box Live! Marketplace downloads ('n stuff that is actually interesting, not a new color for your avatar's shoes). Does anyone else feel the way I do that achievements are worthless? I'm not trying to put anyone down who plays a game for them either. Personally, I just feel that they're rather pointless.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Use the search button, and I love them. Gives me reasons to keep playing and do odd stuff. Not a fan of multiplayer ones, though. I tend to stop having fun and end up focusing on trying to get an achievement and getting flustered.

 

[Neo Kojiro]

I try if i think i can get them, but otherwise i hardly care. If they had an actual purpose, though, i might change my mind about it. Granted, then i'd be complaining that some of them are too damn hard.

 

[Froobyx]

Oh, I would've voted I love them, but I forgot the click the box before I sent :O

I'm trying to be an achievement whore atm to try and catch up to my friends 20somethingK and 50somethingK. I'm on 7somethingK. Failing though cos I currently dislike all my games.

 

[DrHoboPHD]

I like the idea, but achievements, like DLC, are starting to have a negative effect on games being released.

I've seen games being released with less and less unlockable content, giving no rewards for long arduous minigames except for a single achievement that no one cares about. New games in a series whos previous installments had a lot of unlockable or hidden content are being released that have none at all. Like the developers feel like achievements are enough of a reward (which they aren't.).

DLC is having a similar effect on the overall content of games, a lot of people complain about DLC already being on the disc but you know what? I don't care. They can put as much DLC on the disc to be released later as they want so long as they actually put a decent amount of content in the game. Sadly I'm seeing many new releases fail to do so.

 

[ZomgSharkz]

I personally really like the achievements. Sure they don't really mean anything but it's nice to having something to work towards. You also get a feeling of satisfaction for completing a really difficult one. I agree with Onyx Oblivion however on the point of multiplayer achievements. I just end up getting annoyed and I stop just enjoying the game.

 

[zeroharpuia]

Making acheivements worth something would be EPIC.

 

[DoctorNick]

They're kind of fun, the 'gotta catch em' all' attitude that goes with them is about the only reason I try to get them.

I've actually almost gotten every single achievement for a couple games, maybe that's not that special but I think it's something.

 

[DavisJ3608]

I speak from the perspective of someone that doesn't have an Xbox, but I kinda like the achievements. I really like them on Steam-enabled games, because it encourages replayability, and they're kinda fun (especially silly achievements in serious games). However, I think the even better idea is for Microsoft to take note of what Valve did with TF2 and having the unlockable weapons as rewards for achievements - it takes all that hard work you put into having bragging rights and translates it into something almost tangible

 

[Leeathal]

I play a game for the game and not the achievements.

 

[jimduckie]

the only thing i hate about them is the online achievements are not separate ,this drives me quackers i don't like online play of most games and some are impossible , this applies to both ps3 and 360

 

[TinyToaster]

I like them mainly because they give me something extra to do once I've finished the main story of a game. It's fun to had those little things here and there to look for, or to get x kills with x weapon isn't even so bad if it's a game I enjoy.

 

[Shapsters]

Don't mean to be a troll but

Search Button!

There was a thread on this like yesterday, its irrelevant whether you like them or not. I like doing them, you don't who cares?

 

[LesIsMore]

I like achievements for two reasons: i) they provide an additional feeling of accomplishment, and ii) they are a safe vein for my OCD. There's something rewarding about checking off a list of accomplishments in the game, working your way through and accumulating trophies for your "shelf." Sure, it's mostly for your own sake, but isn't that why you're playing games in the first place - your own sake?

Some of them also provide reasons to play the game in interesting ways, such as the Orange Box's One Free Bullet (only fire one bullet in Episode One) and Rocketman (carry a garden gnome around for the whole story and launch him into space). They make you think of things to do you wouldn't have done otherwise, adding replay value and an additional sense of challenge.

On the flip side though, there are some games where achievements tend to distract from the overall game. Take Assassin's Creed or Crackdown, where achievements are awarded for exploring the open world and recovering all the flags or orbs. It's good in theory, but if you pick one up on accident or forgot to mark it on your map it turns locating the last ones into an exercise in futility.

Overall, I think achievements are a mixed bag to the 360 - it's useful for bragging rights and there is value to them in the game proper. Of course, since you're the only one playing the game, you have no one to blame but yourself if you take them too seriously.

 

[Jast]

I thought that adding the achievments was a really good idea, but now I'm starting to see your point. I guess it just gave me something extra to do, but some are just so ridiculous that I will never do. (Such as in "Dead Rising" where you have to stay alive for 7 days and get 20 points. I looked it up and found that 7 days in that games is the equivalent of around 18 hours in real time and a) I don't have time for that, b) I can only play that game 1 hour straight MAX before boredom ensues, c) you can't save, leave, and then come back to it. No, it is continuous. d) And the most important: my 360 would be totally fried by the time 18 hours of straight gameplay ended. So, as long as achievments aren't ridiculous AND are not Xbox live oriented I try to go for them.

 

[NeoDeath90]

I think they are fun to get, mainly because I have the ability to get them all. What I mean is, I'm not an online gamer, so many of my games' achievements are at my fingertips.

 

[UpcountryGecko]

I personally love getting achievements, no idea why I just do. I don't ever see microsoft making them worth anything except for bragging rights as could you imagine the amount of people playing avatar and king king if they unlocked something worth having. This wouldn't benefit Microsoft as those games are making money on the second hand and black market so there would just be losing more then they are getting.

 

[Gamer137]

I would'nt say love, but they add some level of motivation to do things you normally would not do, like play higher difficulties.

 

[Insomniaku]

Use the search button, and I love them. Gives me reasons to keep playing and do odd stuff. Not a fan of multiplayer ones, though. I tend to stop having fun and end up focusing on trying to get an achievement and getting flustered.

the multiplayer ones depend for me, if i'm really good at the game (Call of Duty 4) they're obviously going to be fun to get but if i suck (Gears of War) then they're a real pain

 

[The Young One]

I like the achievements, but I agree with the multi player ones, I don't tend to buy many multi player games so I struggle getting these. What I do hate is the ones that are worth 0 or 2, what's the point there?!