Achievements are the Best/Worst thing to Happen to Gaming

[WorldCritic]

Some achievements are just too annoying to get.

 

[skcseth]

The main offender for me so far is Mass Effect. In a game that is supposed to be about the choices you make, there is always the feeling that if you just do the right thing there'll be another achievement you can get. Then, once you've completed it and gotten the achievement for being good there's the one for being bad. *Starts new game and spends another 20 hours being a badass*.

As far as Mass Effect goes, just save before you make the decision, get the achievement, then load, then get the other achievement. And look over the achievement list before you play to know what to shoot for. That's what I always do.

AAAAAnyway. I don't think achievements are good or bad. They're really just another way of getting you to play the game again and again, giving it some sort of replay value (which Mass Effect does VERY well).
I think I'm gonna go play some Mass Effect right now come to think of it... Thanks!

 

[AwesomeNinjaPowers]

I think they're both. I like em cause they give games reply value and I'm a big fan of shiny things that don't do anything. But then I hate em cause some of them are just pointless to an unparalled extreme but cause I'm such an achievement whore I have to get them and then I feel soiled for having debased myself so badly to get it. Peter Molyenux I'm looking at you >-o

Meaning you bought Pub Games to get the Completionist achievement? Or you found five friends to swap dolls? Or both...

Both oh the shame ^^;

... and that, mi amigos, is the true horror of achievements.

You can get Completionist for free with See the Future

Please don't remind me ^^; I now have to scrub myself with wire wool to get the shame off

 

[Wargamer]

See, I think Trophies are far better than Achievements.

The difference is clear the moment you look at the rivalry between myself and my friend Carl. Carl has more Trophies, but I have a higher "Rank" than he does. Why? Because I have a lot of Gold Trophies, plus a pair of Platinums. He has mostly Bronze and Silver Trophies.

With rare exceptions (such as the abomination of Terminator Salvation) Gold Trophies are hard to earn. Some of them insanely hard. Platinums are earned by getting every other Trophy in the game.

So, something as basic as 'complete this level' is a Bronze. On the other hand, competing Bioshock on Survivor is a Gold.

Terminator Salvation is mentioned because it has eleven Trophies; one for beating each level, one for beating the game on Hard and the Platinum. All bar the Platinum are Gold.

So, either this is the hardest fucking game ever made, or the developers didn't really give a shit. Although, with ten Golds and a fuck-easy Platinum to earn, maybe they did it to lure in the Trophy Whores...

 

[Eagle Est1986]

Bringing it back to Mass Effect, (oh how I love thee)gaining an achievement in a weapon class will give any new character you make a bonus in that class. I don't know if there are any more instances where achievements actually do effect the game like that, but it can happen.

Yes, nearly all of the achievements unlock something.

Spoiler: See here

+10% Experience Bonus - Complete 75% of Game
+10% Hardening Bonus - Complete 75% of Game with Ashley in Squad
+10% Health Bonus - Kill 150 Organic Beings
+10% Shield Bonus - Kill 250 Synthetics
+25% Marksman Cooldown Bonus - Attain 150 Kills with Pistol
+5% Experience Bonus - Reach 50th level with one character
10% Reduced Cooldown for Barrier and Stasis - Complete 75% of Game with Liara in Squad
10% Reduced Cooldown for Lift and Throw - Complete 75% of Game with Kaiden in Squad
10% Reduced Cooldown for Overload and Damping - Complete 75% of Game with Garrusin Squad
10% Reduced Cooldown for Sabotage and AI Hacking - Complete 75% of Game with Tali in Squad
10% Shield Increase - Sustain More Shield Damage than Health Damage on One Playthrough
5% Increase in Weapon Damage - Complete the Game Twice on any Difficulty
Assault Rifle Skill for New Characters - Attain 150 Kills with Assault Rifle
Barrier Skill for New Characters - Use Barrier 75 Times
Decryption Skill for New Characters - Use Sabotage 75 Times
Electronics Skill for New Characters - Use Overload 75 Times
First Aid Skill for New Characters - Use 150 Medi-gel
Hacking Skill for New Characters - Use AI Hacking 75 Times
Lift Skill (for non-biotics) - Use Lift 75 Times
Medicine Skill for New Characters - Use Neural Hacking 75 Times
Regenerate 1 Health per Second - Complete 75% of Game with Wrex in Squad
Shielding Skill for New Characters - Use Dampening 75 Times
Shotgun Skill for New Characters - Attain 150 Kills with Shotgun
Sniper Rifle Skill for New Characters - Attain 150 Kills with Sniper Rifle
Spectre Grade Weapons for Purchase - Attain 1,000,000 Credits in your Wallet.
Statis Skill for New Characters - Use Statis 75 Times
Throw Skill for New Characters - Use Throw 75 Times
Unlocks "Singularity" skill for future characters - Use "Singularity" 75 times
Warp Skill for New Characters - Use Warp 75 Times

I don't hate them, it's just the fact that they can restrict you - you always think about getting the achievement rather than what the consequences actually might be.

This is why I hate achievements, people don't play games how they want to anymore, they play it whatever way offers the most gamer points. It's stupid.

 

[Zayren]

I like'm. I don't like online achievements or stupid collection based achievements. It's okay if there are say, 30 or 40 hidden things, but my god, I am not hunting down all those flags in Assassin's Creed. Online achievements are annoying too, because it is largely luck based. Look at 2 for 1 in Halo 3; kill two enemies at once with one spartan lazer shot. Okay, that's easy, until you realize it needs to be in a Free-for-all ranked playlist. The achievements for playing online a zillion times are annoying too, especially when I don't particularly enjoy the Multiplayer for the game, but want to brag about my l33t skillz anyway.

I think the best for achievements is Valve. They have a lot of difficult and long term achievements mixed in, but not too ridiculous. They have some that are difficult and still entertaining, like Save One Bullet and Little Rocket Man, and others that are insanely hard like Aperture Science and Nothing Special, but it's still fun to try. It's not just like,"Kill X guys with Y weapon" or random story marks (Although there are some, it's not all of them, like most games).

I also need to mention BioShock, now that I think about it. The achievements in that game were also good. Hm.. maybe I'm being biased and saying I don't like the achievements in some games because I don't like the game? /chinrub

That said, I'm never gunna get that damn Aperture Science achievement! Damn you Valve!

 

[Chiddy]

Best thing that has ever happened, im addicted to them ( an achievement whore) and might i add PS3 trophies is the crappiets rip off ever

 

[NeutralMunchHotel]

Bringing it back to Mass Effect, (oh how I love thee)gaining an achievement in a weapon class will give any new character you make a bonus in that class. I don't know if there are any more instances where achievements actually do effect the game like that, but it can happen.

Yes, nearly all of the achievements unlock something.

Spoiler: See here

+10% Experience Bonus - Complete 75% of Game
+10% Hardening Bonus - Complete 75% of Game with Ashley in Squad
+10% Health Bonus - Kill 150 Organic Beings
+10% Shield Bonus - Kill 250 Synthetics
+25% Marksman Cooldown Bonus - Attain 150 Kills with Pistol
+5% Experience Bonus - Reach 50th level with one character
10% Reduced Cooldown for Barrier and Stasis - Complete 75% of Game with Liara in Squad
10% Reduced Cooldown for Lift and Throw - Complete 75% of Game with Kaiden in Squad
10% Reduced Cooldown for Overload and Damping - Complete 75% of Game with Garrusin Squad
10% Reduced Cooldown for Sabotage and AI Hacking - Complete 75% of Game with Tali in Squad
10% Shield Increase - Sustain More Shield Damage than Health Damage on One Playthrough
5% Increase in Weapon Damage - Complete the Game Twice on any Difficulty
Assault Rifle Skill for New Characters - Attain 150 Kills with Assault Rifle
Barrier Skill for New Characters - Use Barrier 75 Times
Decryption Skill for New Characters - Use Sabotage 75 Times
Electronics Skill for New Characters - Use Overload 75 Times
First Aid Skill for New Characters - Use 150 Medi-gel
Hacking Skill for New Characters - Use AI Hacking 75 Times
Lift Skill (for non-biotics) - Use Lift 75 Times
Medicine Skill for New Characters - Use Neural Hacking 75 Times
Regenerate 1 Health per Second - Complete 75% of Game with Wrex in Squad
Shielding Skill for New Characters - Use Dampening 75 Times
Shotgun Skill for New Characters - Attain 150 Kills with Shotgun
Sniper Rifle Skill for New Characters - Attain 150 Kills with Sniper Rifle
Spectre Grade Weapons for Purchase - Attain 1,000,000 Credits in your Wallet.
Statis Skill for New Characters - Use Statis 75 Times
Throw Skill for New Characters - Use Throw 75 Times
Unlocks "Singularity" skill for future characters - Use "Singularity" 75 times
Warp Skill for New Characters - Use Warp 75 Times

I don't hate them, it's just the fact that they can restrict you - you always think about getting the achievement rather than what the consequences actually might be.

This is why I hate achievements, people don't play games how they want to anymore, they play it whatever way offers the most gamer points. It's stupid.

I know that all the ones in Mass Effect unlock something, I just wondered if there were any other games in which this happened.

Best thing that has ever happened, im addicted to them ( an achievement whore) and might i add PS3 trophies is the crappiets rip off ever

How are trophies a rip-off? Least of all the crappiest rip-off ever? Have you ever seen 'The Little Fighting Panda' (No prize for guessing the film)?