Poll: Is it wrong to buy a game for the achievements?

[SonicWaffle]

I've never been hugely bothered by my gamerscore until recently. I've only ever gained all 1000 points on one game (Lost: Via Domus), and even then I only did so because it was difficult not to. Seriously, the game just throws them at you like a paedophile dispensing candy in a playground. However, the other day I reached 9990G and found myself with a burning desire to pass the 10K mark, so I stuck in an older game and cleaned up a few achievements I'd never bothered with. Since then I've found myself actively chasing achievements where once I would have left them alone.

The poll title may be slightly misleading; I don't mean I'm going to start playing games aimed at kids or notoriously easy games just for the achievements. What got started me onto this line of thinking was the original Godfather game. I saw it pre-owned in a shop recently, and back in the day I had it for my PS2 and actually played through the whole thing three times. From a quick glance at an achievement guide I can tell I've already earned most of them (albeit on a different console).

However, I don't want to think of myself as a guy who'd buy a game just for gamescore. I've played the game through three times already, and while it is immensely fun, this time I'd know I was only doing it to earn points, and that makes me feel slightly dirty.

Thoughts, opinions, mad frothing-at-the-mouth rambling? All are welcome.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Yes, you gamerscore whore! Having said that though, I suppose if you have played a game to death, trying to achieve max gamerscore for it is an addition to the longevity of said game.

 

[RikSharp]

depends on the reasoning. my brother specifically plays games with easy achievements to boost his score. that is wrong. playing games again to get achievements you didnt get first time round. no issues with that at all.

 

[Jekken6]

If you buy an easy game just to boost your gamerscore, that is wrong. However, trying to get higher gamerscore in a game like, say, Call of Duty 4, is okay.

 

[Dr Faust]

It's not wrong of you; you're just being manipulated into spending time and money for a reward of dubious value. The real criminal is the man who invented Gamerscores. Scratch that. The REAL criminal is whoever figured out you could bribe kids with completely worthless gold star stickers.

 

[Velocity Eleven]

who cares as long as you enjoy doing whatever it is you do?

 

[sephiroth1991]

As long as you have fun getting them it's fine

 

[SonicWaffle]

It's not wrong of you; you're just being manipulated into spending time and money for a reward of dubious value. The real criminal is the man who invented Gamerscores. Scratch that. The REAL criminal is whoever figured out you could bribe kids with completely worthless gold star stickers.

Time I have plenty of, and money isn't so much an issue as I'm subscribed to an online rental service. Flat monthly fee, as many games as I want, sorted. I'm not even in it for a reward, really; I don't use Xbox Live so any prestige I may receive from a high gamerscore doesn't come into play. For some reason I just like to see the number go up.

I think you're wrong about the gold stars, too. The real criminal here is whoever decided to start awarding silver stars for lesser achievements, fostering a sense of competition between the kids for the higher prizes that in all too many tragic cases leads to brutal, brutal murder with a pair of "safety" scissors.

 

[Kaymish]

if getting easy games is what you want to do with your cash money then thats what you do with your cash money

however that said if are you are playing games just for the wank factor of gamer score are you missing the point?

 

[kawaiiamethist]

Well, it's your money and time, you just get out of the experience what you want.

While it'd be easy to get uppity about something I personally find trivial, I'm the type who mostly defines an RPG (my genre specialty) experience by the side quests, rather than main story. For example, we have FFX, where I spent around four hours getting Tidus' ultimate weapon and a further god knows how many getting Wakka's. Fucking blitzball.

Anyway, have fun. You're not nuts, you're just a gamer.

 

[TOGSolid]

Who BUYS games these days?

People who actually want to support the industry jackass.

 

[Baby Tea]

Uhh, where is the poll option that says: Who cares why you buy games, so long as you're having fun?
If you're playing for the achievements, and having fun, then so what?
If you're playing for the experience, achievements be damned, and you're having fun...then so what?

 

[hazabaza1]

I play games for fun, so I see nothing wrong with pursing an achievement, so long as it's fun.

So screw you, Dead Rising's Saint achievement. Screw you.

 

[Space Spoons]

If that's your idea of a good time, more power to you.

Though honestly, I wouldn't say that scouring your older games for more achievements so you can get those last few points you need to break 10k counts as achievement whoring. It's more of a desire to hit that milestone than it is a need to have more achievements.

 

[SonicWaffle]

For example, we have FFX, where I spent around four hours getting Tidus' ultimate weapon and a further god knows how many getting Wakka's. Fucking blitzball.

Anyway, have fun. You're not nuts, you're just a gamer.

Thanks for the reassurance, but clearly you are nuts. Blitzball was fucking horrible, and I refused to play any more than the one match required by the story. Why would you put yourself through that? ;-)

if getting easy games is what you want to do with your cash money then thats what you do with your cash money

however that said if are you are playing games just for the wank factor of gamer score are you missing the point?

I've already said that I'm not buying games purely for the "wank factor" (excellent phrase by the way, I'll be stealing that) of gamerscore. I'm going to continue buying good games, I'm just also considering renting another game because it has a bunch of achievements I've already done, and it bugs me slightly not to have the points for them.

What is "the point" of achievements BTW, if it isn't wank factor? (Told you I'd be stealing it...)

 

[neosman8]

its only ok aslong as there not in the same league as . avater the last airbender, my horse or me or hanna montana the movie. when you buy them you know youve gone too far.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Not really. It's not like you are buying a full priced game simply for the achievements. You're buying used cheap versions. Even then, you seemed to have enjoyed the first game (seeing as how you played through 3 times) perhaps you'll enjoy this version on this console.

 

[Ophiuchus]

Wrong, no. Stupid, yes. I'll never understand why the hell people are obsessed enough with the size of their e-penis that they'll go to the point of playing games they wouldn't otherwise go near, just for the sake of increasing it. It's absolutely bloody meaningless.

That said, I see nothing wrong in replaying games you've already got for the sake of milking a few more achievements. In fact, that's pretty much the definition of what achievements are meant to be about - giving you something to aim for and so expanding the lifespan of the game. My main problem is the notion of attaching an arbitrary score to the achievements - I'd far sooner have a simple tick-list of stuff to do.

 

[kawaiiamethist]

For example, we have FFX, where I spent around four hours getting Tidus' ultimate weapon and a further god knows how many getting Wakka's. Fucking blitzball.

Anyway, have fun. You're not nuts, you're just a gamer.

Thanks for the reassurance, but clearly you are nuts. Blitzball was fucking horrible, and I refused to play any more than the one match required by the story. Why would you put yourself through that? ;-)

...

Yeah, I totally am I ended up with all the ultimate weapons. The butterfly minigame was also a lengthy and frustrating experience, but the lightning dogding wasn't too bad. Though that meant around 25 mins of pure concentration. You want to know the sickest thing? After I got them I went 'meh' and didn't even try to level for the dark aeons. Getting those weapons was just soooo satisfying in its own right.

Games with uber lame side quests include: Enchanted Arms, Eternal Sonata and Infinite Undicovery.

Some games with memorable side quests: Lost Odyssey, FFXII (oh how I loathed the main plot, it was all about the hunts for me), Last Remnant, Shadow Hearts Covenant, and Final Fantasy VIII.