The Xbox 360 has this mysterious thing call "Achievements", tasks that the developer puts in the game that, when accomplished, add points to a nebulous score (viewable on the internet) that doesn't actually do anything.
For example: If I knock 30 zombies aside with the parasol in Dead Rising, 20 points is added to my Xbox Live screen name's score.
Most people know about this already, and have had enough time to get disillusioned with it. After all, this score doesn't actually do anything but give you a fuzzy feeling in your tummy, and ePenis bragging rights.
Know then, dear listener, that I have found the reason for achievements: Xbox Live Arcade.
When you were a kid, and money was scarce, who can honestly say they didn't invent extra tasks in games to get the most life out of them. Who, after beating Contra, didn't try and see if they could beat it in one continue?
That's the point of achievements. Xbox Live Arcade has all these bite size games that, while often good for nostalgia, tend to get thrown by the wayside once something new and flashier comes along. This has happened to me with the Wii's Virtual Console, where I have downloaded no less than ten games and beaten exactly one of them.
The difference between Alien Hominid HD for Xbox Live and Super Mario World for Wii is that when I beat the last boss in Alien Hominid without continuing, I got 30 points added to my gamer score and when I beat the first castle in Super Mario World I got the exact same cutscene of Mario knocking it over that I got fourteen years ago. When I got to the third stage of Root Beer Tapper on Xbox Live I got 10 points to my score, and when I spent seven hours and stayed up until four in the morning to beat R-Type III on the Wii I... felt like I wasted seven hours of my life for no good reason.
Achievements can make a lame game go down much smoother (simply look at how many of them I got in Lost Planet), or they're something that can drag out the play of an otherwise one-off game (Smash TV). They're a placebo through and through, but an utterly delicious one.
Great games are played to be played, for everything else... there's achievements.
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#1 Servo Mar 14, 2007 11:46am
It's too bad Nintendo hasn't fully realized the potential of things like this. However, Super Smash Bros. Melee did have tons of it, and I can only assume Brawl will too.
#2 Fiddytree Mar 14, 2007 11:58am
If there is one thing about achievements I greatly dislike, it's multiplayer achievements. I will promise you right now if one of the achievements in Halo 3 is to get 10,000 kills on XBL or something to that extent, spawn camping is going to be a million times worse. Nothing will encourage modding or cheating more than having you get an achievement for reaching a certain level or rank for multiplayer. I mean, people in Halo 2 did what they did purely for the sake of having a higher level, and now if they have achievements too as a reason to do all this shit... I just hope Bungie knows what they are doing and doesn't do what the 14 year olds across America want them to do. Unfortunately the 14 year olds might be their biggest fanbase.
But I do agree with all you said there. The gamerscore means absolutely nothing cause hell it's more about how many games you play than how good you are. Also you'll have an achievement in a basketball game that is like score 50 points with one player and it'll give you 250 gamerpoints (not hard to do at all) where as you'll have an achievement in Rainbow Six Vegas that wants you to become an Elite (Without cheating, it'll take you over 3 months of playing almost every day for many hours a day) and that achievement is only like 40 points. The only time anyone looks at a gamerscore as if it means anything is if you see someone with a really low score you assume they just got a 360 and if you see someone with a really high score (I have a friend with a gamerscore in the 26,000 range) you know they don't get outside.
#3 hobbie Mar 14, 2007 03:30pm
There are freaks, I mean people, with gamerscore's of 100K+
#4 Toad64 Mar 14, 2007 11:04pm
I'm loving the achievements for the TMNT arcade game, they make a great game even better! It's especially nice since they've given you unlimited continues and essentially killed the challenge of beating the game, so at least there's the achievement points to hit.
#5 Fiddytree Mar 15, 2007 01:14am
I just got that game and as much fun as it is (most fun xbl arcade game I've ever played, better than most games I spend 60+ dollars on) the online coop is tough as hell whereas single player is, as you stated, easy because you've got infinite lives. The more people you have playing, the more enemies you have to face and the more hits the bosses can take. In addition to that, you only get 20 lives each and although that sounds like a lot at first, trying playing through on a much harder difficulty. The furthest Ive gotten is to the bottom of the elevator on the giant shredder dome thing. Multiplayer is a lot more fun, the whole point of the arcade game was to play with other people, but I think they should just give me the ability to enter quarters directly into my 360.
The multiplayer achievements for that game are also pretty tough, but I agree with what you said about the single player achievements. By the way the secret single player achievement is [spoiler]falling down the manhole 5 times[/spoiler] but it gives you no gamer points :lol:
PS That robot boss that you fight to free splinter is a douchebag
#6 R. LeFeuvre Mar 15, 2007 05:40am
Stupid achievements. I'm so addicted. I should have never started... and in fact I ignored it until I started playing enough of my most recent new game, Crackdown. Once I started getting more than the occasional point or two I could not stop. :/
The trophy room for the PS3, if it's easily accessable and I'm able to compare my gamer score to a friends... well then that will be the end of me. Trophy rooms and achievements...
Save me...
(by the way - I had about 150 points two weeks ago)
#7 Fiddytree Mar 15, 2007 04:15pm
R. LeFeuvre
I don't know what it is about crackdown but for some reason, I'm overly determined to find every last of those damned hidden orbs even though I don't care about my gamerscore. I think I'm just stubborn
#8 hobbie Mar 16, 2007 01:10am
http://xboxrewards.msgamestudios.com/
#9 R. LeFeuvre Mar 16, 2007 02:31pm
Riley - I'm so beating you at TMNT right now.
OHYEAH!
#10 D. Riley Mar 16, 2007 04:12pm
BRING IT ON :shock:
#11 R. LeFeuvre Mar 18, 2007 04:44am
I believe I have actually... my 303 beats your what... 288 - something pityful like that.
You know what though, I can't beat it on XBL because I end up fighting along side people who try to brute force the damn bosses. It's about finesse!! Also... it's about taking advantage of bugs!
Let's make up and be friends again.... and kick some Shredder Ass.
I really want those fucking acheivement points.
#12 D. Riley Mar 18, 2007 10:31am
I'm down with it, but I think I need some more practice first. I have to get back into the hit and run tactics that games from that era required. I keep try to rack up massive combos and failing miserably.
EDIT: And, in my defense, that 288 is without beating the game yet...
#13 Fiddytree Mar 18, 2007 01:43pm
Ive got like 450, so I believe I have you both beat :wink:
But in all honesty the single player score doesn't mean anything because you have infinite lives. I don't understand how some people have a score of like 9,000 and such. There must be some point where infinite enemies spawn. The whole leaderboard system in this game is just about who has the most time on their hands.
Also, whats the furthest anyone has gotten on XBL in the game? Ive gotten up to the first boss on the technodrome and gotten him blinking. I really only have like 1 or 2 other friends who are good at this game. I really want to beat this game on multiplayer and not for the achievements, but just for beating it. The more I play, the more I feel like doing it with 20 lives is impossible. Also, the robot boss at the end of act 4 is a faggot and I hope he dies of cancer. I always lose at least 5 lives when facing him.
#14 R. LeFeuvre Mar 18, 2007 01:56pm
I was fighting Krang but I was alone and had 3 lives.... I couldn't figure out what to do as to not get hit by him before he finished me off.
I haven't tried yet, but can you play multiplayer on one system?
#15 D. Riley Mar 18, 2007 04:58pm
I'm pretty sure you can multiplayer on one system.
The THEORY behind beating Krang is actually pretty simple. You want to hit him and then move in a "box" away from him and back, repeat. If you're on his left, side, for example what you want to do is hit him, then move up, left, down, and right in a square and hit him again.
Works mostly well, if you can get the rythym right.
#16 Fiddytree Mar 18, 2007 05:26pm
Yes sir, just go into single player and have your friends press start on your other controllers. Ive been told you can still get the single player achievements that way so if youre an achievement whore and have friends, thats the easiest way to get those achievements with defeating a boss without losing too much life. Just hide and have your friends do it.
And I just joined that xbox rewards things so until I get my 1500 points, Im going to be an achievement whore. I blame Hobbie. Too bad I didn't find out about this before I got crackdown, because that's 840 points right there. The only other game Im going to be getting before April 22nd is Guitar Hero 2 so here's to scrapping together about 600 points from my other games. I say 600 because Im sure there will be 100 points worth of stuff like "Beat Jordan on Expert" or "5 Star all songs on expert" but I should be able to do most of it
Anyway if either of you guys wanna add me for some TMNT action, my gamertag is Halo53. My friends list might be full, if it is just send me a message and Ill find some reason to kick someone off
#17 R. LeFeuvre Mar 19, 2007 01:17am
RILEY!!! You task me, you task me... (aka nice TMNT score)
And damn, how do you kick so much ass in Alien Hominid!?
#18 D. Riley Mar 19, 2007 07:12am
Apparently I don't kick enough ass to get 50 head chomps in a row. :?
#19 KillerTeddy Mar 19, 2007 02:07pm
Wait..how are you NOT aware of achievements? its on the dashboard, right?
#20 HektiK Mar 22, 2007 04:14pm
Padding my score with Castlevania. Anyone else give it a download yet?
#21 R. LeFeuvre Mar 22, 2007 08:10pm
I'll wait to get it on the PSP with the remake of Rondo of Blood.
#22 HektiK Mar 22, 2007 08:28pm
If i had a psp i probably would too. almost makes me want to go buy one for it.
#23 Max Walrus Mar 22, 2007 10:14pm
Yup. I'm all about the arcade. 4 player TMNT on live all the way.
#24 Fiddytree Mar 23, 2007 12:57am
Ive been told by a few people to give Castlevania a download but I just bought MLB2K7 (I haven't bought a baseball game in about 6 years so I'm hooked) and I'm saving my $$ for Guitar Hero 2.
#25 HektiK Mar 23, 2007 01:41am
sweet merciful crap i forgot how horrible SOTNs ending music.
#26 D. Riley Mar 23, 2007 01:25pm
I AM THE WIND. I AM THE SUN. LET'S GET TOGETHER AND HAVE A LITTLE FUN.
My roommate has been torturing me with that since SOTN was announced for Xbox Live. I think he actually LIKES IT.
New topic: The Colosseum has the best music in any video, period.
Discuss.
#27 HektiK Mar 23, 2007 05:15pm
Despite the ending song id say SOTN has one of the best soundtracks ever. Its a good sign of that when your disappointed that the track had to start over because you went into a save room.
also: 200.3% DAMN IT!
#28 D. Riley Mar 24, 2007 05:49am
It amazes me I didn't need any help to get the 200.6%
First game I ever got 200/200 for...
#29 HektiK Mar 24, 2007 05:48pm
I got 3 achievments left. Need to beat dracula without getting hit, finish playing through as richter and find those last two squares to get 200.6. I know one is where the final battle is but i have no fucking clue where the other one is.
#30 D. Riley Mar 24, 2007 07:13pm
Did you get all the squares in the upsidedown caverns where the water is?
Did you get the little bit in the right-side up throne room where the teleporter to the alternate castle is?
#31 HektiK Mar 24, 2007 08:28pm
yup, made sure to take care of the water part in the inverted castle and noticed the teleporter spot to get me up to 200.4. Ive stared at the map for some time now yet it this spot still eludes me.
#32 D. Riley Mar 24, 2007 08:37pm
Did you get both of the overhead rooms? One's in the Colosseum, and one's in Olrox's quarters. They're both two rooms each.
Otherwise, I don't know. Did you get the room in the beginning where you have to walk through the cave as a bat one way and a dog the other?
#33 HektiK Mar 25, 2007 02:13am
Got those as well. Gonna have to search the whole damn castle again i guess. Thanks for trying to help Riley.
#34 HektiK Mar 26, 2007 04:16am
FINALLY. I found it. It was one room in the inverted castle where you break the ceiling and the wall on the right. i forgot to get the one on the right when i went through there. This is the first time ive gotten all 200.6%.