Power Armoured Beard

This next post is something I been thinking about for a while now. I’ll admit that I don’t read a lot of blogs so it very well may have been discussed before.

Are Achievements enhancing my gaming or simply distracting me too much to enjoy the games I buy?

Way back when in the early days of the Xbox 360 I was very intrigued in the concept of achievements. I foolishly thought that you could use your gamer points to purchase items on XBL which although it would be a very cool idea I don’t think Microsoft would go for that.

Wishful thinking aside, I’ll be honest and say that I have had great fun tracking and earning these strange little badges of honour over the years. I’ve only got 100% in two games to date, Deathspank (which really wasn’t too hard actually) and Vanilla Borderlands (but they had to release loads of expansions, snatching my smug victory back away from me, curse their bones). There’s a couple more that I’m not that far from completing. Too Human will require me to do a MMO-esque loot grind with the treasured item not even at a reasonable drop% and Assassin’s Creed, but this requires sitting with a guide, collecting all the flags and finding all the Templars.

Speaking of this does remind me of a very silly achievement I went after, the collectible CD’s in Saint’s Row 2. I literally spent hours chasing them, my girlfriend on the PC next to me pointing out the next area to head to. After all this and finally picking up the 16 billionth CD I had collected them all. The familiar display flashed up on the screen with its pleasing sound (that has obvious ingrained itself into my psyche).

10 Gamer Points.

I had spent hours of my life in the pursuit of 10 gamer points!?! The irony was not lost on me. However the upside of this was I was playing a game well after completing the main storyline and enjoying it. That’s the great thing about achievements, they can help you milk every last bit of gameplay from a recent purchase which equals value for money in my head. There are plenty of games in my library that I would tucked away after completing had it not been required for me to say play through the game again as an evil character or bought my lunch in level 2 wearing slightly different coloured trousers this time.

The downside I slowly discovered was that I had started to read the achievement requirements even before my first playthrough of a game. “What if I spend hours on this title then find out that pulling the red lever instead of the yellow lever would’ve earnt my 10gp’s?” I’d think to myself. It would influence how I played the game and in my eyes this is a terrible thing. Playing games are generally a way for freedom of expression. As this character I would make these decisions, actions and use these tactics. But if you are governed by a set of benchmarks from the word go, you won’t be playing the game as you perhaps normally would.

Luckily, with my game of the moment, Call of Duty: Black Ops, I’ve learnt from my mistakes and barely looked at the achievements. I’ve been having so much fun playing it with friends that they’ve not even really crossed my mind. I’ve got back to having fun in the purest sense.

Achievements were a great addition to gaming all those years ago and I really appreciate them helping me derive more pleasure from a game than maybe I would’ve normally got in the long-term, but if you let them infringe upon your gaming freedom that’s when you need to step back and see the bigger picture.

Hello folks,

Since I’ve been working at my new job at the Games Shop I’ve been trying to soak up as much information about games I am not so familiar with. It helps me do my job at a more competent level but it’s also rather fun, no real surprise there.

One of the events we regularly host is “Friday Night Magic” and I thought it was about time I actually learn how to play myself so that I could decipher the cryptic language and terminology the players used. I’ve been aware of Magic: The Gathering for many years but dared not step anywhere near it. It is a CCG (collectible card game) and those things are dangerous. Yes, I am fully aware that I spend a lot of money on small plastic figures but I justify that in the facts that A) I know exactly what I’m buying in each box unlike sealed CCG boosters where everything is pot luck and B) I enjoy the gluing/painting/gaming aspects of my models and I get many hours of use from them.

A few years ago I actually dabbled in the World of Warcraft CCG. I will admit that it was very good fun and the system seemed to work excellently. Then I learnt, as I’m sure many others have done before and since, that someone who spends a lot of money on cards usually has the upper hand. I had a couple of games where there was virtually nothing I could do to play competitively and it completely killed the game for me (it didn’t help that said opponent was a complete and utter jerk, but that’s a different story for another time). I decided there and then that CCG’s were dangerous ground and not for me.

A couple of weeks ago Zoso from Killed in a Smiling Accident invited us round for our usual gaming night. I borrowed a friends copy of Descent (which we didn’t end up playing due to my stupidly forgetting the starter quest guide) and some promotional starter decks of Magic, each pack full of 30 various cards and split into the 5 main colours/factions of the game. Luckily Master Tim VanHemlock used to play a bit of Magic in the past and did an excellent job of teaching us the ropes. Within a game or two we had picked up the system which speaks volumes about the essential simplicity of the system and Tim’s superb tutoring skills.

I can see how Magic can be such an addictive game to play as it is very enjoyable. The basic system is so quick to learn and makes sense within minutes, but building a deck that has great power and synergy takes things to a whole new level. I’ve actually recently downloaded the XBL Arcade version and have been having great fun with it, although it can be quite punishing at times for a noob like me.

I am all too aware of how collecting CCG’s can get out of hand and I’ve seen vast amounts of money spent by people whilst working at the Games Shop. I am very glad that my fellows in the gaming group are happy to stick to the promo decks and just play for fun and I think unless you are willing to spend a lot of money, then this is the best way to play these types of games.

I’ll end with a story my boss told me the other day. In the past he and his friends were doing something similar to our gaming group. A bunch of them all bought starter decks and a couple of boosters, swapping around cards to whoever would find them most useful. They’d have a game now and then and enjoyed it. Then one of the friends decided that this was not enough, rushed out and spent over a hundred pounds on boosters etc. He started winning games but then everyone decided to quit:

“But I’ve just spent all this money on boosters!?!”

“Exactly, and it’s not fun playing against you anymore.”

Lesson learnt.