I was reading this story on gaming site
Kotaku about a guy who has defeated his addiction to Xbox Achievement Points. For those who don't know, Achievement Points are points awarded for the completion of game-specific challenges, such as beating a level or amassing a specified number of wins against other players in Xbox Live matches. Apparently, people get carried away in their quest to gain these points. It sounds a bit ridiculous, doesn't it? Before I bought an Xbox 360, I knew nothing about Achievements, but now that I have played several games and gained some, I can honestly say that I understand the desire to get these points.
The first Xbox 360 game that I played seriously was Modern Warfare 2. During my play time, I noticed a little symbol pop up on the screen with a message like Unlocked "Back in the Saddle." I didn't know what it was, but I was curious. As these points continued to pop up throughout the game, I looked them up to see what I had done to earn these Achievements. Some weren't that special, like the ones you get just for beating a chapter, but some were exciting because I happened to do something interesting without knowing that I was doing it. "Kill at least 3 enemies with a single shot from a grenade launcher in Single Player or Special Ops" was particularly exciting. I didn't get many Achievements during my play through of MW2, but I was intrigued enough to try and unlock points in other games.
As I said, up until I started playing 360, I didn't know or care about Achievements because they aren't available in other games (Playstation 3 games have trophies, which are the equivalent, I guess). The thing that I find interesting about Xbox Achievements is that they add a certain extra element to game. They're like a game within a game. I'm playing Street Fighter IV nearly every night now. In addition to playing the game itself, which is all kinds of fun, I am becoming increasingly fascinated with unlocking the game's Achievements. Super Combo Champion: Perform 50 Super Combo finishes. Medal Master: Collect 1,000 Medals. EX-cellent Master: Perform 100 EX Special Moves. The more of these I pull off, the more I want to play. I'm even logging on to xbox.com and comparing my Achievement progress to my friends'. It's actually kind of sad the more I think of it.
The upside to this realization is that I already know that I'm not going to get addicted to it because I have no desire to unlock some of the ridiculously hard ones. The guy in the article says, "If I have to go out of my way to unlock something, then I probably don't need to unlock it." Well said. Why would I want to replay Ninja Gaiden II on all three difficulty levels for 100 points each? However, for the ones that seem realistically attainable, I have every intention of trying them out. I have 4 more Achievements to get in 1 Vs. 100. I've unlocked 41% of SFIV's, and I unlocked 2 Achievements in Bioshock by playing for only 45 minutes. Achievements are a nice little addition to core games and, like the addicted dude, a part of me jumps for joy when the Achievement symbol pops up. I'm going for it, but don't expect me to get addicted. Once the unattainable points are the only ones left, I'm quitting. Wish me luck!
