Entries in bastosa (11)
Achievements - They Are Growing On Me
iTZKooPA on Tuesday, December 9, 2008 - 24 Comments Tags: Achievements, bastosa, bragging, statistics, the goonies, wrath, wrath features, xbox live rip-off 
Lay off my score.. |
I have been meaning to discuss my stance on Achievements for awhile, and Bastosa has driven me to finally act. A few of my other posts have some morsels of thought on World of Warcraft's Achievement system, while I do find myself going for them from time to time, I feel that it isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. Just a heads up before you read on, I know many of you out there are passionate about Achievements, your score and your rank in your guild or realm, so just remember that this is my opinion. On the flip side, I am happy to hear your thoughts on the topic as well.
My main issue with the system is not that it is a blatant rip-off of Xbox Live, but that it was designed with the sole purpose of keeping us sucked in. For some reason I can't quite put my finger on, making an entire system dedicated to keeping people logged in just irks me. But damn if Blizzard doesn't make it difficult to hate the implementation. As I have progressed through Wrath I have found myself checking on my exploring and questing Achievements here and there, while hating myself for doing so. I tell myself that I am just checking it to gauge how close I am to being done with the zone, but I know that isn't the only reason.
The system is growing on me because of its humor, depth, and the fact that I love statistics. For me, the single greatest accomplishment for the Achievement system is not its extension of the game, but that it hasn't ruined my experience. Yea, a few Battlegrounds have been clogged up because of the Warsong Gulch's Achievement, but it is not nearly as bad as all the stubborn people going for Said the Spider to the Fly in Gears of War 2 or Akimbo Assassin in Left 4 Dead on expert. It can be done on any difficulty people!
While I may hate it less, I do not see myself re-running content just to brag to my friends that I did Deadmines at level 80. Perhaps binding certain Achievements to a level range would make more sense. Then again, I did love The Goonies...