DamnLag - "How Trophies Saved My Gaming Life"

Ryan writes: Achievement whores. Trophy sluts. Point chasers.

Every gamer knows at least one. A friend who cannot stop talking about how bad the games they play are, but insist they must beat them due to some delusional sense of duty. A friend who insists on showing off the items they earned for their XBL Avatar or their Home character. A friend who has fully completed more games than you own, but is unable to tell you how any of those games were other than good/bad or easy/difficult. A friend who plays games like Takeru Kobayashi eats hot dogs.

[Xanatos2000]

I wish more of them were hidden. I feel like it takes away from it all when you're trying to get them like a job.

[boogeyman999]

Yeah. Trophies are great. Derp.

[bwazy]

Trophies are welcomed. They make you seek out the odds and ends of games and usually cause you to explore every aspect of the game. However, I sorta miss the days of not having achievements, as games were PURELY meant for having fun. Now theres always a little voice in my head saying (no do this to get this) which is usually the lesser fun route, or just repeat "X" amount of times to achieve something.

I will say that Trophies are more enjoyable than Achievements SIMPLY BECAUSE of the Platinum Trophy. With Trophies theres actually a reward for getting 100%, where as Xbox, more than often I see someone with 100K+ gamerscore and 600-700/1000 achievemetns gained.

[Kran]

Really? They're called "Trophy Sluts"?
......... Can't I just be a Trophy Whore as well as a Chivo Whore?

[ForceCSW]

All I know is I spread my legs for trophies. AND IT FEELS GREAT!!!

[badz149]

although trophy whore does sound better tbh.

I also love trophies as much as the next guy but only for games I like. can't really understand why whoring on games you don't even like! I bought into GTAIV hype and didn't even bother finishing it let alone whoring for trophies! now I guess there are many more sandbox games that are just as good in story and is actually FUN to play! inFAMOUS, JC2(the story is CRAP though), The Saboteur etc. I'm working on The Saboteur's Platinum at the moment, which has insane amount of things to be done (1000+ sabotage ffs!) while waiting for my KZ3 copy to arrive! thank god pissing off the Nazis feels so good. and now I think I miss Pandemic. Merc2 was undeniably garbage but Saboteur is actually quite good.

[Elimin8]

Hit me up on the KZ3 when you get it.. That Ish is hella fun...

[badz149]

kinda frustrated that I just got refunded from 1 store due to all the steelbook edition are sold out and I just ordered from another store. hopefully will get it in 2 days!

[LukeWashingTons]

I'm very much an achiev-Os whore. I love them so much and I DON'T KNOW WHY!

[Kran]

I hear ya. It's like theyve taken over my mind. I like the feeling, but hate it at the same time :/

[swishersweets20031]

Sometimes when i get a game i try to get a few of the trophies, but most the time i dont bother and just play through the game. I think maybe like 2 or 3 of my games i've gotten at least over 80% but most i havent worked that hard on.

[Elimin8]

I know the feeling but I do go for the hard/challenging ones.

[JoshuaN4G]

I love trophies, they add replay value.

[mushroomwig]

Exactly this.

Trophies and achievements are a perfect way of increasing a games replay value.

One thing I hate is people who play the games they hate just because it may have easy awards. That's no way to be a gamer.

[INehalemEXI]

indeed.

[Lionalliance]

Agree.

[Kon]

A thing that should have been on the game itself.

[badz149]

yeah. kinda agree with that but if only the game itself is good! before Trophies I just tend to finish games following the story and seldom go for collectibles and side stories and stuff. but with trophies, I started doing these stuff and find them equally good but some games are just pushing it and this is when I just stop doing them altogether. good games like Uncharted, I play them on every difficulty just for the fun of it but due to not having too much times for gaming, if a game is good and worth playing like Batman AA, MoH etc. I'll go straight for Hard to wrap up the difficulty trophies.

[Electroshocked]

Yeah Trophies are nice, especially that bling noise when you get them, gotta love the bling noise.....

[mushroomwig]

Especially after you've been working on it for a long time, like killing Radic in Killzone 2 on elite mode. :P

[Electroshocked]

Yeah, and like entering the safe zone in hangman's NOOSE for the last time ever and getting the ''Most Wanted'' trophy in GTA IV. That was a satisfying platinum.

[Elimin8]

Love it!

[sashimi]

17 platinum and counting, don't know why but i like em.
Only for games i enjoy though.

[mushroomwig]

21 platinums here, aiming for Killzone 3 to be my 22nd. :]

[M-Easy]

Lol KZ3 was my 75th plat. And sadly one of the easiest.

[dc1]

By the way.. it wasn't easy ( however elite on KZ3 was easier than elite on KZ2).

I too am compelled to tackle the fantastic platinum trophy on each game I purchase (14 PTs and counting)

My Plat top category:
Most fun: Uncharted 1
Most tedious: Mafia 2
Most difficult: Mass effect 2
My guilty platinum: Mini Ninja (well done game)

I apologize for any typos - sent this from my phone.

[CrzyFooL]

Trophies and Achievements have wasted my life. Meaningless nerd points forcing me to do useless shit! Whoever invented achievements and trophies should be shot!!!!!!

[mushroomwig]

Nobody is forcing you to do anything, if you don't like achievements/trophies then just ignore them. It's not the creators fault that you're willing to try for them.

[CrzyFooL]

Yes it is!!! In a related story, It's Burger King's fault that I'm fat!!!! :-p

[badz149]

that's some funny shit! XD

[InLaLaLand]

Trophies and Achievements have pros and cons.

Pros: You can see how far a friend has played the game (could also be a con due to time or interest in the game). You can see what types of game your friend plays. It does add replay value.

Cons: People/friends who say they buy a game for trophies/achievements. Bragging rights. Can distract the focus on the game itself (you just play the game for trophies without caring about the story etc).

The best game that has replay value in my opinion that has no trophies is MGS4 (this gen). I think that Heavy Rain and GT5 should not have had trophies at the start. You get trophies in game in GT5 so that is rewarding in a way. The story and interaction in Heavy Rain was excellent.

[B1663r]

I just got the All four puked on Cheevos for Left 4 Dead this morning, I was like, woah, Ive never done that before???