Ahhh trophies....Sony's answer to Microsoft's "Achievements". They add extended replay value, give you a score to compare with other gamers, and put a twinkle in your eye with the graceful pop-up message. So why are they so horrible?
When trophies were first introduced, many people had mixed feeling about them. On the one side, you had those that thought it was a gimmick and were previously quick to shoot down the 360 and its Achievements. Then there were the people that were clamoring for them; could not live one more day without them. When they were finally brought to the public with firmware 2.40, only a few games supported them. One of those games was Super Stardust HD. I bought this game and its expansions for the trophies.
I played the crap out of that game and I actually enjoyed it! The arcade feel to it was so nostalgic and the look and feel of the game was very polished. "I'm glad I bought this game", I thought to myself. I continued playing this game until I just couldn't anymore. It started to get repetitive and there was no way I could get those last trophies (Late Boomer and Shock and Awe). "What a horrible game. I can't believe I spent so much money on this..." My love of the game had ended and I decided to put it to rest. Every once in a while I will try for those trophies, but I'm pretty sure I'm hopeless...
Next came the Uncharted patch. "I already beat this game! I'm in for some easy trophies!!" Not the case, however, as the patch was found to not be retroactive. I would have to play through the game again...and I did. And I actually enjoyed it. Until I had to play it on Hard. For some reason, Hard was much "Harder" than Crushing. I recall countless nights of screaming at the TV, "Why the **** would they put that ******* piece of **** in the middle of the ******* *** **** floor!!!"...or something to that extent. It was a very frustrating ride but one I will never forget as it was my first Platinum Trophy.
None of the games I owned next to Uncharted had a patch coming to them so I thought of what to do next. A game pass was the first thing that sprung to my mind. With games being 60 dollars now-a-days, I can't risk buying a game that isn't going to turn out good! I'll just rent them for the trophies and return it. What a whore...So my love affair with Blockbuster started to blossom. My first game was Call of Duty: World at War. I loved Call of Duty 4 so I thought it was a good place to start. Wrong. It was an awful place to start. Think Uncharted but with more yelling...and more hate. I despised that game. Trudging up that hill next to that stupid tank just to be killed 394 times was not my cup of tea. I actually cried while playing that game. That is how emotionally drained I was. Pathetic? Yes. I was pathetic. Ask my wife. She'll show you the bruises... Still, I had to press on to receive that ever elusive Platinum.
I purchased 3 or 4 more games in all of this, and had been working on them for quite some time. Another rental included Quantum of Solace. I actually enjoyed my short time with that game as well as the others I had purchased. That was until the now infamous 80022D11 error. While I still have not received this error code, I am plagued by some sort of by-product where I cannot receive trophies (and in some cases PLAY the damn game) for games that I had made a save for, BEFORE this "thing" happened. So until Sony had a fix, I was to exclusively rent new games to obtain trophies on. Because nobody plays a game for fun...
Midnight Club: Los Angeles was my next rental. I look to see what trophies looked easy enough and then I rent that game. It was either Midnight Club or Blitz 2: The League...no thank you. Excited to start my new journey for 100%, I popped the disc in. 11 days (64 hours in those days) later, the disc emerged. 64 hours...I played a game that I hated, for 64 hours. I also broke one Sixaxis controller playing a game that I hated...(I would have a picture, but cameras can't take pictures of pieces that small...) The game just kept getting worse. My last trophy was to drive 5000 total miles. Are you serious!?! I mean, Burnout was a measly 750! When I came to that last trophy, I had accumulated a mere 3,700 miles. And these were real miles. I had to drive at top speed (230) for 5.6 hours. You know what I did? Rubber bands baby! That's right, I just went in circles in my off time. That was when I found out that it doesn't save if you quit from a multiplayer lobby....I lost 400 miles. Lets start over!! I finally dedicated an afternoon to getting that damn trophy. I sat with the accelerator taped, my laptop in front of me for Hulu, and a bitter, bitter soul...
I finally got that Platinum trophy. Was it worth it? Yes, because I'm a trophy whore. And I fear I will always be. I can't stand to look at my trophies and see a 7% for Far Cry 2 and a 6% for Bioshock. One day, I will have to finish them. Because on top of being a whore, I am a perfectionist...
In the end, I do feel that trophies are a great addition to the PS3. The whole "leveling" up system is nice and I like that I can see how dedicated (read psychotic) a gamer is by looking at their platinum count. But I suppose I have just taken it too far. I need help, and I don't think there is help out there.
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Your title says "Hate trophies" then you finish with
"In the end, I do feel that trophies are a great addition to the PS3. The whole "leveling" up system is nice and I like that I can see how dedicated (read psychotic) a gamer is by looking at their platinum count."
You "like" trophies or dont?
Trophies are bad.... I need to get more.
BTW, was Uncharted's Crushing really not that hard?
Maybe I should go and grab that platinum...
i feel your pain man i hate not seeing 100% i got uncharted platinum and dead space platinum and it was a grind omg dude it was agonizing but i dont even buy 360 games anymore or play it because i am a serious trophy whore
i like achievements to just show them off online in my gamercard. I use playfire and i got to add trophies manually which i don't want to do. Thats the reason why i don't like trophies unless their is a site that does it for you automatically.
Uncharted... hard, BAH! I didn't find the game that difficult. Nothing but head shots and standing as far back as possible that's all. Although there were a few frustrating parts.
On another note, I can see what the author is saying... it sounds ridiculous but I too am a whore... for achievements and trophies. It really is an addiction. Great Article btw!