Trophies, eh? Hmmm, where do I start. OK, I will start by saying how much I am thankful
to trophies for giving me an excuse to play the fantastic Uncharted on the PS3 again. The
graphics are mesmerising and the gameplay is just so comfortable and enjoyable. It is
hard not to love. Plus, it has some of the best voice acting in a game to date. Trophies
have given a guy who replays very little the reason to replay this one. A good thing.


Trophy Whore!

However, I am soooo glad that I experienced this game around the release date like I did.
It is the game that was touted as being one of the most immersive in it's genre: An "It's
like playing a film!!" here and an "enemy reaction to gunfire is great, not to mention the
water effects!" there. It is all out fun and getting lost in the action - what games are all
about. I'm just glad I played it then because I could really enjoy it. I didn't need to
worry about headshots, headshots and a three-man death explosion extravaganza!

Which brings me to my point. In a day and age where the industry is boasting games that
give players the ability to express themselves more and more through ever increasing
levels of interactivity (whether it be choosing how you kill an enemy, even if you kill
an enemy or anything to do with how you approach a game), it seems a little backward to
me to be handing out targets that are effectively rules for players to follow (on top of the
in-game missions and objectives). It seems to somehow contradict everything.


Trophy Blonde

Now I know that trophies are perfect for certain games. Pixeljunk Eden is an example of
this. Collecting as much pollen as possible will give the game longevity to players looking
to get the most out of it, for example. And, admittedly, a game like Uncharted has the
'collect X amount of treasures', which encourages players to look around levels more,
explore. But again, in this game's context, I feel it pins unneccessary weight on the
gamer's shoulders, attempting to restrict those who love to run 'n' gun everywhere, those
who just want to play the game and get through it in their own way... This is the kind of
rumour flying around an office that will keep those 'casual gamer's' hands firmly gripped to
their Wii remote. The thought of being bettered publicly (online, PSN/XBL/whatever trophy
lists) by their peers.

Jonathan Blow said on Podtoid that he wouldn't have included trophies in Braid "if he had
his way" - He felt they do not act to enhance the experience in his particular game but had
to be included to be on XBLA. I wonder whether other developers have or are planning to
avoid trophies altogether for this reason?

Of course, you don't need to be going for trophies. I won't be going all out for them
apart from in certain games when it suits. I know that now. But if you are, then just
remember the next time you are playing your new favourite game to express and enjoy
yourself. It's your lives.

I have limited experience being a PS3 owner... What does anybody else think?

Peace