I've heard quite a few people talk about achievements. With the increasing number of achievements in more games, they probably aren't going anywhere soon. A lot of the achievements are pointless and are only added as a marketing device. Or, are they?

I like achievements because they don't take anything away from the game, only add to the experience. If you don't want to bother with them, you don't have to. But for me it adds some level of replay value. It has motivated me to replay games before that i normally wouldn't.

Achievements are not something new. Before sony, microsoft, and PC games started to add their achievement systems they were in individual games as extra content. The oldest "achievement" i can remember is in the original Metroid. Beating Metroid under 2 hours gets Samus a new costume to play in. There were also plenty of achievements that didn't do anything but add to the game (i.e. 100% completion and low %completion runs). While they didn't tell the world that you did it, it was a personal achievement. There are more recent games that have done this, too. In James Bond: Agent Under Fire you unlock items by collecting intel, sneaking by every guard without being found, etc.


In almost every RPG made, there are sidequests you can do for weapons, story, and misc. items. Achievements do much the same thing. They give you extra things (points, trophies, weapons) and let you know more about the game's universe.

Achievements can also teach some of the finer mechanics of a game. In Team Fortress 2 (PC), I had no idea that there were taunts that could kill (i got the game after a few updates). The achievements have taught me how to use some of the weapons more effectively i.e.-the sandman and Force-A-Nature. In Left 4 Dead, it taught me how to escape the smoker quickly without the help of teammates.

The only difference between the extra content in old games and modern achievements is that they are more accessible and there are far more. This just makes it so that more people will try to go for the extra content. This just means that more people get their moneys worth for the games they buy, which is always a good thing.

I can see why quite a few people are against achievements. Some of them are pointless not enhancing the game experience at all. However, I think that they can and have helped games become more popular and interesting. Even if burning a spy while he is flicking a cigarette is a stupid achievement.