Just Like Crack: I'm Off Achievements - (or, "How Achievements Ruin My Gaming Life")

I've got just over 12,000 points on my gamercard and I've finally decided not to continue on, this is my confession because I can't go on living like this anymore.

I've found myself obssessed with Achievement Points, playing games I don't like just for the cheap rewards.  King Kong, all 1,000 points, did I ever enjoy it?  No, in fact I cursed every moment and prayed that I'd see the end sooner than later.  I've found myself buying crappy arcade titles for a quick fix.  Dig Dug, Time Pilot, ect... $5 here for an easy 50 points, $10 bucks there for a mere 100 points - Did I really want to play these things again?  Not really.

The worse part, is that the games I did enjoy - I ruined.  Instead of playing the game and enjoying it, I had my laptop next to me with Walkthroughs that I constantly referenced, seeing and reading everything before I even reached it.  I spent more time looking at my laptop than paying attention to the game.  "Did I miss that secret pickup?  Crap!  I've gotta go back or I'll miss that achievement!!  Dammit!  I've gotta replay that level again to complete it without firing my gun!!"  Would I have done this otherwise?  Absolutely not, and now I find that I don't want to even turn on my 360 because I'm afraid of getting sucked back in.  So that's it... I'm off achievements.  I've banned myself from looking at achievement lists.  If I do unlock something... by accident, I just whisper to myself "It's okay, you didn't mean to do that..."

This is the reason I've switch to playing multiplatform titles on my PS3 (previously, all multiplatforms were 360).  Ahhh.. finally, GTA IV was great.  No achievements!!  I just played the game and enjoyed the experience.  Rainbow Six Vegas 2!  Nice.  Assassin's Creed, fun!  I'm not unlocking anything!!  Pixel Junk's Monsters!!!  YES... I'm just playing the game and I love it!  Burnout: Paradise... sweet!  But wait, I updated my PS3 and now Burnout has retroactive trophies??  Oh crap... I just unlocked stuff without knowing I'd unlock stuff.  I feel... dirty.

But, come on... Trophy's are different right?  I mean, they're not a "score" or a point total right?  They're just... trophy's showing my "level".  Hmmm, I haven't tried Super Star Dust HD yet - it's only, what... $10?

What possible harm could it do?

Don't do it!!!! Go buy a Wii and you'll never see that type of system again.

I'm curious: does anyone have any idea what the age range is on the Achievement-obsessed gamer?

I have to say I´m kinda like you. But I never got to the point of non-stop obsession. I would try to get all the achievements but if after a while I still couldn´t get it, then I would give up.

But, hey, good for you. This is what games are about - FUN. Never forget that! :D

U were on crack before? That's intense dood. On a serious note, trophies is pretty much the same as Achievements but with a cool Lvl up system, thats about it. I know ima go for trophies but IDK bout other PS3 owners, I will only buy games that I was interested in the first place (like I won't be buying Pain or Burnout Paradise for trophies but I already owned [and loved] Stardust so it was easy to get the trophies) and I will actually beat the game first to enjoy it THEN go back to get trophies. I find it that if u enjoy a game and beat it w/o caring for the achievements/trophies, its easier/less stressful to go back and replay it trying to get the achievements/trophies. If u go for achievements/trophies on ur first play thru instead of enjoying it, u can mess up the fun factor of the game like u said u did.

Yes, as marciosmg said, if you're not having fun playing the game than you're missing the point.

Achievements are a gateway drug. They're fun to try, but if you get hooked.......

Wow, I actually feel bad right now. o_o

If it was getting in the way of your having fun, and it sounds like it was, then good for you. Just be careful with those trophies!

Personally, I bought King Kong because I'm obsessed with gorillas. Seriously.

Nah I don't have a problem with it =).