To me personally I dont get much of the hype that surrounds xbox live achievements and Psn trophies. I have both a Ps3 and an Xbox 360 so Im not being biased against any console.

The only reason I like these achievements is because I can tell wether my friends and cousin are lying about things they accomplished in games...like beating Cod WoW on veteran...by checking to see if they got that achievement or trophy :)...lol I know it's sad but my friends lie alot lol...

Im just curious to see other gamers point of view....so I ask

What do these achievements mean to you?

Nothing really. I used to want to have a lot but then I realized that I was playing games just to get the trophies.

Some games have great trophies that add a lot to the game but then there are trophies like the one in PoP (finish the game in 10 hours) that just ruin the game, I mean what a stupid trophy by adding that trophy they are making you speed through the game so you can get something that isn't even worth anything.

All in all I think trophies/achievements are a good feature but when I see someone with a lot of trophies I won't think that they are better than me at gaming so they don't really mean anything.

not much tbh, if i want to accomplish something in a game i dont need a generic gamerscore/trophy count as an incentive to do it. eg getting all 3 stars on mario kart ds or collecting all the chaos emeralds in a sonic game.

'achievements' have been around since the high score.

although i dont care for them myself if it encourages people to play through a game a second time to better theyre score then good for them. it means more value for money.

@cool48

I know exactly what you mean like the achievement for GTA 4 which you can only get if you beat the game in under 30hrs...thats lame...I like to enjoy my games and play through them at my own speed

Personally I could care less about them. The only thing I like about them is the same thing you like about 'em. When people are bragging about game accomplishments, you know if they're telling the truth or not. (If the game has trophies of course)

What's sad is that people get so caught up in achievements and trophies, they're willing to pass up good games that don't have them. I've had a few people tell me that they didn't purchase Valkyria Chronicles because it didn't have trophies. Now, it takes a bit to aggravate me, and that definitely aggaravated me. They're virtual icons. Jeesh. Just my humble opinion.

For me it goes like this:

Playing game > achievement sound > ooh, something happened!

I thought they'd encourage me to slightly change the way I play, but a lot of achievements in the games I own seem to be secret. So to me, they're pretty much a novelty, and I carry on playing in my usual, casual way.

an annoying thing that pops up on my screen when playing a game.

@wookaroo

Yeah I dislike that also when people dont purchase games just because they dont have trophies or achievements...Im used to most games on the Ps3 not having achievements so this doesnt bother me...

I play games for what they have to offer Story,Action, and also if I can make a connection with a character is even better...Shenmue did this to me on the Dreamcast...

Valkyria Chronicles I dont know very much about I seen youtube videos on it but I am lost at what the game is about...is it RPG mixed with action? kind of like Fallout 3? looks like a good game

I have been playing games for so long before trophies/achievements were introducted that I dont really care for them. If the trophies/achievements could equal to an incentive like a pointscard, I would care.

@JoHnNyFr3sC0

Valkyria Chronicles is a fantastic game. It's not a straight up JRPG, but a SRPG. The game progresses through a series of chapters in which you fight battles on a battle map with multiple units, e.g., tanks, scouts, troopers, ect. You select a squad from a roster of up to fifty characters to fight with in each battle.

Once you've deployed these units, the game switches to a turn based mode. You select each unit from the battle map at which point the game zooms down into the action where you have a third person like control of that selected unit.You are limited in regards to how far you can move a unit, and how many shots they can fire at the enemy.

Each time you select a unit from the battle map, you use a CP, or command point. You have a limited number of them for each turn. Once you're out of these , it's the opposing side's turn.

There are plenty of strategies to use in each battle, and you have the rock, paper, scissors mechanic to exploit. Lancers(aka RPGs) are good against tanks, snipers against infantry, ect. Once you're done with a battle, you head to 'book mode' where the story of the game takes place in the form of usually fantastic cutscenes.

In this book mode, you can fight in skirmishes that have been unlocked, switch up the members of your squad, read up on the backstories of characters, train your troops, develop new weapons and armor, ect. Once you're ready to move on with the main story, you simply select the next cutscene in the book which will lead to the next major battle.

The way the developers designed these systems is really unique and refreshing. The game utilizes Sega's CANVAS engine. Think of it as 'watercolor in motion'. The story is top notch, and really picks up once you get a few chapters into the storyline. The characters are easy to get attached to, and their voice acting is fantastic in my opinion. Of course the actual gameplay is a blast. There's a lot of strategy involved in each map.

I know this was kinda long, but I wanted to give you a thorough idea of the game. If you have a PS3, I say go for it if this all sounds good to you. The demo doesen't do the game justice.