We at MonsterVine always enjoy a thorough introspection of the many things the video game industry has to offer, big or small. But community member, WarDragon989, has managed to make even the small look big as he examines the integrity of Achievements, Trophies and Steam Achievements and their consequent impact through the coming generation.

WarDragon989 writes:

Wonderful? Maybe.

The idea of what an achievement, is an accomplishment for completing a certain task which could have a ranging difficulty curve. Before Xbox released a viewable portal to the concept, these rare “game achievements” were only viewable on youtube or similar video sites and of course the good old gaming forums where people recited their moments to whoever would listen.

The Xbox System

In 2005, Microsoft and their brand new system, the Xbox 360, announced an in-built system know as “Achievements”. These achievements had “gamerscore” attached and when totaled up gave number differences, which raised a number of gaming egos in the process. It was a welcomed addition to the console market though some showed concern about them mentioning an unsettling addiction with acquiring them or that they “needed” to get the 1000/1000.

The policy that Microsoft imposed was simple; a game released on retail had to have 1000/1000 gamerscore with it, and the number of achievements can range from 4 to 99. A game released as an arcade can have 200/200 with 12 achievements being a normal static amount. Their policy has changed over the years with the inclusion of DLC, such as expansions. Retail can now have an added 250 points, totaling 1250 and the arcade added 50 more totaling 250. These of course are only available to people who have the new content. Halo 3 recently set 1750 achievement points, this would mean that any game can have a number of expansions added, but of course i believe there is a hidden cost.

Achievements are a nice addition if they are in the right hands, over the two years that Microsoft has had the achievements system, many game developers have retained a sense of ranging achievements from completing a game on different difficulties, to a boss battle, to killing 3 people in 5 seconds. In the later years, Halo 3 let people acquire new armour for getting a certain achievements and it recently updated to include many community based achievements.

Notable achievements are mainly ones which require time, effort, skill and the inability to cheat but this has caused many to believe that the “prestigious” achievements are more of a burden and struggle especially when they have acquired them;

* 5/7 day survivor (Dead Rising)
* Mile High Club (COD4)
* Seriously… (Gears of war) and their notable spin offs, No Seriously (The Club) and Beans Bullets Bandages (Battlefield: Bad Company)

Of course these game developers are the ones who have a good range of achievements so it doesn’t feel like a waste just to get one. Other developers are using the addictiveness of achievements as a secret latch for their games; for example The Simpsons and Avatar which both have very easy achievements and game concept. But due to the actual achievements selling the game and not the game selling itself, has the meaning of achievements been lost along the way?

Xbox achievement have a sense of addiction which a number of companies have taken advantage of and even the ability to “cheat” the system has caused a mass of players to claim a number of points without really trying, it became a major concern and Xbox HAD to do something about in 2008.

Overall, Xbox started an idea, which had a great concept and so far it has been very successful, but I believe they have made people forget what an “achievement” really is, and what it really means to get one.

Steam Achievements/PC

On the momentum of Xbox’s, now successful, achievement system Valve, a PC based company incorporated Achievements for a number of its games into their new Steam system, so far only a hand full of games support achievements, mainly their own games and a number of arcade type games.

The rules about them seem much more relaxed then Xbox’s version, with no gamer score, and the amount of achievements removed. Valve, using there own game Team Fortress 2 uses achievements to give the players new weapons with milestones, constantly updatedthe achievement list with new class and map packs making the achievements list almost endless with no restrictions.

Recently, World of Warcraft a popular PC game, adopted the achievement idea; which covers all aspects of the game. They have used the achievements points system, rating each one with points and give in-game bonuses for collecting a number of achievements.

Overall the PC version has gone in the right direction with achievements partially, Valve, who try to remind people that it isn’t about points, its about what you do and getting rewards for it.

Playstation 3 Trophies

Xbox’s competitive console rival, Sony, saw the impact achievements had on Xbox sales, and on the console itself, and believed a system would be needed for the PS3 system, they created Trophies.

Trophies are split into 4 different areas; Bronze (simple tasks), Silver (medium tasks), Gold (hard tasks) and Platinum (which you get when you have every other trophy). Instead of showing off the score, each trophy has a hidden score which is then added to a total bar. This bar increases in level and get harder to level up each time.

The difference between trophies and achievements is that a number of games require a sense of commitment to the game such as Warhawk, Wipeout HD and Socom. All mentioned require skill and time for you just to get one trophy and is not a simple one night play which some Xbox achievements are.

Trophies are a fairly new concept and are now in 2009 mandatory for future games, a number of old games including Metal Gear Solid 4, Heavenly Sword and others have yet to be patched and Sony is more relaxed on not forcing them to do so, which has angered a number of the community.

Overall, Sony has taken the Xbox idea of achievements and shook it down to its foundation and Trophies are that. Sony is much less restrictive on how many and what is needed to complete, and it is more to the developer.

The meaning of an achievement

Overall, Achievements/trophies are great to have as they add “more” replay value of a game.

The achievement idea is great in theory, but the meaning is lost. Xbox generally though it was better to reward people for almost everything in a game, while attaching a score for the ego inside us. PC generally though achievements where as Xbox’s was for any action and not attaching a score. And Playstation is between the two, while not have a score they have a total bar, that all the trophies add up to.

An achievement is an accomplishment for completing a certain task that has ranging difficulty attached. While most achievements and trophies hold true to this idea. When you look back at the “true” achievements and stories of people who do these cool and unique things, you wonder why they don’t have an achievement for that. It’s a shame that achievements are now game seller reasons and from the makers point of view you don’t want a customer to be frustrated with the game.

Achievements are dubbed down view of what “true” achievements are, this means that instead of doing days upon days of training; anyone can get an achievement which makes the achievements meaningless. While we have seen unique achievements for games, few have show commitment. The ones that do are normally pushed aside and labeled as “too” hard and “too” much commitment. A number of PS3 trophies require you to be committed to the game (hours upon hours) this is what it should be, achievements should not be a walk in the park; it should be a walk on the side of mountain-side trail.

Also there should be more community based achievements, for example Bungie are very in tune with their community and now have “Vidmaster Challenge” achievements or Wipeout HD, where you have to beat a staff members race time, almost giving a meaning behind it.

So in the end, i believe the Xbox 360 version lost the plot, with its restrictions and its score, while PC and PS3 versions showed us what committed meant, no score, no restrictions and playing the game then getting an achievements for it, not the other way round.

While comments are allowed below, please feel free to discuss this article in the original thread found here.

Love the Wii or hate it, you have to admit what Nintendo has done this gen is nothing short of amazing. But with every major change, there’s a faction of people that whine about the old ways and how the new way is bad. We see this (almost) every day in the core vs. casual debate. But what about those that still love Nintendo, never mind the shift to casual?

I happen to be one of those gamers, and I personally don’t care what kind of a game I play–I could be playing an epic RPG one minute and a few rounds of Zuma or Wii Sports the next. To me, all that matters is that a game is fun, no matter who it is marketed for–and that, to me, is something Nintendo has always done.

Another reason I still love Nintendo is their lineup of all star characters. Mario, Link, Pikachu, Kirby, Fox–I have made many wonderful memories with all of them. Furthermore, if it weren’t for Mario and the NES, gaming would be dead–something I feel is in danger of being forgotten in the core vs. casual fray.

But most of all are the imaginative worlds these characters populate–the team at Nintendo do a great job making such places as the Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule, and Kanto seem like real places, so that we feel like we have traveled a long way, all without having to leave our living rooms and bedrooms.

Mind you, I am not blindly making the fangirlish claim that Nintendo is great, and Sony and MS are not–I have also had wonderful experiences on Sony consoles too–but I take care to never forget my roots as a gamer–and it all began thanks to Nintendo.

By now you’ve probably heard the news, 1UP Digital Network will be sold to UGO Entertainment, which also means that Electronic Gaming Monthly will be put to rest. According to EGM, the decision to call it a day has been a result of a decline in the demand for print. As if that wasn’t enough, 30 people were also made jobless as a result of the buy-out. This is just the latest story amongst countless reports and news stories relaying to us the grim reality of the effect that the growing economic crisis is beginning to have on our games industry.

Daniel Terdiman wrote not so long ago about how the video game industry may well be immune to the problems that the economy is facing, and although he may have missed the mark, he wasn’t totally crazy. Video game sales in the UK have seen a 23% growth over 2008, which some say is due to the rise of casual gaming. Needless to say though, figures like that certainly don’t paint the picture of an industry in crisis. Microsoft also saw the Xbox 360 enjoy its biggest Christmas yet in Europe, and have enjoyed an 84% growth in the sale of online content over Xbox Live. To top it off, Nintendo seem to still be going strong despite fears that they would be hit the worst. Daniel Terdiman wasn’t the only person to suggest that the industry would be safe back in November, as game sales appeared strong.

Not all is fine in the world of video gaming, however, and the industry is starting to feel the heat. Even with its Christmas success, Microsoft has revealed that as many as 15,000 jobs may be under threat as we head into 2009, and rivals Sony intend to cut off 8000 employees by 2010. Publishers aren’t safe either, as Activison Blizzard’s stock price has fallen to its lowest point since 2006, even with strong sales from huge titles such as Call of Duty: World at War and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. The worst part of all this is that these stories aren’t surprising, or anything new. Every week you can do a quick search around the ‘net and find numerous stories about video game companies losing money and cutting staff.

Right now you might be wondering how all this depressing stuff effects you, the average gamer. One of the most likely outcomes is the demise of many of the smaller developers. Indie developers won’t be able to secure the huge finances that they need in order to continue developing games, and as a result will either try to find someone to buy them out, or close up shop for good. Larger developers are likely to survive, but lesser known titles will be either put on hold, or axed completely. Developer giants THQ have recently closed some of their key studios, which will result in some previously planned games never seeing the light of day. Larger companies will choose to focus on titles that are more certain to sell, much to the dismay of gamers that already feel let down by the lack of originality in new titles. Furthermore, we might see more semi-finished games being released early as companies scramble to clear their growing debts.

I haven’t seen the figures for video gaming magazines, but if the fall of EGM is anything to go by, they aren’t doing too great either. No doubt journalists will be losing their jobs as the population tighten their belts and cut down on spending money on things such as magazines, especially when they can get most of the same information on the internet for free.

My predictions for this year? I wouldn’t be shocked if the amount of video games hitting the shelves decrease, and several indie developers will probably disappear as they struggle to raise funds. I think that bigger developers will suffer, but will manage to stay above water, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see a major takeover or two along the way. Console developers such as Microsoft and Sony will cut jobs, but I don’t think they will see too much harm done to them in the long term, apart from losing more money in Japan if the Yen continues to fare badly against the Dollar, thus cutting potential profit margins. Video gaming magazines will probably by hurt be declining sales and I can see one or two more magazines deciding to stop printing for good, although I can’t say for certain because as I’ve stated, I haven’t seen the figures. As for video game sales, it’s hard to say. The most obvious conclusion is that people will be less inclined to spend their money on games this year, but some will argue that in a time of crisis such as this, people buy more things such as video games to help them escape from reality. Personally, I think sales will be down from last year. I don’t think sales will drop sharply, but I do think they won’t be as good as previous years.

Can the year ahead really be that bad? Let me know what you think.

In the meantime I’ll leave you with some more food for thought…

High Street entertainment chain Zavvi is closing 22 stores, with 178 employees losing their jobs.

Free Radical Design, developers of such titles as Haze and TimeSplitters, are currently facing closure unless a buyer can be found.

Video game sales in Japan saw a drop of 15% in 2008.

Publishers Oxygen Studios are currently trying to find a buyer for their London studio.

Sony will be closing factories and taking a serious look at its major divisions in an attempt to cut costs by 2010.

Grim indeed folks, grim indeed.

We’ve reached the finale of our awards celebration, who won the coveted Game of the Year award? Click to find out! (more…)

Greetings from the Editorial Manager. I now proudly present my top choices for games in 2008. It certainly has been a great year for superb titles so it was honestly hard to pick my top 5, so I went an expanded it to 8. Check out what games I chose and stay tuned for our overall Game of the Year winner reveal coming later today. (more…)

Today is Christmas Eve…what does that remind you of? Well, obviously, you’re thinking about what kind of presents you will be giving and getting, but I’m more focused on Nintendo. Why? Well, it’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for MonsterVine’s Game of the Year Awards. (more…)

Alright, so “The Year of the PlayStation” was 2008. What? Sure there were great games, some outstanding, some were cast aside due to launch windows, but was it really “The Year of the PlayStation”?

2008 saw the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, WipEout HD, Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty, Valkyria Chronicles, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, The Last Guy, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds, Buzz! Quiz TV, echochrome, Crash Commando, Lumines Supernova, PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, Siren: Blood Curse, Age of Booty, Elefunk, SOCOM: Confrontation, HOME, Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice, SingStar games and Haze(no matter how terrible you think it was).

How many exclusives is that? At least 24. That’s a pretty decent number, along with Bioshock, Eternal Sonata and other games that are multiplatform like Grand Theft Auto, Burnout: Paradise and Sonic: Unleashed to name a few.

How many have I played personally though? Which are my Top 5, (Top 3 is too hard) in PSN and Blu-ray releases? I’ve played (full games) 10 exclusives including both PSN and Blu-ray releases. Demos? 7, so a good 17 out of 24 is not bad to make some decisions.

I must say WipEout HD is my favourite and I think the best racing game exclusive to the PS3. (I have not played Motorstorm: Pacific Rift yet, only a demo). Why? For the steal-price of $20 you get a full game with many tracks (forwards and backwards), varying difficulties, 4 different modes of play, split screen (horizontal or vertical), online and more! Honestly, this is a great game, and to reward you upon finishing some tough challenges you can even earn Trophies!

Favourite shooter? Resistance 2 of course, Haze who? The 1st Resistance was a great way to introduce the Chimera and Nathan Hale. R2‘s single-player campaign is enticing at points and “Ehh, let’s keep going,” at others. Background knowledge helps, but I didn’t have any and I was fine. The replayability to obtain all Intel’s, gain XP from beating it at higher difficulties, SuperHuman difficulty, insanely large Chimera and ridiculous boss fights will keep you wanting more.

Not to mention 8-player Online Co-op (up to two on each PS3), with so many missions you’ll be playing a few nights past your “bed time.” You can’t forget about Competitive Play pitting you (and a party if you wish) against other around the world in up to 64-player maps competing to complete missions or making the opposing team not succeed.

One huge let-down would have to be the lobby system constantly kicking you out of games once a single round is finished and forcing you to go into a new game.

Best Puzzle game I’ve played is PixelJunk Monsters, I’m sure once I get Lumines Supernova I might change my mind. PixelJunk Monsters is a great Tower Defense Game, but it is definitely in the puzzle genre when you have to figure out how to place your towers and what to upgrade and when. There are 7 towers you’ll use a lot, but don’t forget about the other 2, all are needed eventually! It’s a great game, has an expansion island and is only $10 and $5 for the expansion. Trophies are an added bonus along with In-game music and YouTube upload ability.

Valkyria Chronicles is one of those games that received the shaft from a poor launch window, set up against Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2. I’ve played the demo and must say it is a great new twist on RPG’s. The canvas-esque graphics is relaxing and the free-roam aspect they added into the game make it refreshingly new.

I can’t push aside Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty. Although this game is a small $15 title on the PSN, I love it. It may not have Trophies, but it doesn’t need that. What it needed was “Gold Bolts” or some replay value to entice me into getting 100% on it.

One thing I must say to this game is it’s great at it’s price and is worth a purchase. Some think being so small down-sizes this game’s worth and you should not play it. I am here to tell you to not listen to them. The story is great and leaves you on a twist at the end that will have you on your feet exclaiming, “WHAT!? THAT’S AWESOME!”

New wrench abilities and new puzzles introducing shadows and more really touch a new part of your brain for the Ratchet and Clank series. Graphics are even upped slightly despite it being a smaller game. Bottom line: get it.

LittleBigPlanet has had too many cough-ups, fixing a song with a reference to the Islamic sciptures, ridiculously charged DLC and issues with moderation and searching. But despite all the hassle LittleBigPlanet has gone through, it’s still a wonderful game that brings a whole new way to create things.

If you haven’t played this game on a store PS3 or a friend’s PS3, or you just haven’t played it and you’re not getting it for Christmas, I suggest you do so. The story line I must say went completely over my head. Probably because people called when I played and I was half-asleep pushing myself to keep going at 12:56 AM to “go to bed after this next level,” or after I “Ace” the level (not dying).

Playing around with the levels and others’ levels online is a blast though. You can really see how imagination is the limit with people creating calculators, actual intelligence Tic-Tac-Toe boards and immense time-consuming music levels that must have taken at least 24 hours to get correct. Unfortunately that level I speak of was made to a MegaMan boss’ theme song and was moderated.

Creating is fun too, but of course if that’s not your specialty, leave it to others to do it for you and play their levels. DLC though is quite ridiculous, charging so much money for a single costume, and Level Packs are a little more acceptable, expanding the game’s actual content, but some Costume Packs are down-right expensive. That Metal Gear Solid Costume and Level Pack coming out tomorrow are actual packs to consider purchasing, 6 new levels and more, that I do not mind paying $6 at all. $12 for two packs is pushing it, but it’s Metal Gear Solid 4. At least its not $15.

Ok, so Metal Gear Solid 4 received 10′s accross all major gaming sites, maybe a 9.9 in a certain review or 9.9 in another, but this game delivers. What does it deliver? Certainly not pizza, it delivers action, an intense story to finish the series and lasting impressions on all who play it.

I’ve only been fortunate to play select parts of the game and Metal Gear: Online, but from what I’ve played, I can guarantee you will love this game. It’s not all about killing as most of you know, you can stealthily sneak past every part in the game, you can hide in boxes and the bosses are some of the most crazy women you’ll ever meet, hopefully.

The game’s in-game iPod is so nice, being able to listen to podcasts, to score’s in the game and more is just incredibly ingenious. The Mk. II is a fun little robot and deserves quite a lot of the attention as well! The depth put into this game is note-worthy, award-winning and time-preserved.

This game deserves a 10/10, it wasn’t bribery that caused it to get 10′s, it was how marvelous it was built and carried out so effectively. Not many games are such a sensation as Metal Gear Solid 4 is.

Lastly there’s HOME, Sony’s “lobby.” It’s “not a game, it’s a place for users to interact and meet others.” It’s a game, you can customize your character (avatar, same thing), you can go on adventures (explore the maps), visit other areas that developers and partners put time into.

These include Uncharted‘s “Sully’s Bar” and it’s 3 doors with mysterious Key Pads that let you into other areas and Far Cry 2‘s “Train Station” and “Reuben’s Office.” Mancala is playable in the Train Station, I love that mini-game, a past-time favourite. Mercenary Madness is an 8-bit arcade game in Sully’s Bar and that’s much too addicting. [Side Note: If you would like the Combination's to Sully's Bar's locked doors, do some exploring in this article and you'll find them in order]

You can play echochrome, Ice Breaker, Carriage Return, Bowling, Pool, Mancala, Mercenary Madness and purchase items of clothing, furniture or residences. It’s great, you don’t have to purchase anything if you don’t want to, you can win items from playing arcade games (mini-games if you will) and interact with others in a lobby (Bowling Alley, Mall, Central Plaza or Move Theatre) and play games. There are infact only 7 areas right now, but there will be more (not including your Personal Space(s) or Clubhouse). You can set up other games like Warhawk or Resistance: Fall of Man straight from HOME as well.

It is a lobby, it is a game, it is a place for users to meet and make friends in and it is a place to just hang out. It’s not revolutionary just yet, but it has potential as more and more partners are being made and more and more areas are being created. 7 areas doesn’t seem promising yet, but it will.

So wait, what are my Top 5 game you might be wondering? Here are my Top 5 Games Exclusive to the PlayStation 3 of 2008:

5. Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty – Nice pun and great game.
4. WipEout HD – Outstandingly hard and rewarding.
3. Resistance 2 – Asanine replay value and Chimera.
2. LittleBigPlanet – Most innovative title in a long time.
1. Metal Gear Solid 4 – Generally perfect? Kojima doesn’t think so, but we “lesser-beings” do.

So there you have it, my Top 5 PlayStation titles. You might agree with me on certain points, you might disagree. That’s fine, this isn’t a democracy, this isn’t me siding with you, it’s my own personal thoughts on some really wonderful games. You should try picking up some of them, you won’t regret it.

Now here’s something for parents and gamers to chew on. Whether games are art or not, and how they affect video game players. (more…)