Trophies or Achievements?

WolfForager

Yes we all know that trophies were introduced as an afterthought by Sony after achievements became so popular, yet there is much to be said about the pros and cons of each.

Personally i prefer trophies, or more to the point, i love the platinum trophy. If Sony had not included the platinum trophy i'd probably prefer achievements. The thing is that the platinum drives me to unlock all the trophies in a game, it's a reward for sticking with it and getting that pesky 10,000 online kills trophy (Resistance 2 i'm looking at you >_>). The achievement system doesn't have that.

I also find gold trophies to be a bit of a magnet, like killing those 3 behemoths in Fallout 3, probably wouldn't have bothered with that if there wasn't a gold trophy involved....

That being said, the trophy system has probably made me play games i didn't particularly like because i wanted that trophy for completing it on insane difficulty and without dying...

So a simple honest question, which reward system do you prefer?

If we try keep this strictly "Achievements vs Trophies" as oppossed to "360/PC vs PS3" that'd be much appreciated

pablomakaveli

I've kind of become a bit of a trophy/achievment addict lately. I've gone back to a few old games and tried to unlock more of them. I have found that it encourages the player to explore more of the game and try new things.

I found myself finding and trying to do things in the games that i hadn't bothered with on the original playthrough and that helped me get more enjoyment out of them.

As for trophies vs achievements i think it has to be trophies for me. Getting a gold trophy feels more rewarding than getting say 150 gamerpoints for example. I still haven't managed a platinum trophy though.:(

calex71

I've professed my love of achievements many times here

What I hate though are ones that you need to earn in ranked multiplayer matches. These can really alter the way people play the game and effect others who are simply playing for playing sake.

Agree though with the fallout example, it made me get the the most out of that one for sure.

rizzla

Achievements, never made it impossible for me to play a game. Remember that problem with the psn that required you to play online but the psn was down due to that leap year bug, it was also tied to the trophies.

So it's achievements for me, its not a factor in what type of games I play though (anymore)

There's also all those 3rd party sites that make achievements more fun 360voice and true achievements.

Minstrel27

I much prefer how trophies are laid out and getting the Platinum trophy is a great feeling (only gotten one twice ).

calex71

Another thing occurred to me, not sure how it works on PS3 but on xbox you have a screen with all of your completed games. When you get all the achievements it gets added there. Now when dlc is released microsoft see fit to steal you completed game icon away :mad:

funky penguin

calex71 wrote: »

What I hate though are ones that you need to earn in ranked multiplayer matches. These can really alter the way people play the game and effect others who are simply playing for playing sake.

This is very true.

Some trophies are pure nasty and not in the spirit of the games at all.

I used to love achievements but I fall into the trap of going for platinum too much I think. Especially difficult ones. I have my eye on Tekken 6 and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood at the moment, then maybe Fallout NV.

sarumite

I they both annoy me. They force games developers to make decisions which have a detrimental effect on the games such Lockable save files (burnout paradise) and non-transferable save files (Fallout 3) or limited cheats etc.

F1ngers

calex71 wrote: »

Another thing occurred to me, not sure how it works on PS3 but on xbox you have a screen with all of your completed games. When you get all the achievements it gets added there. Now when dlc is released microsoft see fit to steal you completed game icon away :mad:

On the PS3, you get the platinum for getting the original trophies and 100% completion, however if dlc is released with trophies, you keep the platinum and the completion drops to say 75%.
I have the platinum for Fallout 3 but only 73% completion.

Grayditch

A platinum trophy looks and sounds better than 1000/1000. I like getting trophies/achievements in games I like. Both are a great feature, but trophies are superficially better and more satisfying for some reason.

I hope people that don't trophy/achievement hunt try to ruin this thread by telling people how futile they think both are. You saw the title, move along.

Jazzy

i voted for option 3: easter eggs
remember secret levels, bosses, items and all that ****? i want that again instead of imaginary stupid fukin points

Grayditch

They're about as imaginary as anything else on the disc.

funky penguin

MMmmmmmmm, trophies for secret bosses!!


EDIT: HIDDEN Trophies!! :eek:

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Where is the option for neither???

Grayditch

Why did you even click into this thread?

TanG411

I voted for trophies because I like the thought of getting, say, a gold trophy for something that was very difficult to achieve.

What I would like on the XMB screen though is an option to put the trophies in order. Suppose you go to a game to view trophies, I'd like if the were ordered as Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Hidden, rather than being dispersed all over the place. (Knowing me there probably is an option already and I never checked) .

While I'm here, I'll add another thought. Maybe something like the number of Gold/Silver/Bronze trophies on the top of the screen when viewing a game, including the amount of Gold/Silver/Bronze trophies you have. It would be written as GOLD 1/7, SILVER 3/12 BRONZE 11/18 on the top of the screen, while you can freely scroll through the list of trophies in the game.

DARK-KNIGHT

Grayditch wrote: »

Why did you even click into this thread?

+1

Retr0gamer

Don't care about either. At best they are something I ignore. At worst they totally take you out of the experience and destroy the suspension of disbelief when they flash up on the screen. I care even less about trophies than achievements since they are terribly integrated compared to xbox live.

rizzla

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Don't care about either. At best they are something I ignore. At worst they totally take you out of the experience and destroy the suspension of disbelief when they flash up on the screen. I care even less about trophies than achievements since they are terribly integrated compared to xbox live.

You can turn off the pop ups and completely ignore them if you really wanted too.

I hate when I do something great and the little pop up and sound comes on only for it to be someone on my friends list logging in. I got a lil happy thinking it was another achievement.

Creamy Goodness

don't really like either tbh, when i get one i check to see what i did to get it but that's about it. don't go hunting them all down to get 100% either i've got better things to be doing like enjoying the game.

Kinetic^

Meh, I'd prefer something along the lines of & completed.

Retr0gamer

rizzla wrote: »

You can turn off the pop ups and completely ignore them if you really wanted too.

I hate when I do something great and the little pop up and sound comes on only for it to be someone on my friends list logging in. I got a lil happy thinking it was another achievement.

Never knew that. Going to do it right now.

djkeogh

I've not voted as I think they both have there place and I don't have a PS3. I love getting achievements though. For me they have made get alot more time out of the games I do play. Once the joy of playing a game is gone I stop playing though regardless of anything else.

I picked up Ghostbusters there recently and went online for the craic. Found I really enjoyed the online but there is no community playing consistently. The online achievements mean that there are people looking for players though so due to the achievements I'm able to get my online fix via achievement hunting. Has given me many more hours out of the game and in this economy more time and less spend is a very good thing.

eosirl08.

trophies just seem more satisfying. seeing that little trophy coming up makes it all worthwhile

calex71

rizzla wrote: »

I hate when I do something great and the little pop up and sound comes on only for it to be someone on my friends list logging in. I got a lil happy thinking it was another achievement.

I know the feeling, really wish you could turn off one or the other, so you only have the bleeps for cheevos

L31mr0d

I'll never understand the hate towards trophies and achievements. Their ilk has been around since the inception of video gaming.

When I see someone in my friends list with a platinum on a game I'm playing I view it the same as when I used to walk into the local arcade only to see one of my friends initials in the top spot on one of the machines.

It adds an online competitive side to every game, even if they have no MP mode.

Retr0gamer

Well I don't. I find getting all trophies and achievements in most games is a case of grinding rather than skill.

danielmoran

Trophies are way more satisfying. the layout of achievements gives that system a very babyish feel. plus the bronze, silver, gold and platinum rating also adds to the competetiveness.

raze

L31mr0d wrote: »

I'll never understand the hate towards trophies and achievements.

I know where you're coming from - I know someone who got platinum on SOCOM, and that does impress me that he spent the time to do it.

But there are a few downsides to the things as well. There's nothing as irritating as looking for a game of Halo, say, and when you get into a match it's young kids on their mic yelling requests for people to let them 'do achievements'.

Online trophies generally are pretty weak. Tiger 11 is basically free trophies. I got a silver for getting to a particular par 3 green in one stroke, one for filling out a survey, another for watching an ad for an upcoming EA game. Also, there are about 8 trophies for just playing different modes online. Whatever about committing yourself to playing the game the way it was intended, with this title trophies are just an encouragement to use EA's Online Pass login.

MW2 got it right: trophies for co-op multiplayer, no trophies for traditional multiplayer. That said, I spent a lot more time with (and got more enjoyment from) Bad Company 2 because there were trophies for multiplayer.

Between the two platforms, Xbox's format is a lot smoother. PS3 you've got to 'sync to server' or no-one can see your most recent trophies - and trophies cause delays in players' profiles showing up on PSN. But I do prefer a bronze/silver etc breakdown over a homogenized gamerscore.

L31mr0d

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Well I don't. I find getting all trophies and achievements in most games is a case of grinding rather than skill.

Yes, but in that case it's a matter of hating the implementation and not the system.

The system is sound, just implemented poorly by some developers. A lot of games do have trophies that reward skill and lateral thinking. The trophies for Pixeljunk Monsters for example forced you to play outside of your comfort zone to unlock them (except that stupid trophy for getting so many coins from 1 tree which, I will admit, was nothing more than grinding)

Also, to get a platinum in Demon Soul's requires a great deal of time and skill.

DARK-KNIGHT

i love achievements have issues getting into my games really with family life etc but tbh most ill do is complete the game i will never or have ever chased online achievements but thats just me i guess.

Grayditch

My favourite platinums were Demon's Souls, Fallout 3, Borderlands and... dare I say it... Terminator Salvation. I thought it was a decent game. What other game will ever let you have the shotgun-sniper rifle? It's the holy grail of guns.

mcgovern

Much prefer achievements, trophies are horribly implemented, what do you have to do to get them to actually update your profile? Synching crashes 90% of the time.
The gamer score for achievements makes it easier at a glance to see someone's score, still not sure how the level system for trophies works and I've my PS3 over a year.
Also, there doesn't appear to be any sites for trophies, as well made as trueachievements is for achievements.

johnmcdnl

Just gonna pop in here and say I hate those trophies that rely on luck - such as getting 3 kills with on bullet from a pistol from more than 1000m away :rolleyes: or something as ridicoulous as that that just require you too keep playing for hours on end until you accidentally fluke it - rather than focusing on making you play and improve your skills it's making you grind and grind and grind until a 1 in million opportunity jumps out in front of you and lasts for half a second....

Don't have much time for the ones that are make a map and share it - just trying to force people to use a feature in the game for the sake of it

Personally I prefer trophies because they just look cooler and if you get the platnium you've won the game - rather than achievements where you "got them all" - just seems sooo much more pleasing to tell your friends that you platniumed XXXXX rather than I got all the achievements on XXXXXXXX

Venom

Achievements as I can get them on both Xbox and PC.

calex71

Grayditch wrote: »

What other game will ever let you have the shotgun-sniper rifle? It's the holy grail of guns.

To be fair if you need a scope on a shotgun then you should have gone to specsavers

/ I'll get my coat

Grayditch

I wonder how many people are actually voting XBOX vs PS3, as in, they have only experience of one or the other. I guess that's bound to happen!

WolfForager

Grayditch wrote: »

I wonder how many people are actually voting XBOX vs PS3, as in, they have only experience of one or the other. I guess that's bound to happen!

Was starting to think the same myself...

Kiith

I don't care about achivements or trophies. I've nothing against them, i just can't be bothered with them. Most of them seem to be 'spend enough time playing and you'll eventually get them' or 'complete the single player game' achievements, which most people will end up getting just from playing the game.

noodler

I thought they added intensely to Fallout 3.

Very diappointed NV doesn't have trophies for its normal sidequests.

Burning Eclipse

noodler wrote: »

I thought they added intensely to Fallout 3.

Very diappointed NV doesn't have trophies for its normal sidequests.

It does; I optional trophies (achievements in my case) from normal sidequests. Return to Sender and Talent Pool spring to mind. That said, while I prefer New Vegas as a game, I prefer the Achievement/Trophy list from Fallout 3. Too many shitty 10,000 achievements in New Vegas.

As for the achievements vs trophies debate, I prefer achievements. I know the OP opened this thread by pointing out that trophies essentially wouldn't exist were it not for achievements, but I think that is worth repeating. If an achievement pops and I hit the guide button, I go straight to the details, on PS3, nothing. Achievements are far better integrated into the console. No contest there.

Platinum trophies are a great idea though, and clearly ahead of '1000/1000'. Microsoft tried to remedy this by tracking games you 100% (I'm up to 13 I think) but honestly, it's a pale comparison!

Another contrast is that you know where you stand with achievements in terms of quantity. Games ship with 1000, 25 points is 25 points, etc. Not so with trophies, especially with the remakes of games.

calex71

Burning Eclipse wrote: »

It does; I optional trophies (achievements in my case) from normal sidequests. Return to Sender and Talent Pool spring to mind. That said, while I prefer New Vegas as a game, I prefer the Achievement/Trophy list from Fallout 3. Too many shitty 10,000 achievements in New Vegas.

I actually found the one's for the different endings more of a pain in new vegas, I was lucky as I had saved cleverly and done most of the required work for the 4 endings through exploration and natural play before I got to them. Even so 2 glitches and a bit of repetition.

The heal 10000 worth of damage with food was a royal pain in NV though, I used the drowning method to get it

The ones in Fallout 3 were miles better though, they actually helped you not to miss some cool quests but those karma ones i was glad to see the back of.

noodler

Burning Eclipse wrote: »

It does; I optional trophies (achievements in my case) from normal sidequests. Return to Sender and Talent Pool spring to mind. That said, while I prefer New Vegas as a game, I prefer the Achievement/Trophy list from Fallout 3. Too many shitty 10,000 achievements in New Vegas.

As for the achievements vs trophies debate, I prefer achievements. I know the OP opened this thread by pointing out that trophies essentially wouldn't exist were it not for achievements, but I think that is worth repeating. If an achievement pops and I hit the guide button, I go straight to the details, on PS3, nothing. Achievements are far better integrated into the console. No contest there.

Platinum trophies are a great idea though, and clearly ahead of '1000/1000'. Microsoft tried to remedy this by tracking games you 100% (I'm up to 13 I think) but honestly, it's a pale comparison!

Another contrast is that you know where you stand with achievements in terms of quantity. Games ship with 1000, 25 points is 25 points, etc. Not so with trophies, especially with the remakes of games.

On the PS3, there are about 60 side quests and barely any trophies for any of them.

I distinctly remember more trophies in Fallout 3 for them

Nemanja91

I much prefer Achievements over trophies, not sure why but it could be cause I've had my xbox longer and I'm just used to them. I do like the idea of the platinum trophy though which I don't have as I hardly us my playstation to play games anymore.

WolfForager

Looks like someone else also hates pointless achievements

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-01-07-why-i-hate-achievements-article?page=1

calex71

WolfForager wrote: »

Looks like someone else also hates pointless achievements

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-01-07-why-i-hate-achievements-article?page=1

He was doing that fallout one the fools way

Burning Eclipse

noodler wrote: »

On the PS3, there are about 60 side quests and barely any trophies for any of them.

I distinctly remember more trophies in Fallout 3 for them

Oh certainly, Fallout 3 has (I just checked) 17 optional quest achievements, versus a mere 7 in New Vegas. Did I mention how I also hate the 10,000 achievements; what a silly idea. Still, I prefer New Vegas in every other department tbh.

Potential-Monke

Ah i'm glad i came across this thread, have been wanting to say something for a while.

I like achievements/trophies. I didn't know much of trophies until Black Ops came out, as i mainly just played MW2 on Live, BlOps was crap and made my play other games again! Anyway, i loved when i intently went to do something in order to get an achievement and it pops up. It's satisfying. Same goes for trophies, when it pops up it makes me feel like i, ahem, achieved something.

Trohpies are more enjoyable to get, it's just better to be getting a cup rather than a few points.

But, and this is where i get annoyed, i hate the acheivements/trophies for online. Yes, online is a major part of games nowadays, but certain can be impossible to get the full points/platinum because i did'n't buy them on release, and no-one plays it online anymore. I think that there should be a seperate online achievements section, and count towards a second platinum or something similar on Live.

Also, the grinding/luck ones i hate too. Acheivements/Trophies should be skill, not grinding/luck.

But, overall, i think they enhance games when done properly. Saying that, i have no platinum (ever so close on AC:Brotherhood) and only 1 1000/1000 on Live (Lego Harry Potter FTW!!!).

(Note: Enslaved - Oddessy to the West should be an easy one for achievement whores! Plus, it's an extremely enjoyable game, and cheap at the mo!)

funky penguin

I'd like to add to this.....

I'm not a trophy junkie, but I loved AC2 and I played it to get the Platinum trophy, prob y favousite game on the PS3.

AC:B....while I love it to bits, but some of the MP trophies are balls. It's clearly pure MP grind, which I hate. It shuld be about playing the game to its full potential, which alt of games miss out on, just creating a MP trophy for the sake of it, nit tyinking about how a normal person would play the game. Let's make trophies that will encourage expanded gameplay maybe?

Sorry, I'm drunk, but that's just me thoughts. I love games.

Grayditch

Vanquish is PINGING away every time I shoot a bullet.

funky penguin

funky penguin wrote: »

I'd like to add to this.....

I'm not a trophy junkie, but I loved AC2 and I played it to get the Platinum trophy, prob y favousite game on the PS3.

AC:B....while I love it to bits, but some of the MP trophies are balls. It's clearly pure MP grind, which I hate. It shuld be about playing the game to its full potential, which alt of games miss out on, just creating a MP trophy for the sake of it, nit tyinking about how a normal person would play the game. Let's make trophies that will encourage expanded gameplay maybe?

Sorry, I'm drunk, but that's just me thoughts. I love games.

Wow. Sorry about that.