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Ten Xbox LIVE Achievement Commandments

xboxfocus.com — Inconsistency amongst Xbox 360 games and their achievements has been a problem, so here are Ten "Commandments" developers should follow when creating their achievements for future titles.

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  • Tahiri, on 06/14/2008, -2/+45Considering you had a picture of Dead Rising, I can't believe you left out having achievements unlock stuff in the game itself
    • BoboTheHobo, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3The medic achievements in TF2 in the Orange Box counts. Too bad it wasn't put onto the 360 (I think).
      • Splint7700, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4He has the TF2 ones backwards.
        He left it OUT of the "Promotes Bad Play" section (yes...ubering a scout is bad teamplay...)
        But put in INTO the benifits online play section...Because having some retarded 12 year old that sounds like Foamy the Squirrel screaming into his mic about me killing 12 people ubered using my minigun, without punching 2 along the way is fun...

        At least there's less potential for VALVe to screw up that bad with a class like the pyro. No such thing as a Wasted Uber with a Pyro.
    • wontstoptalking, on 06/16/2008, -2/+2This guy has the BEST email address ever. (At the bottom)
  • xSledgewick, on 06/15/2008, -32/+3You know what... I'm done. Screw that godamn Xbox site, the articles are always dumb, but I click them anyway. ***** that, no anymore. Why do people feel the need to digg these dumb ass stories? Only good point made was on online achievements being stupid in Halo and Gears of War. Meh.
  • Froderick, on 06/15/2008, -30/+13Wait, people actually care about those achievement things?
    • G20NYK, on 06/15/2008, -4/+26I think they're fun.
    • Quicksilver4648, on 06/15/2008, -2/+9I personally feel that if I 'beat' a game yet only unlocked a few achievements then I never really did 'beat' it. I am looking at you Lego Indiana Jones. I completed the single player game with only 300 gamer points.
      • Zarokima, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4Beautiful Katamari. I've done a lot of stuff in that game (and the game itself is enjoyable) but only have 200-something points from it. The worst part is a lot of the achievements require DLC, but the DLC is actually just a key to unlock stuff that's already on the ***** game!
        • DaHuuuuuudge, on 06/15/2008, -3/+4While it is really annoying when you have to buy a key to unlock things already on the disc, it doesn't bother me as much in Beautiful Katamari because it was priced lower than most 360 games. The DLC was like making buying the entire game at full price optional, and allowing customers to just buy a cheaper, smaller version of the game. That's how I saw it at least.
        • Zarokima, on 06/16/2008, -0/+3No, that's *****. I payed for the disc and what's on it when I bought it at the store. That's like buying a car and the dealer saying "Yeah, this model comes with radio and air conditioning, but you can't use them unless you pay extra -- otherwise they'll just sit there perfectly functional and ready to use but inactive."
    • thestranger, on 06/15/2008, -3/+7Man, I am so confused when people who actually play games dont get achievements, because they are POINTLESS and don't do anything. Just like playing and beating video games.................
    • Pyehole, on 06/15/2008, -1/+10I consider the achievement system a meta game on top of the games themselves. This was by far the best feature of any of the latest generation consoles.
  • davidmcraney, on 06/15/2008, -46/+38Achievement whores are the saddest of gamers. Enjoy the gameplay, the story, the action, the design and innovation. If you want to accumulate meaningless points - play Donkey Kong.
    • Quicksilver4648, on 06/15/2008, -3/+14No, you want easy points play Avatar.
    • cathpah, on 06/15/2008, -2/+13donkey kong? meaningless points?

      you OBVIOUSLY have not seen King of Kong!
    • keyforce, on 06/15/2008, -3/+30Actually, the saddest gamers would be the group that complains about how others like to enjoy their games.

      Why do you care how I choose to have fun with the games I purchase?
    • xXdredgXx, on 06/15/2008, -5/+3Really I don't care about the achievements and I don't care about other peoples achievements points

      But what I do care about is the whole xbox live bashing that's whats really ruining the fun for everyone not peoples gamerscores
    • KyjL, on 06/15/2008, -4/+1Or just play WoW.
    • RisingAgainst, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2It's like you're saying you can't do both.
      • RedS0x, on 06/16/2008, -1/+1Exactly. I rarely look at the list of achievements but still get quite a few of them. If you just play the game, you'll probably get a good bit of the achievements. If you've finished the game, have a look at the list to see what you've missed.
  • Malakhii, on 06/15/2008, -1/+142Man not getting credit for easy and medium when I beat hard on guitar hero 3 really pissed me off.
    • crashingechelon, on 06/15/2008, -0/+11I agree games like that need to have Stackable achievements for difficulty and give you the same unlocks as easy and medium. Also if you can 5 star all the songs on hard then it should give you the achievements for doing that on easy and medium as well. I was glad when I found out Rock Band had stackable difficulty achievements, sure I'm stuck on two songs on expert but as soon as I beat them i'll be getting the achievements for easy, medium, hard, and expert.
    • FXPooky, on 06/15/2008, -4/+16One of the many things that make Rock Band superior. :)
    • quasipolymath, on 06/15/2008, -1/+5I stopped playing immediately after this happened to me. I felt cheated. To be fair, though, non-stacking achievements were not the only thing wrong with GH III. That was just the last straw. I really think that this is encompassed by the "Don't give achievements for unnatural play" commandment from the article as well. Achievements should be given for exceptional play, and to add challenge, humor or enjoyment to the game. Giving achievements for making someone play deliberately beneath their ability makes it seem like the developer is out of touch with how their audience plays, or wants to play, their games.
    • UnkelJethro, on 06/15/2008, -10/+15 stars on easy? You're pathetic. And I suppose you don't have grades at your school, just various colours of stars they stick on your helmet.
    • Switchnig, on 06/15/2008, -5/+5GH3 is pure garbage. ***** neversoft.
    • bonk2k, on 06/15/2008, -0/+5I was pleasantly surprised when Stranglehold gave me credit for beating easy when I beat normal difficulty.
    • Andrwmorph, on 06/16/2008, -1/+1I dislike most of the tracks for Guitar Hero 3.
  • orion846, on 06/15/2008, -1/+62i'm getting the feeling from these comments, that nobody on digg would approve of my 3 hours spent driving back and forth on the airport runway in GTAIV, for the sake of getting the 5 rolled over achievement. (yes... 3 hours... i don't know why either... please don't ask)
    • Jholder112233, on 06/15/2008, -3/+17Why would you spend 3 hours driving up and down for one achievement? (Sorry, had to ask)
      • lcmatt, on 06/15/2008, -0/+113 hours? It took me around 4 attempts before it unlocked. Just get loads of speed and hit the corner of the sign and you'll flip enough times to get it.
      • Pyehole, on 06/15/2008, -1/+24Why climb a mountain? Because it is there.
        • Vironex, on 06/15/2008, -2/+15That's how I justify masturbation.
        • du4l1ty, on 06/16/2008, -0/+6For the same reason that I played for 5-6 hours to get the mile high achievement in cod4.
        • NCg8r, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1Crushing loneliness?
    • orion846, on 06/15/2008, -1/+24there's a term for it in psychology, i can't remember it now, but you know how like you'll spend a lot of time trying to do something, and then you feel compelled to finish it no matter what the costs, because you've already vested so much time/resources in it, and you feel like if you quit now, all that previous effort goes to waste? because of that, an hour of trying soon turned into 1.5 hours, then to 2 hours, then to 3 hours, you get the idea. i'm not saying it was logical or anything, but that's what happened. and @lcmatt, trust me that's what i'm doing, i guess i just have HORRIBLE luck, cus it's just not happening for me.
  • PosedMagnet, on 06/15/2008, -13/+9Biggest one is... no more secret achievements.

    What's the point in keeping something secret? Just as with finding ***** busywork items like flags/pigeons, all people are gonna do is look up the secret achievements on a guide anyway.
    • NoQuarter, on 06/15/2008, -0/+40It's alright if they'd spoil the game. Some secret achievements are for finishing levels, killing characters, etc.

      The Bioshock ones would spoil the hell out of the story if they weren't hidden!
      • PosedMagnet, on 06/15/2008, -0/+10That one is fine, but 90% of the time they're misused and it's some trivial ***** that leaves you asking "...and this is secret because...?"

        For example, in Tony Hawk Project 8, "Break 15 bones in one fall" or "Score a 10,000,000 point combo."

        Why are those secret?
        • BearinG, on 06/16/2008, -0/+2They just want you to play and not know what to look for.. so that you keep playing for ever or until they unlock randomly because you played forever..
      • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3Fair enough, but unless there's a really good reason they shouldn't be secret. For example, most of the online ach's in Quake 4 are secret. Why is "Get 1000 Frags" secret when "Get 100 Frags" is not? All it does is make it difficult for me to compare achievements with people on my friends list (as unless I've unlocked the same ach, it shows up as "Secret").
    • elementfire, on 06/15/2008, -0/+5I think the only secret achievement that impressed me was N+'s "Practice Makes Perfect". I laughed when I got it. It's awarded for dying one thousand times.
  • Quicksilver4648, on 06/15/2008, -2/+6I do agree about Gears of War. That game had the worst achievements. People who couldn't even conceive how to use a sniper, torque, or hammer properly always picked them up in ranked matches just to try their luck and get one kill closer for the achievement.
    • sinembarg0, on 06/15/2008, -0/+6"Seriously" pisses me off. I've probably played gears for 100 hours, and I'm still not quite halfway there. 10000 kills is a ton. My friend has over 10000 kills (yes over 9000 too), but still has not gotten the achievement. I like games similar to the orange box, that tell you your progress, and actually give it to you when you complete it.
      • Thorpe, on 07/01/2008, -0/+1Cliffy said in an interview for Gears of War 2 that you'll be able to view progress of achievements like that. Too bad there's no support anymore for the first title.
    • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+8Correction: the *ONLINE* achievements in Gears blew. The single-player and co-op ones actually made a lot of sense. Difficulty ones were stackable, and you basically got them for progressing through the game, with the odd one or two for doing something a little extra (beating a boss, etc).

      But yeah, any achievement that reads "Get XXXX kills with YYYY weapon" sucks (and unfortunately so many games have followed suit -- RSV for example). And don't get me started on Seriously, anyone who got that one legit should legally change his/her name to Marcus Fenix as they must be obsessed with the game.
  • rowlodge, on 06/15/2008, -2/+27i wish people would stop asking others to help them get an achievement in halo 3, its bad enough.
    • elementfire, on 06/15/2008, -4/+1Actually, Halo 3's multi-player achievements were too few for a game that was supposed to be the cornerstone of Live on the 360 for many years to come. Simply no longevity.
      • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+9Huh? If that's the case then why is CoD4 with no online achievements been the king of XBL for a few months now (well, until GTA4 came along, but it recently just reclaimed the title back from GTA).
        • elementfire, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1I guess I was just expecting something groundbreaking with Halo 3's achievements.
  • FriedTurkey, on 06/15/2008, -16/+2I thought this would be some kind of parody. Instead it is someone who take achievements way too seriously. I didn't even understand what the hell he was talking about for half of it. I guess if you are an achievement whore you understand.
  • itsthebrod, on 06/15/2008, -4/+93Can we please get rid of stupid, virtually unachievable achievements such as beating game developers in online mode? I'm pretty sure I'll hit the lottery before I magically matched up in an online game with a developer and subsequently win.
    • Velok, on 06/15/2008, -0/+9A friend of mine actually got that achievement in GH. Played a random match online, he was winning the match, the other guy quit before the song was over, and that was it.
      But it still is an achievement most players will never even have a chance to get....
      • itsthebrod, on 06/15/2008, -1/+26That's my point. Achievements should be attainable through skill, not by 100% luck.
        • SuperSnake2012, on 06/15/2008, -0/+10Well that achievement in particular was viral; if you beat someone that had the achievement, the game would automatically give it to you.
      • sinembarg0, on 06/15/2008, -0/+6I'm not a GH developer, but my friend got that achievement playing Co-op with me over XBL. He hadn't played any other online at all, so we know it was from co-op. GH3 achievements are ***** up.
      • PubeStache, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1That achievement as well as many other beat a dev based achievements are viral. The one's that aren't are done by EA. Beat an EA mod in NFS Carbon and NFS Prostreet.
    • rowlodge, on 06/15/2008, -1/+5i got one of those in "project gotham racing" ,on almost my first try, these developers suck at their own game. (it's no big deal)
      • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3Actually that's a viral achievment, anybody who beats someone who has it will get Giant Killer, doesn't have to be a dev.
    • quasipolymath, on 06/15/2008, -5/+2They actually have scheduled "Game against the devs" nights for most games. They announce them weeks in advance on XBL. You are pretty much guaranteed to get lucky and kill/beat one of them at one of these events.
    • Jeffler, on 06/15/2008, -1/+20Actually, how it works is you just have to beat someone with the acheivement. Its basically assuming in the chain of wins that got you the achievement you would've beat the dev anyway.
      • Propapanda, on 06/15/2008, -6/+1No that's not how it works. I know that because I have the dev beat achievement in GH3 and my friend has it in GTA4... beating each other does not pass it on.
        • endlessoul, on 06/15/2008, -0/+5Yes, it does. I got Let Sleeping Rockstars Lie during a Cops & Crooks match killing some random guy, not a Dev.

          The same goes for GHIII. I got the Dev achievement beating a random player.

          Both of those dev achievements are viral. Period.
    • PunkRampant, on 06/15/2008, -0/+5In GH3, you could get the achievement by beating a guy who beat a dude who beat someone who beat the developer.
      • SenorBudd, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1I don't think that's right... Though that would explain the los GS on the "dev." I beat.
    • phort99, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4In GTA4, the "let sleeping rockstars lie" achievement is viral (despite what the achievement description says). If you beat someone who beat someone who beat a rockstar developer, you get the achievement.
      • weejp101, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1I got it in GTA :D
      • olithebumm, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1Yeh, I thought it would be.
        Bit of a shame.I got that achievement in one of my first online games, however that was release day so maybe I did kill a developer
    • FoxOrian, on 06/15/2008, -0/+6Remember the achievements for Perfect Dark Zero's online mode?
      There were achievements for beating each game mode 1,000 goddamn times. With the various game modes, I'm pretty sure I'd STILL be trying to get just one of those achievements and not be very close.

      Games should never have the borderline absurd requirement achievements.

      I believe a good game should allow you to unlock all the achievements within the area of 70~100 hours of play time, and some level of mastery of the game. They shouldn't feel like a second job.
      • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+5How about Quake 4: "Played over 5,000 ranked matches". Given that you have to sit in a lobby for 2 minutes before the match starts, that means at least 10000 minutes of lobby time alone. If you figure each match to last 1 minute (which is way short), that's 15000 total minutes, or 250 hours of playtime.

        I suppose I should just be grateful it's "play 5000" and not "win 5000".
        • HolyChimp, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3Didn't Quake 4 have the achievement of 'Rank 1st in the world'?
    • BearinG, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1what about people that buy the game in a year or so when everyone stopped playing.. there's no way you'll ever get that achievement..
    • Thorpe, on 07/01/2008, -0/+1EA are typical windups by placing their 'Beat an EA Moderator" in some of their titles.
  • Me0wmix, on 06/15/2008, -2/+21I really don't like it when people in Love Wolves on Halo ask if everybody wants to get the Achievements.

    Hence the name, "Achievements."
    • onlynameicanget, on 06/15/2008, -1/+25I love wolves too!
    • dylio, on 06/16/2008, -0/+3Can you feel the love tonight...
    • callit, on 06/16/2008, -0/+3It's fun to pretend like you're playing along and just toss a grenade or two between them all. That usually gets it back to a lone wolves game pretty quickly.
  • ElAssoWipo, on 06/15/2008, -12/+7IF you don't know french, don't use french words.

    "Achievements was a nice way to piqué some more interest"

    Achievements was a nice way to "sting or itch" some more interest"
    • Whackly, on 06/15/2008, -1/+16pique some interest or similar is a common phrase in english. get over it.
      • manitoba98xp, on 06/15/2008, -2/+1Yes, but don't add French accents to it.
      • HeatVision, on 06/15/2008, -1/+8Dictionary cops, "piqué" with the accent has a different meaning than "pique" without the accent. The author's use with the accent was incorrect according to dictionary.com and thus I rule in favour of ElAssoWipo the sum of ten Internets.
        • Yesplease, on 06/15/2008, -2/+3I never rule in favor of ElAssoWipo, that guy is a dick in every thread almost.
        • ElAssoWipo, on 06/15/2008, -4/+2A dick who's always right, pussy.
        • nobodyreads, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3I sense anger and resentment...
    • Greengoo, on 06/15/2008, -0/+16ElAssoWipo, if you don't speak Spanish, don't create a lame Digg Spanish username.
    • gryphon50, on 06/15/2008, -1/+3a large number of words in English come from French so we would be cutting out quite a bit to do as you say.
      • ElAssoWipo, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3You don't have to stop using them, just use them right.

        And "entrée" means appetizer.
  • lukasmack, on 06/15/2008, -0/+15Make thou achievemnts actually work. Yeah I'm looking at you gears of war and seriously.
    • ch4os1337, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1There not even actually achievements by definition, there milestones. e.g "Kill 100 enemies in ranked matches with the Boomshot"
    • MrFisty, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1Don't forget NFS Carbon which has broken achievements, CC3 which has achievements you can't unlock if you do them in the wrong order, or a bunch of the EA Sports 06 and 07 titles where they turned off the servers making it impossible to ever get those achievements.
  • tehdave, on 06/15/2008, -1/+9The only achievement that I have slaved over is the Zombie Genocider in Dead Rising. But only because its fun to kill massive amounts of zombies in the tunnels and the achievement name is just plain cool.

    I am proud to say I am not a Achievement whore.
  • Goldbricker, on 06/15/2008, -10/+5What is the big deal with achievements? I hear about them all the time, but I really could care less. Does it do anything for you? Or is it just the thrill of accomplishment?
    • thestranger, on 06/15/2008, -1/+11Well if you play video games you know why they are fun. Allow me to demonstrate

      "What is the big deal with beating video games? I hear about them all the time, but I really could care less. Does it do anything for you? Or is it just the thrill of accomplishment?"
      • Goldbricker, on 06/15/2008, -5/+1Dude, I was just asking a question. I really don't know if there's some benefit to collecting achievement points or what. I hear about them a lot, but beyond just "Hey guys I got a bunch of achievement points," I don't know what they're good for. I didn't know if you could trade them in for downloadable content or get a special reward. It just seemed like I heard so much about them and people are so psyched about getting them that I wanted to know more about what they were.
        • dood, on 06/15/2008, -0/+11They're good for exactly what high score lists on arcade machines are good for.
        • Pyehole, on 06/15/2008, -0/+5Bragging rights, pure bragging rights.
        • HolyChimp, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1@dood: spelling naughty 3 letter words?
        • coyote1284, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1I would be cool if achievement points could be used to unlock in-game extras and/or trade in so many AP for purchase points (effectively giving you free games/content for loyal/compulsive gaming).
    • domokunt, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2They need to be well structured, so it works out as a fun extra objective that isn't to hard or easy. Flying under all the bridges in gta iv was very cool.
    • TripKore, on 06/15/2008, -5/+0I don't give 2 ***** less either. It's absolutely pointless. The only reason why people do it so they can show off to their friends "I got 30,000 gamerpoints! I HAVE NO LIFE!".
      • logicalnoise, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2says the guy with only 990 game rpoints.
    • RedS0x, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1couldn't care less*
      • TripKore, on 06/17/2008, -1/+0Correcting spelling, grammar on the internet is like the special olympics. Get a life man.
  • fani, on 06/15/2008, -4/+17Achievements started out as a nice concept. It gave meaning to beating that tough boss or rewarding your patience with the game etc. And getting 1000/1000 is a nice feeling of having completed the game. Achievement unlocked is a sweet sound to hear in-game.
    But then comes "ok, so what now ? "

    I feel achievements could have been so much more. Microsoft laid the foundation for something wonderful with achievements in gaming and then stopped. There are no rewards for the achievements - no free theme, picture pack or free downloadable extra movie or level or free arcade game etc. for having gotten achievements. Nothing. What we got is more greed from them - stupid microtransactions.

    Achievements still has potential. Microsoft can still have developers give us benefits from unlocking stuff in the game....
    Here's to hoping for that.
    • NoJobBob, on 06/15/2008, -1/+4That is what I fully expected them to be. Achievements should reward the player with more than just a meaningless score. I would definitely like to see them be linked to anything you suggested. Even something like a simple picture pack would be cool enough. And for those truly difficult ones actually reward the player with something cool and unique. Here's hoping they wise up.
    • matt247, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1Some games give you a gamer pic, but I agree that we should get free themes and pics. If people see us using their gamer pic online it will advertise their game, so I don't see why they don't do more of that. I guess they are just greedy because they want us to buy those extras.
    • quasipolymath, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4I do agree that it would be nice if achievements could be cashed in for something or provided some special recognition. I think now that MS has cracked down on the people who were gaming the system via gamesaves, this may actually be a possibility.
      • coyote1284, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1Saves should be "stamped" with the gamertag of the saver; if the gamertag does not match, no achievements awarded at all (like when they're locked when using in-game cheats.)
    • logicalnoise, on 06/15/2008, -1/+3giving any kind of substantial reward would breed even more terrible achievement farming. keeping achievements
    • elementfire, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3At some point, MS did consider letting people convert gamerscore to MS-points, but they looked at the ill-structured achievements in many games and scrapped it. [Citation needed]
    • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1Why would they do that though? It'd kill off a cash cow for them. It'd be nice if things like gamerpics unlocked as you progressed through games (and some do), but it wouldn't change anything for me. I try to get achievements to get GS, not for some other reason. To me, GS has intrinsic rather than instrumental value.

      It's like high scores in a game, it gives you an incentive to push yourself harder to try and score higher. Only difference is that it's across games so it gives you that little bit of incentive to check out games you'd otherwise never check out (before the 360 I had never played a football or basketball game before, and I've played a number of "kids" games that turned out to be fun such as Viva Pinata).

      Look at it this way, has the fact that CoD3 or Undertow have unlockable gamerpics made you want to play those games? Probably not.
    • NCg8r, on 06/16/2008, -0/+0Viva Pinata may look like a kids' game, but I wouldn't classify it as such...
  • HeatVision, on 06/15/2008, -1/+6Doesn't the logic for commandment one contradict commandment two? He says you shouldn't deny player two achievements, otherwise it's unfair, but then in the next one says players two, three and four should get unique achievements. So wouldn't that be denying player one those unique achievements?
    • sinembarg0, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1No. Your argument makes no sense. By unique achievements, he means achievements like "we're in for some chop" (kill an enemy vehicle with equipment) in Halo 3. So if player 2, 3, or 4 does that while split screening, they would still be able to get the achievement. Games already allow player one to get unique achievements, if they didn't no one would have them. as for the first point, allow player 2 to get achievements, that would be like beating Halo 3 on legendary split screening, and only giving player 1 the achievement, when both players deserve it.
      • coyote1284, on 06/16/2008, -1/+1How do you give player 2 the achievement on a split screen game? You're playing on player 1's gamertag. The only way I can think of to make it work would be to have an in-game menu for P2 to enter his gamertag and pw, then when he gets home and starts his 360 the achievements are awarded.
      • sinembarg0, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1No, the only way Player 2 wold be playing on player ones gamertag would be as a guest, and that wouldn't make sense in co-op, unless you're doing co-op online. But when player 2 is signed in (pressing guide on 2nd controller), the game should give that person the achievements like it would for player one. Me and my friend were playing GH3, both of us were signed in, we were playing coop. We get 100% on a song, and my friend, who does not have that achievement yet, did not get it, even though he's signed in. I'm going through 5 starring medium (did H and X already) and hes doing it with me, start to finish. I'm worried that the game will only give it to me when we do it, since it didn't give him the other one. Thats a ***** game that doesn't consider that its a 2 person achievement, it should give both the achievement (Rockband does for endless setlist, completing cities, unlocking vehicles, everything in Band World Tour. Rockband got it right, at least with the software)
  • Lunacy182, on 06/15/2008, -3/+8"Killing a developer in GTA IV is a great example too. Anyone with that achievement has some pretty great bragging rights."

    If you were to brag about this achievement you would get flamed big time for it. It's one of the easiest achievements to get and everyone that plays online has it.
    • HeatVision, on 06/15/2008, -0/+10It's a viral achievement. I got it last night in a private match with four of my friends and none of them work for Rockstar.
    • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1I'd say the same thing about the NBA 07 one. It's not a true achievement, it's a complete fluke if you got it, and now it's impossible to get thereby making the game less appealing from an achievement perspective.
  • Mallhew, on 06/15/2008, -5/+61. Thou shalt not kill...?
  • domokunt, on 06/15/2008, -1/+12For one that GTA IV achievement is viral, anyone who killed someone who killed a dev gets it. Also what really annoys me is if I complete a game and get like, 10 gamerpoints for it or on the other hand over 700 just for a run through! That sucks.
  • Zhang5, on 06/15/2008, -3/+8I have to agree with everything on the list, however there should be no achievements that require co-op play. Maybe this makes me sound like I'm antisocial, but sometimes people don't have friends who can help them with the co-op. The idea of making single player achievements work on co-op is fine, but the inclusion of multiplayer only achievements is the exact same problem in reverse.
    • krazykor, on 06/15/2008, -8/+2It's okay Zhang5, just don't get too frustrated when it takes you a little longer than the other boys to make friends.
    • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+5Depends on the game. It'd have been pretty silly not to have co-op achievements in Army of Two since that game is completely centered around the idea of cooperative play.
  • IWDA4, on 06/15/2008, -3/+3So anyone who has killed someone in GTA online at least once in the past 3 weeks has bragging rights, since just from that they would obtain the 'Kill a Rocktstar Employee' achievement.
  • NoJobBob, on 06/15/2008, -0/+8The Gears of War achievement "My love for you is like a truck” is definitely my favorite title for one.
    • r3negadeX, on 08/11/2008, -0/+6What about "Series of Tubes" (also in Gears of War)? :D
      • estvir, on 06/16/2008, -0/+5The 'Is it a spider?' (Or something like that) is a winner too.
  • scurvydog00, on 06/15/2008, -2/+5I agree with the backwards achievements when you beat a game on a higher difficulty level. But he picked on the wrong game for an example. Rock Band already does give you achievements for the lower skill levels same time as you unlock the higher one.
    • reaper527, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2i was going to say that. i assume that it is just a typo and they meant to say guitar hero.
  • AVigorVermin, on 06/15/2008, -2/+8"Thou Shalt Not Deny Player 2 Achievement Points"

    "Thou Shalt Allow the Second, Third, and Fourth Players Unlock Unique Achievements."

    Why should the developer allow for the side characters to get unique achievements, but not the main character? Is it me, or is he contradicting himself here?
    • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1Sorta. He really means in the 1st point that 2nd players shouldn't be prevented from getting achievements (like is the case in many games), but yeah if you're going to have achievements dedicated to a 2nd player then why not have a couple dedicated to the primary character. So maybe in Gears2 there will be Marcus-specific achievements, and some Dom-specific achievements (as well as maybe some Cole-specific ones if the rumours of co-op with more than 2 players turn out to be true).
      • LEPT0N, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1But his point was that it sucked to have to play through again with your friend a second time just because you were the wrong player.

        Having the Dom achievements is the same problem if you play through Co-op for the first time.
    • coyote1284, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1P1 is already getting achievements and even achevements for playing co-op. It's the other players that are usually missing out, even in online co-op.
  • Jacobmco, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2I agree with all of these although I think you should have made it 'thou shalt not create online achievements' full stop on that one.

    It is unfair on those less fortunate who do not have Xbox LIVE to bring down their reputation by putting achievements that are physically impossible for them to get on there consoles. It also encourages cheating on online play and gamesaves which are actually pretty sad.
    • coyote1284, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1If you don't have XBL, whose rep are you comparing to? If you have a 360, but no broadband access, I don't think the online experience is your motivation to play the games.
  • matt247, on 06/15/2008, -5/+0Top Spin 3 has an achievement worth 0 points. It's called Tennis Elbow-Lose a singles match on Xbox LIVE without winning a game. I think that's funny and it's like a badge of shame. I think it will encourage more experienced player to play online rather than just going online without learning how to play.
  • Swarms, on 06/15/2008, -2/+10I disagree with the pigeons thing in GTA. They don't take away gameplay. Sure you're not going to just happen across them while you're playing the game, but I always considered that the point of the achievements....to give you another reason to roam around and play the game, after everything else is done. It gives replay value to a game where you otherwise might have quit a long time ago. And no one is saying you HAVE to finish every achievement, to me they are just suggestions on what else you can do after you beat the game.
    • jax9999, on 06/16/2008, -0/+3Idunno, I'm purposely avoiding the maps of the pigeons. but i get this little excited feeling when i hear the coo coo. fave one was when i was swimming off of bohan (don't ask) and heard it.
    • CanIGetAWitness, on 06/16/2008, -0/+2Finding things are cool, finding a lot of the same thing blows.
      All the pigeon's on GTA IV and those orbs on Crackdown. The agility orb was ok as they were easy to spot and provided good challenges to get to, but the hidden orbs like the pigeon's blow because there are so many, the effect wears off and you just wind up saying ***** it or get a map to finish.
  • Zihuatanejo, on 06/15/2008, -13/+3Somehow I think the word "achievement" doesn't really belong anywhere near the realm of video games.
    • JBish828, on 06/15/2008, -5/+2I agree, but had to digg you down. Sorry, dude.
  • Jacobmco, on 06/15/2008, -0/+0Too true. I also think they should get rid of 'secret' achievements because you usually get a lot of gamerscore for googling two words.
  • VinnieDaMac, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3I don't like Co-Op achievements, most of my friends don't play videogames and I don't feel like having to play online through a game with someone I don't know.

    Online achievements are bittersweet too, they encourage people to play online, but once the game gets old, those are points you'll never be able to get legitimately.

    A lot of XBL arcade games have online achievements, but most of those games are dead online.
  • DaveyDeadite, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4the first achievement to make me laugh was in portal when you had to throw the companion cube in the fire and the achievement description was 'Do whatever it takes to survive"
  • Cenobia, on 06/15/2008, -2/+1"snigger?" Sounds like someone's been playing Live too much. All the racist 10 year olds are getting to him
  • dolemite01, on 06/15/2008, -1/+8Whoever gets 1000/1000 on Final Fantasy XI should be locked away.
    • FFXIfrohike, on 06/16/2008, -0/+5They already have been!

      Ha. See what I did there?
    • Trumath, on 06/16/2008, -0/+2I see what you did there
  • r3negadeX, on 08/11/2008, -0/+10For me, the indivdual achievement itself (like beating the damn plane level on Veteran in CoD4) carries a lot more value than the points it's worth.
    • PedleZelnip, on 06/15/2008, -0/+7TOTALLY. Mile High Club was like that, the rush after you finally nail the headshot on the terrorist was worth more than a basically random number attached to that act.
  • Gregory11, on 06/16/2008, -15/+1I have a PS3, this better than X-box
  • josereyes0, on 06/16/2008, -1/+3Players that need 'Achievement' points to gauge and compare themselves to other gamers need to re-evaluate their life.
    • NCg8r, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1I think they're fun and add a little something to the gaming experience. However, I am sad when I see people sweating these points or crying because the way you unlock them "isn't fair". If they gave you access to new gear or unlocked hidden levels, I would totally understand. As it is now, tho? Pathetic...
  • rsalsman, on 06/16/2008, -0/+0I think in the next iteration of achievement points they should unlock things to be used in a metagame. For instance, certain achievements could unlock trading cards that could be used in an XBOX Live CCG. Other achievements could unlock special units to be used in a XBOX Live turn based strategy game. These game pieces could be purchased outside of achievements as well, but they would give a much larger benefit to getting achievements in multiple games.

    http://www.kongregate.com/cards
    See the above link for something similar. They use time base challenges instead of achievement points, but the underlying thought is the same. If this isn't implemented in version two of achievements then I'll be sorely disappointed.
  • junskey, on 06/16/2008, -2/+3achievements are pointless.
  • justice7, on 06/16/2008, -0/+3Thou shalt not worry about their gamerscore. It won't get you laid.
    • JGib, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1Also, thou should not be so worried about getting laid, if your a nice enough guy the girls will come to you
      • justice7, on 06/17/2008, -0/+2i'm an ***** and they come to me just fine.
  • crazym0nkey01, on 06/16/2008, -2/+1Amen.
  • IHATEHIM, on 06/16/2008, -2/+0"Thou Shalt Create Achievements of Opportunity." Kill a dev is viral, and that NBA one is retarded. Halo 3 is a very good example of how online achievements should work.
  • tehknotte, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1I really would like it if old games got achievements too, and those across platforms. I totally agree with these suggestions, especially the one about unlocking the lower difficulty achievements at the same time as beating the higher ones. Playing Guitar Hero III on easy and normal is very boring.
  • jumboshrimp11, on 06/16/2008, -0/+2One achievement I thought was really cool was this one from Perfect Dark Zero, i think it was, it was a virus achievement, where if you killed someone who had the achievement, then you would receive it yourself! I thought that was really creative.
  • Pyroteq, on 06/16/2008, -0/+2No mention of the GoW achievement: "A Series of Tubes"?
  • djpray2k, on 06/16/2008, -0/+3The big problem I have is when points are un-ballanced.

    In FIFA08 you get 10points for winning a league on season mode (premirship, serie a etc.) but you get the same amount of points for just creating a character.

    I love achivements but I wouldn't say I'm a whore of them. I like that they add another dimension to the game as well as just beating it.
  • NCg8r, on 06/16/2008, -2/+0"Stop making us play the watered down versions in order to get our scores up."

    Is this guy serious? How ridiculous to even care....
  • Andrwmorph, on 06/16/2008, -1/+2I have a friend who is an achievement whore and its starting to really get tiring. Every time we play a game we can't just have enjoy the game itself and explore it. He makes us go after every single damn achievement, and he shoots you down if you suggest differently.

    PLAY GAMES FOR FUN NOT FOR IMAGINARY POINTS!
  • tomz17, on 06/16/2008, -0/+2Best game ever for achievements was viva pinata party animals... It spews achievement points at you!
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