Look, I found a pic of Eli as a boy! - There are rules (written and unwritten) for everything. Go ahead and think about it. Is there anything you do throughout your day that doesn't have a rule attached to it? Unless you're super rich or a pro athlete, probably not. Now its time to lay down the rules for being an Achievement Junkie. Oh, sure, you can break the rules, but then you're nothing but a dirty little point whore, looked down upon by society and forced to wear a shirt labeling you as a fraud. Naturally this goes into effect after this post and is not retroactive because I've broken every single one of these rules at some point or another..
The following five rules were created to clarify the most honest ways to earn points. The biggest criteria is that you have to earn your score. Of course "earning" points is subjective but from my own experience as a recovering AP addict, I never felt bad about increasing my score by piling them up all by myself, without any help or by cheating. Achievement Points are one of the best things about owning a 360, but point whoring has diluted its value. While I'm certainly as guilty as every other point hoarder, I think its time to set things straight.
.
The Achievement Point Manifesto
.
1. No Subs - Having someone play a game for you just to earn points is cheating, so is playing a game for someone else to earn points. This doesn't mean you can't help a friend get through a tough spot. There have been many times I've helped my son through games when he got stuck and my brother and I have swapped strategies numerous times. But having a friend play for you just to earn points is flat out wrong.
.
2. Rentals are okay, borrowing is not - You might think renting a game just for the points is cheating. I completely disagree because you're paying for it. Its like buying a game for a few days, and no one would consider it wrong to buy a game and trying to get as many points as you can from it. If you want to spend your time and your money ($7+) on a rental just for the points, go for it. But borrowing a game from a friend solely for the points, not to try it out and have fun with it, is cheating. Earning incidental points on a borrow is fine, but playing through the whole game and beating it? That's wrong. Just buy a copy for yourself you cheap bastard.
.
3. Games from a questionable source are questionable - As of right now this only refers to those discount titles from Burger King but you know that someday a company will do the exact same thing BK did. I'm really looking forward to a Subway sponsored videogame where Jared slaps junk food out of random NPC's hands and replaces it with a club sandwich. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy a title from a place like this but buying the whole set just to earn a cheap 600 points (looking around uncomfortably, waiting to be struck by lightning for being a hypocrite) is a bad idea.
.
4. Cheat codes are bad, mkay - Many games won't allow you to earn Achievements if you have cheat codes turned on but some will let you get away with it. If you can't beat a game without using a code, what kind of gamer are you? But if you use a code for the points, that's even worse. The only time cheat codes should be used is to doing something crazy in a game. The goofy codes for GTA games (who doesn't love seeing Elvis everywhere?) are a good example.
.
5. Don't play games you don't like just for the points - Of all the rules, this should be the easiest to follow and if you follow only one rule, this should be it. If you play games you don't like just for the points you will lose your passion for games, I guarantee it. Let me give you an example. Because of my job, I play 1-2 new games a week. Fortunately I don't have to finish all of them because there are plenty of duds and I don't review every game I get. Even though I'm an Achievement nut I refuse to finish a game if I don't like it. I played Vampire Rain, a game with some fairly easy points and didn't earn a single point from it because it sucked. Army of Two (20 points), Turok (10 points), Devil May Cry 4 (0 points), MLB 2K8 (30 points) are just a few of the games I've played in recent weeks that I just didn't like enough to keep playing. If I wanted to, I could have over 100K points but I just can't choke down a game I don't like. Neither should you.
.
And finally, in an unrelated note - Congrats to Andrew Ramsey, a reader from Texas who won the Dark Sector giveaway. Andrew is the proud winner of a Dark Sector faceplate, comic book, poster, and a 1600 Point MS card. More giveaways are coming in the near future and look for the first As the Gaming World Turns happy hour soon.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment