Poll Results - Wrong to play Avatar for the points?

Okay here's the results for the last poll.

Is it wrong to play Avatar: The Burning Earth for the easy achievement points?

Yes = 1 vote
No = 3 votes

I wonder who voted yes. Probably my brother dain. Anyhoo! I have to say I'm really torn about this one. On one had, if I could up my gamer score by 1,000 points in 10 minutes or so that would be great. On the other hand, I like playing games for the experience. Throwing the achievements in adds to that, but would I continue to play the game if I've already earned all the achievements especially if that was all I was playing it for? And on the other hand, I do wonder a little bit about what people would think if they saw this game on my list. (Achievement whore!) I get enough grief sometimes from people that I don't need to add that to the mix. On the other hand, I don't really care who sees what in my profile because I play games to have fun. And on the other hand, would I have fun if I just played a game for the points? Ugh! I'm starting to feel like the Hindu Goddess Lakshnu.

I might put in a game every now and then to play specifically to get an achievement (only because I'm close to getting it anyway) but I haven't yet bought/borrowed/rented a game to play solely for the points I could get out of it. I play games for the experience. That's why I've started Legend of Dragoon and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance over again even after I've finished the game. Do I expect to unlock an achievement I didn't get the first time? No. I just liked the game play and the story. Besides, those games don't have achievements.

Right now I'm really getting into playing BioShock. But not too long ago I photocopied the pages in the guide where all the journals are listed so that I could cross them off my list and make sure I got all of them. But I soon found myself picking up journals but not bothering to check the list for ones I might have missed. Every now and then I go to the menu and check off the ones I've got but I'm not making any real effect to make sure I get them all this time through. Why? Because right now the story matters more to me than picking up journals. Yes, I know there's an achievement for getting them all but I'm concentrating more on what I need to do in the story and how I'm going to defeat the next Big Daddy that comes along.

With the exception of one or two achievements (I'll talk about those in another post) I've earned every gamer point I've gotten. Some were easier than others. And some came close to me chucking my controller through the TV screen. But I remember a lot of them. The joys of finally hearing that melodic beep and seeing that oblong blip on a corner of the screen is euphoric. It means something. Would a quick 10 minutes of work for 1,000 points mean the same? Probably not.

That doesn't mean I'm knocking any of my friends for playing this game and getting the points. Some day I might change my mind and play it myself. But for right now I want to earn what I get. If it takes me a couple of weeks, months or years to get all the achievements for a game I'm okay with that. Just think of all the memories I'll have for those 1,000 points. Avatar: The Burning Earth might be worth 1,000 points now, but memories from my other games will last me a lifetime.

A benefit of playing games you've finished

Do you go back and play games you've already finished? You see the end credits roll but sometime later you've just got to put the game back in and play some more. I'm not talking about those "save+" games that let you keep all the stuff you've collected from the previous game so you have it available at the beginning of the new game for "a new experience". I'm talking about starting from scratch.

I've started Legend of Dragoon a couple of times. That's a great game. I've even started Final Fantasy Tactics Advance over (several times before I finished, but once since I've finished). And there's some Arcade games I've "finished" by getting all the achievements that I've gone back and played some more. But those games (Backgammon and Carcassonne) are games that don't really have credits that roll when the game's over. Jewel Quest on the other hand does . . . kind of.

My interest in Arcade games comes in fits. I become obsessive about a particular game and I have to play that game every day. Jewel Quest was one of those games. I made it to the end, got all my achievement points and I was done. I could have continued playing all the way back from the first level but I didn't think I would be playing that game again. Not because it's not a good game, but what else was there to see or do with it?

What I did learn while obsessively playing that game is that it's a very good decompressing game for me. When I get home from a very stressful day at work a level or two of that game and I'm more relaxed. And after an adrenaline filled night of shooting people playing that game kelps me calm down enough that when I do go to bed I'm not tossing and turning for hours before I fall asleep.

Some of my friends don't understand why I continue to play that game even after finishing it. And sometimes I don't understand myself. I just know that every now and then I just have to load it up and play a grid or two before moving on to something more serious. And since I don't have to worry about whether I’m going to make it to the next level or not, or what achievement points I need to pick up the game is very beneficial in many ways. My blood pressure goes down, my mood goes up and I don't have to feel like a loser because I came in last.