Poll Resuls - Do you like secret achievements?

Why don't you come in really close and I'll tell you a secret . . .

BACK OFF YOU'RE TOO CLOSE!!!!!

Okay, so maybe that wasn't a secret. But if you want me to tell you mine, you've got to tell me yours first.

But onto the poll results. Here they are:

Do you like secret achievements in games?

Yes, I love the mystery of 'em = 0 votes
No, I hate not knowing what to play for = 4 votes
You know, I just don't really care = o votes
For me, nothing stays a secret for long = 1 vote

Well, I voted with the majority. I think orphan summed it up nicely in the comments when I released the poll. If you don't want to look that up he basically said that secret achievements for the story are okay. If you play through everything you'll eventually unlocked them and they won't be a secret anymore. I really like this idea.

As a developer wouldn't you want the people who play your games to discover the story as it unfolds as they play it? If you put in an achievement that states something like "sacrifice your dog to save your life" or "you just married your handsome prince" don't you think, that moment in the story would become less emotionally powerful if the gamer had already seen that "spoiler" on their achievement list?

I have friends who look at the list of achievements as soon as they put the game in, even before they've played any of it. They're looking for information to how the story is going to play out. Are most of the achievement towards the beginning? Towards the end? Are they story based or multiplayer based? If they're looking to get all achievements in a game it helps to know how you might want to play it.

One things Xbox Live does right (IMHO) is that if one of your friends have unlocked a secret achievement it will still show up as secret when you try to look at their achievement list. They earned that secret achievement, now it's time for you to earn it so you can know what it is.

But that's where the problem is. Not all developers put in story based secret achievements. They have secret achievements for doing very specific things that might not fall into the "regular" way someone would play the game. There might be a specific task that you need to perform in a specific area that is not related to elements of the story. If you don't know what those things are you're never going to get that achievement . . . unless you look it up and specifically play the game to do those things. While I can't speak for the developers about that, I don't think that's what they had in mind on how they wanted you to play the game.

And what if you wanted to know what those secret achievements were? You can't find out on Xbox Live so you've got to go to a computer and look them up. There are tons of sights that will tell you what all the achievements are and what you need to do to get them. But if you're playing the game and concentrating on doing a specific thing in a specific area are you really paying any attention to what's actually going on in the story? Is that how we should be playing games?

Now, I've played games trying to do specific things. Like finding all the Intel or cog tags or journals or what-nots that developers like to hide in their games. But those achievements aren't usually secret. The developers WANT you to explore their world and find things. By seeing an achievement that says "find all 50 purple bottle caps" then you know to be on the look out for them as you play. And you'll spend time exploring every nook and cranny in an area to make sure you haven't missed one. If the developers made that achievement secret and your character picked up a purple bottle cap in the game would you even know that it meant something? Probably not.

To sum things up, in general, I don't like secret achievements. But if used wisely, and to prevent gamers from finding spoilers in games, I think they can be very beneficial to playing games. I just don't like it when they make them so secret and selective about what you need to do that you spend almost as much time looking them up as you do playing the game. Because once you know you have to "defeat the Gorgon for killing the love of your life" are you really going to want to play the game when you know what happens?

Poll - Do you want to know a secret?

Psst. Do you want to know a secret? I do. But it's a secret, so I don't know it. Except that I can know it, if I want to take the effort to find out what it is.

Oh, don't look at me like that. I haven't lost my mind. This is my gaming blog so obviously I'm talking about secret achievements. Duh. So here's my latest poll:

Do you like secret achievements in games?

Yes, I love the mystery of 'em
No, I hate not knowing what to play for
You know, I just don't really care
For me, nothing stays a secret for long

Almost there

At the beginning of June I set myself a little mini goal. I wanted to break the 20,000 gamer score barrier by Labor day. I had just under 2,000 points to go in order to hit that mark. It would be doable but I'd have to put in the effort.

My score currently stand sat 19,902. So close, and yet so far. It helped that I finally picked up some multiplayer achievements in Gears of War. I got points for hosting 50 matches, 100 chainsaw kills, and 100 revives. I also picked up a few achievements in Mass Effect and one for starting Lego Star Wars III and finishing the story in Puzzle Quest 2.

On the other hand I can't seem to get any more achievements in Clash of Heroes. I really loved that game and I worked hard to max out all my allies and specialists and finally got that achievement. But since then I can't seem to progress in the story. I'm on the third character (the ghost which I can't remember her name) and I got up to level 3 but now I can't win a battle. Everybody I run into is at least a level 5 and my troops just don't seem to have the defense to stand up to the enemy's attack. I think I've played that game for over an hour without progressing or winning anything. It's rather frustrating so I've stopped playing. I don't think I'll be getting any more achievements out of that game before Labor Day.

Since I've always had one arcade game that I obsess about I'm trying to find a replacement to fill my time. Everything I've tried to play hasn't interested me. While I know I can pick up some achievements in larger disk games, I like having a smaller arcade game to play when I want something quick and not so intense.

I've been working on my pistol and Boomshot kills in Gears so that might get me some points towards my goal, but I don't think I'll get those achievements before Labor Day. I might get them before Gears of War 3 comes out but that's later on in the month so I have more time.

I should also be able to pick up another achievement or two with Mass Effect. I want to finish that game before Gears 3 comes out because I won't be playing much else when I have that game in my hands. I'm pretty close to the end of the game but I don't know if the achievements I might get will be enough to push me over the 20k mark.

So I have a month and a half to get 98 points to reach my goal. You would think that because that number is only 2 digits it would seem absolutely attainable, but it doesn't. It might only be 2 digits but it feels so far away. But I can't wait to break that 20k barrier. I'm really tired of looking at a number one at the beginning of my gamer score. My gamer score was higher than Genghis's when I started his last tour of duty. Now he's up around 60,000 or so and I haven't even broken 20,000. And I also thought I played more video games than Sneaka but he's past the 20k mark and has been for awhile. And I don't want to think of Banco Billy's 200+k gamer score.

Will there be any hope for me to reach my goal? I hope so. I'm a competitive person so as long as I have friends with a higher score than me I'll keep trying and playing games. Maybe by the time I'm 80 years old I can reach the gamer score Banco Billy has today. Until then I'll just be happy trying to get to past 20,000.

Poll Results: What upcoming game are you most excited about?

So here's the results from my latest poll:

What upcoming game are you most excited about?

Gears of War 3 = 4 votes
Modern Warfare 3 = 1 vote
Mass Effect 3 = 1 vote
Elder's Scroll: Skyrim = 3 votes
Batman: Arkham City = 1 vote

I'm both surprised and not surprised by the voting. I'm not surprised that Skyrim got a bunch of votes. I am surprised that MW3 and ME3 didn't get more votes. And I'm surprised that GoW3 got as many votes as it did. Why? I'll tell you.

I have friends that live (and die) for Modern Warfare 2. They won't play anything else besides that. I would have thought the new game would have gotten more votes.

I also know how much critics and fans liked the Batman: Arkham Asylum game and that there's great anticipation for the new one. Several of my friends talk about looking forward to that game so why didn't they vote for it?

I guess I could say the same for Mass Effect. I have friends that have played both previous games several times just to see how changing one thing can impact the game. They can't wait to get in and finish the story and see how their character choices pan out after three games.

As for Gears? Well, I love the game and I can't wait to finish the story. I have several friends (usually the Call of Duty lovers) that have said they're not interested in getting the next Gears. I find that hard to believe, especially with how the voting turned out here. Granted, not all my friends are voting in my poll.

I'm excited if they do get Gears and I look forward to playing with them. The first two Gears games are a couple of the few games I've finished the story on. Since I don't finish games often you might guess that I can't wait for the game to come out. So that's why I voted for it. Of course I will be getting all of those games on the list, I'm just looking forward to the new Gears most of all. I think I'm even going to take some time off work just so I can play the story mode during the day so I can play the multiplayer mode at night.

Now, as for the games NOT on the list . . .

Battlefield 3:
I have several friends who have this game but I only know of one that is really looking forward to this game. While I'd like to play it, it doesn't rank that high up on my "looking forward to" list. Since I know it would only get one vote (if Genghis would ever vote in my poll) I didn't include it.

Halo 4:
I'm a sucker for series. I have all the Halo games (except Halo Wars) and I'll probably get this one too even thought I haven't finished the first one. I just don't like the idea of having the story unfinished. As far as looking forward to it . . . not really. Besides it doesn't come out until next year so I've got time to wait.

BioShock: Infinite:
This is a game that I'm REALLY looking forward to, but it doesn't come out until next year so that is why it wasn't on the list. I read online that this game swept four of the most sought after awards at E3 this year. I've been intrigued ever since I saw the first teaser for it. I can't wait to play it. Maybe my next poll "upcoming" poll will have it, but then again you already know how I'd vote.

Saints Row the Third:
I've heard some good things about this game, but since I've never played the first two and I really don't have any interest in this one, it wasn't on my poll. Sorry Zen (I think you were the one who mentioned it).

So now you all know what games I'll be buying this holiday season . . . and which one I'll most likely be playing. What games are on your wish list and ones that you're looking forward to? Which ones will you pre-order vs. just getting whenever? Leave a comment and let me know.

2 down 10 to go

I finally realized that in my quest to finish 12 games in 12 month that I've actually finished 2 games already.

The first game was Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale. I played it in co-op with Sneaka and Genghis. That was fun. It was nice to have someone else drive and yet still enjoy a hack and slash game. And if you put those two guys together you get one hell of a fun night. They're like peanut butter and jelly, cookies and cream or whipped cream and a hooker. Now, if I can only figure out which one is the whipped cream.

Anyway....

The other game I recently finished is Puzzle Quest 2. FINALLY!!!!!!!! I decided to start that game up when I wasn't really in the mood to play anything at all. I had just walked into a room and there were three battles I had to go through just to get to the door on the other side. Ugh. This is what I hate the most in this game.

When I finally made it through all the battles and stepped into the next room it turns out that it was the final boss. If I had known that I was that close to the end the last time I played it months ago I would have stuck around to finish it.

The final boss was actually two separate battles. The first battle wasn't hard at all. The second battle was a little more difficult but I prevailed (I wish I could say that about the Yeti). Once the battle was over I heard a bleep and an achievement popped up. When I checked it out it was for finishing the game. Kind of anti-climatic since I haven't played for so long I couldn't remember the story at all. At least the game is done and I can cross it off my list, although I still have achievements to get in that game.

Finishing Puzzle Quest 2 was what reminded me that I had previously finished Daggerdale with friends. And that reminded me about my 12 games in 12 months goal. And that reminded me that I was getting close to finishing Mass Effect (I just stole the Normandy if you're familiar with the story). So it's very likely that in a couple of days I can say I've finished 3 games now instead of 2.

Once I finish Mass Effect I'll be looking for another "big" game to play and finish. I'm still undecided at this point because nothing out there is really grabbing my attention. I'm still taking suggestions and I would gladly take any help I can find in games too.

Although I probably won't finish 12 games in 12 months I am working on some games and that should make my friends happy . . . even if those games are older ones. Who knows, maybe I'll take one of these newer games that are coming out this year and sit down and focus on that game. Maybe I could finish it before my friends do. Wishful thinking I know, but I've got 10 more games to plow through so I can dream, can't I?

NEW POLL! What upcoming game are you most excited about?

I know, it's been a long time, but I've got a new poll up. You have until July 8th to vote so make it count. Here it is:

What upcoming game are you most excited about?

Gears of War 3
Modern Warfare 3
Mass Effect 3
Elder's Scroll: Skyrim
the new Batman game

Happy voting!

Oh, and I added a search box to my blog if you want to try that out. Let me know what you think.

Everybody likes surprises right?

I got the surprise of my online life last night. Evil Ric jumped online BUT DIDN'T PUT IN CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS. I was so shocked to see that, instead of jumping right into the game all his friends were playing, he put something else in. What game was that, you ask? LA Noir.

Now don't get me wrong. I have nothing against that game. Several of my friends have it and have been playing it. It's a game that's piqued my interest from time to time. It's just that when I think of Evil Ric I think of him playing Black Ops along with Tactical and Sand Dog. The three of those guys are almost synonymous with the game.

But I really shouldn't be too surprised to see Evil playing something else. After all the ribbing I get for not finishing games I, in turn, give some ribbing back to friends that only play one game. Evil's one of them. I've teased him many times that Black Ops is the only game he plays. Yes, he tried to tell me he plays Batman: Arkham Asylum but it doesn't show up on his recent played games so I don't believe him. And believe me, I look.

I guess I should be glad Evil's branching out into new frontiers of gameplay. I really wished he'd play some games I've recommended to him because I think he'll like them. He should trust me that I won't recommend something like Princess Barbie's Shoe Shopping Spectacular. That's one game he might want to play "offline" unless he's man enough to stand the ribbing he'll get from our friends.

While I'm glad Evil jumped in and played with us AND that he's playing new games I just wasn't ready for the surprise of seeing him play something else. After all there are good surprises and bad surprises. "Honey, I'm pregnant" is a good surprise if it comes from your wife (and you two have been having sex) but bad if it comes from your mistress (whether or not you two have been having sex). A good surprise is having your friends play new games. And everybody likes a good surprise now and then, don't they?