I like the sound they make but most of the time you can get them just by playing the game or you have very tedious work for it ... What happen a lot now is they give you a Trophy/acheivement but there isn't anything of value in the game ... I have the playtinum for God Of War 3 and normaly in the old God Of war game if you finish the game on all the difficulty or finishing the Challenge of the God you got alternate costum that change the game. It isn't the case now ... but where it does something good is the fact that at least you have somekind of a list and you know what can be done.

Take Final Fantasy VI ... yeah an old SNES game ... there where a lot of cool thing to unlock or find, if the same game would be made now ... instead of all the secret caracter or the awesome weapon/accessory you would get a Trophy/Acheivement and the awesome weapon/accessory would be a 5$ DLC ...

But I got a plat for God Of War 3, Final Fantasy 13 and Final Fantasy 13-2 ... I almost have all the Trophies of Fallout 3 GOY ( 89% ) otherwise I have few Trophies that just pop up during a normal game. Most of the time a have between 30 to 50% by just playing the game.

I just misse the old days of unlocking something instead of Trophies and DLC. I get that many people aren't motivated enough to find those hidden stuff and need a Trophy sound to have the feeling they progress and a bunch of other Trophies just to be sure they have done all ... and DLC are for people who can't unlock stuff but want them anyway ...

Never really cared about them. Occassionally I do check what kinds of Achivements I've gotten, but never check the locked ones.

However I'm not unguilty. When I realized I had got all the Achievements in Arkham Asylum I was super excited. It meant that I had grinded through almost everything in the game, without focusing on getting them. My 100% completed games Achievementwise are Arkham, Dead Rising and Mass Effect. All absolutely awesome games that I've played for a hundred hours atleast.

In-game challenges that offer rewards are a different thing though. If more achievements had avatar awards, in-game bonuses (like Mass Effect) etc. I'd actually be interested in cheevo hunting.

Total opposite.  Achievements make you think about getting the achievements and not about enjoying the game the way it's meant to be enjoyed.  I only worry about achievements after I've finished a game, that's when I think they bring something to the table. 

When I first bought an xbox, I found myself not enjoying the games as much as I used to, but then I thought about it and it was because I was worried about achievements.

That's my opinion and obviously not shared by all, but I'm sure there are a few people out there that think the same way as me.

This is one of the "awesome user blogs" even though it lacks proper formatting. I recommend to any gamespot staff reading this to rethink what is allowed into that section.

Lack of paragraphs and all italic made me skip reading this.

ever heard of paragraphs? And why is everything in italic?

I disagree. Having fun in a game makes me game. Going for achievements means nothing if I am not having fun doing it. I only go for achievements if there is some sort of reward value in them beyond bragging rights, such as unlocking items or game play bonuses associated with those achievements.

Also, I'm not sure what's with this line: "Not to mention showing why you chose to be a gamer in the first place." I never chose to become a gamer to show off. I chose to become a gamer so I could have fun playing games. O_o

i like achievements they get you to do stuff in a game you would not otherwise bother with

im a gamer but i dont play for achievements..i think theyre neat ONLY because they come with a date attached to them so I can go back and see what dates I played a specific game, etc..other than that I dont care about them and I never have gone achievement hunting..im of the line of if it happens it happens 

By including achievements in games they have become more interesting and tempting to play.

I for one love getting trophies. It makes me play games longer which I sometimes need reason for. Still have not played Skyrim yet.

Good article but I disagree with you. I find achievements to be boring and tedious to earn. Its like grinding enemies in RPG's to level up, its not necessary when you find a more effictive way to do things. But thats just me :D

good blog ;)