Completed Games

[Keab42]

I know there are some people out there who like to get games to 100% completion achievements and all. Other people like to get to the end of the main missions and that's it.

But I have a habit of abandoning games halfway through, whether through boredom, the fact that I've picked up something else to play or simply the particular boss or challenge is too difficult for me to overcome without cheating.

In fact thinking about it there's not that many games that I own that I've played all the way through to the end of the story missions let alone gone back to get all the achievements etc.

I would estimate that from my collection no more than 30% have been completed to the end of story missions and a lot less sitting at 100% completion.

Recently playing some GFWL games I've started getting achievements and a gamerscore and I've started wondering does the fact that I'm almost exclusively a PC gamer mean that I have less incentive to play all the way to 100% completion?

Does the achievement system make you more likely to replay a game? Do you play to complete everything or is the story enough for you? What proportion of your games have you finished?

[Darkobra]

If I truly enjoy a game and want more out of it, I tend to go for the achievements. Very rarely I'll actually play it all again beginning to end though like I did with Batman Arkham Asylum. 3 times. I was getting bored halfway through my second.

Still trying to get 100% on FF 13. Almost done it but the boredom's beating me. Well, pretty much since I put the game in my PS3.

[davefp]

I tend to abandon games part-way through if I hit a particular level, boss etc. that I can't beat. I can't think of a single-player game (apart from sandbox games like GTA) that I've gone back to for achievement purposes. Multiplayer is different though, I've definitely gone into games of TF2 and MW2 with the aim of completing certain challenges or achievements. In those cases the fun is playing the game in a different fashion though, the achievement is more of a pointer towards a different way to enjoy said game.

[RobertMc123]

I tend not to go for 100% on games, achievement wise, because some achievements are not the best. The achievements were you need to complete a game on the hardest setting is the ones I hate. When it comes to games I am very story driven, it's why I like Bioware RPGs, the story drives me through a game, even side stories, or games like Uncharted 2 or Arkham Asylum, the story drove me through those games and whilst I loved the games, going through a second time would be a lacklustre experience. But a game like Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2 or Heavy Rain, the story changes in different ways that I can play them again and again but I space out my replays. I recently completed Splinter Cell: Conviction and was very satisfied with that game, but it is the co-op and multiplayer that will keep me coming back to that game.
So I pretty much ignore the achievements most of the time, the best achievements are the secret ones that pop up when you do a bizzare thing in a game. It's a nice little reward for thinking out the box.

[Cureless_Poison]

With most games, if it's good: I'll take my time to get as many achievements as I can. If it's not: I don't bother.

Only game I think I 100%'d was Silent Hill: Homecoming on 360. But I'm 80%+ on a lot of other games.

[Master Gunner]

I have no particular need to get achievements. When I play a game, I'll play it through to story end, and if it's good enough, I may play it again later. For games where "100% completion" is anything other than just beating the story mode on mid-level difficulty, I don't think I've ever gotten that.

[Emberwolf]

I am really bad for finishing games, and have never 100% completed a game. The only games I've ever finished are Portal, Fable 2 and Fallout 3. I haven't got a brilliant attention span for things in general, and games fall prey to this quite often.
However, Fallout 3 is the one game I go back to quite a lot in order to get new achievements. If only because I can usually do a whole mission in an hour or so and get an achievement, then I can bugger off and do something else.
Story is generally enough for me- and even then I may get distracted by something shinier and wander away.

[operagirl95]

I almost always finish games to story completion, on "normal" or "easy" if there are only two choices. If I like the game enough, I'll replay for 100% completion. I think it's just a mindset. I'm pretty strict IRL, so when I game, the same things apply. If it's a smaller, short game I may go for completion on the first play (Mini Ninjas comes to mind, 96% on the first try) But with larger games? Hm...Okami...after 120 hours I'm at 99% and going to stay there.

I think people who don't "complete" games actually end up playing more. Really. If you spend 40 hours on a FF and just complete the story, you're not missing anything except grind. However, if you're like me and spend 100+ hours working on completion, well, I just spent 60 hours on 1 game that could have been spent playing something else. With limited time to game, each hour is precious.

[Agloriouscuppa]

I usually complete the main quest/campaign but by that point its likely i've been playing the game exclusivly since its release and am starting to reach the Can't be Arsed point of a game where I get tired of seeing it stop playing it for awhile only to rediscover it in like 3 months when its been on haitus long enough that I want to play it again.

That is how I finished fable, final fantasy X, and Grand Theft Auto.

Multiplayer is more my market so I can just play those for ages.

[wartjr2373]

I always start a game with the full intention of getting 100%. I've done it with some games (mostly games without achievements/trophies, because I've never gotten 100% of those for any game) and it's a marvelous feeling. However, I lack the drive to pursue it beyond the point of boredom. If I like a game enough to replay it at a later date, often that second playthrough will be the one for which I get 100%.

I have a rather extensive collection of games, and I have completed the main portion of almost every one of them. The games that I tend to 100% are adventure games, because I'm a huge fan of collecting in video games.

There was a time (not long ago, really) where I became annoyed at the games I hadn't yet completed (not 100%, just the main portion), and decided to go back to these games and play them all. I'm not so annoyed with it anymore, but I still have a list of those games that I still wish to play at some point. A couple of them I haven't yet played at all, but I intend to get to them once good new games stop coming out. (Probably never.)

[MotorWaffle]

There usually comes a point in a game where either the difficulty has gotten too high, or I've just been playing too long. Either way, it stops being fun, and if I'm not having fun with the game, then I have no reason to play it anymore.

[Emberwolf]

I've actually just found an exception to my previous post. I finished Alan Wake this morning, and had to stop myself IMMEDIATELY restarting it to get at least five of the remaining achievements. It seems that if I'm confident that I can get the achievements without spending another whole day endlessly playing it, I'm fairly willing to do it.

[Keab42]

The one exception for me so far has been Batman Arkham Asylum. I went back to grab all the riddler secrets. I've still not got it to 100% though because of all the fighting challenges. I will probably also do a final play through to get the completed on hard achievement.

[Ed.]

I've finished a few 100%

Rouge squadron 3 (got everything but the gold on endurance for rouge squadron 2)
Pokemon blue that was a bitch as I didn't cheat bar the mew glitch which i did last
007 Nightfire
Super Mario world

There are lots of games I've gotten the main game and the majority of other content done though there a few things i just wont do though

Over the top grinding achievements (do x 10,000 times)
Endurance levels where you do a repetitive task normally killing enemies repeatedly (I'm looking at you rouge squadron and smash bros)
Collection quests, stuff that like there are 100 of this object around the map go get them **** no that is the opposite of fun my only big gripe with SR2 and GTA-SA actually
Stupidly over the top medal/ challenge requirements that are needed to unlock things I think Factor five (now bankrupt) took the best approach here. There are gold medals which are hard but attainable, then there are platinum which are just bonkers and some have never been attained by anyone. they didn't unlock anything they where just because people wanted them.

[GreigKM]

I got 100% in both Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, I may have gotten close to 100% in a few other games, but I really hate collection missions and almost every game makes you do them if you want 100% completion. I also got 100% in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, annoying to do only because you can't do missions after the finale in ME1 (glad they fixed that in ME2). Still, most of they time I only go through the main story and what I find fun in side-quests, unless you get a cool ending for 100%.

[ThrashJazzAssassin]

Sometimes achievements motivate me to finish/replay a game, sometimes they're a pain in the arse.

F'rinstance, I've just been playing Cursed Treasure: Don't Touch My Gems!, a pretty cool tower defense game on Kongregate which was recommended in a recent Alt+Escape. I'm enjoying it a lot, but I doubt I would have stuck with it had it not had performance rating and a few achievements. Having a Brilliant rating to work towards for each level as I replay them for the experience, rather than just doing it because I'll get stuck on the last level if I don't, keeps the grinding process rewarding, and thus more enjoyable. There are many other games with achievements tied to in-game unlockables and goals, and this is when such a system usually works well.

However, I don't like the assumption that all games should now come with achievements. Sometimes they're just unnecessary; sometimes they undermine the game. If they're given for ticking exactly the right boxes every single time a game presents you with a choice, or if you complete every single optional sidequest, then they destroy the entire point of having a choice in the first place. I also find it really annoying to see a load of achievements that I know I'm never going to get, because they require huge amounts of extra time to be spent on practice, extra playthroughs or endgame content. In both cases, adding achievements can give the impression that you're not really playing the game right if you don't get them all, which is kind of stupid; if you complete the game, you're doing it right. Unless you're Matt and said game is Super Metroid.

[Sable]

I beat Team Fortress 2. I mowed down every single crying baby coward on a 16v16 map, and captured the last point all on my own.

CRY

SOME

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE

[Emperor Gum]

However, I don't like the assumption that all games should now come with achievements. Sometimes they're just unnecessary; sometimes they undermine the game. If they're given for ticking exactly the right boxes every single time a game presents you with a choice, or if you complete every single optional sidequest, then they destroy the entire point of having a choice in the first place. I also find it really annoying to see a load of achievements that I know I'm never going to get, because they require huge amounts of extra time to be spent on practice, extra playthroughs or endgame content. In both cases, adding achievements can give the impression that you're not really playing the game right if you don't get them all, which is kind of stupid; if you complete the game, you're doing it right.

+1

[WBAGNR]

The game I've sunk the most hours into is Football Manager 2009, but you can't "complete" the game, so I guess that doesn't count.

I think I completed Theme Hospital on the PS1, and I can remember finishing the 'story mode' on Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty 4, Portal, Guitar Hero 3, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST and Gears of War 2.

I gave up trying to do the story in Far Cry 2, because it wasn't fun, it was just really dull. I tend not to try to 100%, considering that I am not really that good at video games beyond casual gaming. I think the highest percentage of achievements is on Brian Lara Cricket 2007, which has ridiculously easy achievements.

[iamafish]

The game I've sunk the most hours into is Football Manager 2009, but you can't "complete" the game, so I guess that doesn't count.

that's because it's a spreadsheet... I've plugged quite a few hours into MS Excel in my time, but I can hardly say I've 'completed' that either

[WBAGNR]

298 hours looking at glorified Spreadsheets

[gcninja]

However, I don't like the assumption that all games should now come with achievements. Sometimes they're just unnecessary; sometimes they undermine the game. If they're given for ticking exactly the right boxes every single time a game presents you with a choice, or if you complete every single optional sidequest, then they destroy the entire point of having a choice in the first place. I also find it really annoying to see a load of achievements that I know I'm never going to get, because they require huge amounts of extra time to be spent on practice, extra playthroughs or endgame content. In both cases, adding achievements can give the impression that you're not really playing the game right if you don't get them all, which is kind of stupid; if you complete the game, you're doing it right.

+1

how about instead of this, you know the self rank thing, the "pro" "recreational" "casual" or something rank, how about THAT determiners how many achievements? if youre casual you get 10-15, maybe one for each level you compleete, if youre recreational, you get 20-25, and pro 30-40, you know what i mean? and the settings for this would be changeable if you want more, but its just an idea

[WBAGNR]

I don't the number should be altered, but maybe depending on what your gamer zone is, the achievements change? Each zone has say 20 achievements, but they are of varying difficulties for that gamer zone.

For example, becase a casual or recreational gamer is not likely to sink hours and hours doing every side quest, but might go for replays of the campaign, reward completing on hard, and don't reward getting 100%, or at least, don't make it compulsory to getting 100% achievements, if you get what I'm saying,

[Frosty]

I hate achievements. I understand why games companies stick achievements in (it boosts sales massively apparently), but I don't enjoy the willy waving that comes with it. So you've gone back and collected all the skulls in Halo yeah? Nice work. Now go outside and ask yourself what next in life.

I'm also a pcgamer though, although I'm unsure if that effects whether I like achievements or not. After all TF2 is perfect for achievement whores.

To understand my mentality then I should probably link this article and say I'd be identified as a social gamer.