Dictionary: a·chieve·ment – n: The act of accomplishing or finishing.

Dictionary: tro·phy – n: A prize or memento received as a symbol of victory.

Lazy-Dictionary: a·chi·o·phy – n: A prize received when accomplishing a symbol of victory…

or something like that, I have never really tried to define one of my own words… so give me some slack. A few weeks ago, I found myself in a very deep and important discussion with a friend of mine regarding Achievements/Trophies… or Achiophies as I like to call them and what positive & negative influences they have had on the current generation.

Of all the advancements made in the current generation of games, Achiophies are to most people probably one of the most important. I mean, even PC games are now starting to use them (all Steam games for instance have achievements too). Yes, we can all agree that a lot of headway has been made in graphics, physics and AI but is that what really gets us to finish a game? Or is it that feeling of accomplishment when you hear that chime and receive that symbol of victory?

I’ll admit (and most of my friends agree) that I’m a bit of a Achiophy-whore (or at least I thought so till I saw some people’s lists). Thus me being a mini-Achiophy-whore, I usually find myself trying to get most of them. I play for that wonderful, heaven-sent chime… to hear it fills me with every good feeling in existence. This causes me to play more and try for the next one. Who reading this can’t agree with me, it really is the most wonderful feeling… ok, almost the most wonderful, but I’m trying to keep this article clean.

This then brings me to the crux of my problem. Achiophies might be one of the most important advancements but is also the worst one. Let me explain.

I’m planning on purchasing Mass Effect 2 but I have not played the first game yet. A friend of mine was so gracious as to lend me the game, but unfortunately it was the PC version. The PC version lacks quite a bit when it comes to the Achiophy department. What I found was, after playing the game for a while I just couldn’t find myself willing to continue… it was as if I was playing without being awarded. This was not a one time occurrence either both Afro Samurai (PS3 version) & Valkyria Chronicles had the same effect on me, although both of them were good games, neither had Achiophies. I found myself quickly jumping to other games and totally lost interest in them. What was even scarier was that I was not the only one in our discussion that had the same problem.

Does this make us shallow or have any of you experienced the same? Let us know in the comments.