Makepool - no problem. I guess I misunderstood.
vinylpusher - an excellent post, especially regarding the "points" system. I have already bought 4 games this way, and my wife and I just completed "Mutant Storm Reloaded", a fantastic little shooter - simple but addictive.
Another cool thing about the 360 is the "Achievement" system. Kind of a pat on the back for doing well in games, and you can also show off your Gamerscore online - if you are that way inclined. :)
vinylpusher - an excellent post, especially regarding the "points" system. I have already bought 4 games this way, and my wife and I just completed "Mutant Storm Reloaded", a fantastic little shooter - simple but addictive.
Another cool thing about the 360 is the "Achievement" system. Kind of a pat on the back for doing well in games, and you can also show off your Gamerscore online - if you are that way inclined. :)
Thanks Avon.
The acheivements thing is a really good incentive to play games. I had a seriously intense couple of days because I just had to get all platinums on PGR3. Not just because I was personally motivated to do so, but because it looks pretty cool on my gamercard :)
Whether this adds enjoyment to the actual game itself is not clear, but the satisfaction gained from another 100 points on your gamercard is without compare. It is almost as if it extends the game beyond the bounds of what may be on the DVD. The game becomes gaining acheivements instead of finishing a level, or beating 1,000,000, or winning a multiplayer match.
The major idea of having a gamercard, in the eyes of developers (and Microsoft) is of course that the only way to have a really high score is to buy lots of games. Retail games will only let you gain about 1000 points maximum. The Live Arcade games might only award half that. If you start to get really competative about your gamercard, you could easily find yourself going without food in order to buy a new game!
Personally, I just like comparing my acheivements to other peoples, especially on PGR3 because I love it :)