Archive: June 2007: Kongen Af Gamerscore / Game Reactor

This is the article I mentioned a little while ago in my post about my Film Friday, “King Kong Fever“.

It’s mostly about how addictive I find the Xbox 360’s Gamerscore, even though I’m well aware it’s completely pointless. You gain absolutely nothing from it other than the joy of seeing numbers go up, and yet I’ve performed some of the most obscure and ridiculous tasks just to feel that rush of endorphins that comes when I hear the “plink” of another unlocked achievement.

If only Microsoft would convert Gamerscore points to Microsoft points at a rate of 10 to 1 or something. Then I could excuse myself.

In general, though, I don’t think it’s a very good thing. It adds another layer of abstraction that reminds you that you’re playing a game, and titles have to work extra hard to capture your imagination. I was completely surprised to find that King Kong was a title that managed to capture my imagination, considering it’s most well known for being 1000 easy achievement points, but it did. And I’m rather glad I played it.

You can read the full article, in Danish, as part of the PDF found on the Game Reactor website.

August 5th, 2007 : Archive, Game Reactor