Gamerscore cheating. Does size really matter?
Category: Xbox 360, Posted: 04/01/2008 at 04:12PM CDT by Frank Ling, Editorial Director
Most gamers see the Xbox game achievements as a fun way to make their games more challenging. But for some, a high Gamerscore or a perfect achievement point score is a badge of game prowess.
Sure, you can't do much with them, (except for the time when Microsoft offered swag for points), but other than that, Gamerscores are just ammo for bragging rights. But for others, they'll go as far as cheating to get bigger numbers.
Last week, Xbox Live addressed the problem of gamers who cheated in order to enhance their Gamerscores. But what goes on in the mind of these cheaters? One gamer, Aaron "coldraccoon" Mesec, has turned from his evil ways and related his story to multiplayer.blog.
Mesec said of his life of cheating, "I started cheating, I guess, because I got addicted to gamer score completion. This means that I must finish the game 1000 [out of 1000 achievement points]. I would play through the game and get the basic Achievements, then do some saves or glitches to get the rest. I started because I wanted more and more Gamerscore."
He said that he started out as an honest gamer, but as the achievements got insanely more difficult to attain on some games, he started down the path of cheating to get the unattainable prizes.
"It's when they started coming out with hard games with HARD achievements is when I started," he said. Mesec couldn't really pin down which game started him on the path of the Dark Side, but he believes that Lost Planet was one of them. He couldn't get through the hardest level setting. The last game he cheated on, before turning over a new leaf, was Dynasty Warriors 6.
So are achievements a blessing or a curse for gamers? They're fun, but has the idea of Gamerscores backfired?
[via mtv.com]
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I like acheivments, but i prefer the way valve did it.
The acheivments on PC for HL ep 2 were more for yourself than for bragging rights, just because you didnt get points for them. I'd like to keep acheivments, but possibly with out the gamerscore.
I think it's great they show people who cheat, these people believe size matters so much that they want to cheat to get a bigger number than other people; no matter the cost.
I went out and earnt my 10k achievements, played Avatar and Lost and some really bad XBLA games too, but to cheat... that is nonsense, achievements don't really matter so it is hilarious people cheat to get the things.
It's funny that people try to constantly increase their GameScore even though there is absolutely nothing they can do with it.
And no, bragging to people about the size doesn't count, it just makes you look sad =P
Nothing to do with it?
I can wave it in your face. That's something =P
Gamerscores get that same place of the brain that any Peen increasing activity does. Be it a 300 bowling score, a hole in one, or eating more hot dogs than that guy over there. Dammit, I say humans are hardwired to be sucked in by anything of that nature, no matter how little the outcome matters.
Heh, I neglected to post my ultimate point-- it doesn't matter how pointless something may really be, if there's any kind of competition to be gained from it no matter how trivial or pointless, someone somewhere will find a way to cheat just to look the best. Period. 's human nature at its most ridiculous.
It is kinda sad that some people are addicted to getting 1000/1000 in games. I earned my 20k gamerscore, but I wouldn't ever cheat to get my gamerscore higher than the next guy's.
And Flame, there wouldn't have been achievements in the orange box games if MS hadn't done them on the 360. When Valve coded the 2007 version of Source, they ported it between systems more thoroughly than I've seen anyone else port an engine, aside from Epic having UE3 on every platform ever made. (exaggeration, obviously)
And jambo: says the guy with the most (legit) posts!
Achievments are fun and they encourage further play on many games. Just because a few people went overboard with the gamer points doesn't change that a bit.
BahamutBBob, I thought of you when i saw this. Not because you cheat, but because you have such a high gamerscore.
Trying to get ANY achievement in BF2 MC or veteran in COD3 put me off achievements, not like I was that in to them in the first place, the only instance since then when I wanted to get achievements was halo 3, but even then it was for the unlockables, and not for the points... Why would you need game saves for this, when you can do it like a real MAN.