So...what is the bottom line for you when it comes to gaming? Why do you do it? What matters the most when you are playing a game?

For me, it has and will always be to simply have fun. I assumed this to be true about every other gamer out there but each day I'm finding this to be further and further from the truth. I can't tell you how many times that I've seen posts in gaming forums or gaming social media sites where I see (most often) really young gamers complain how bored they are with a game that they are trying platinum. Or the amount of reviews that I read where the reviewer CLEARLY states that they had fun playing a game but gives it a very low score because of its imperfections.

I feel that this whole achievement/trophy system that has been implemented during this generation of gaming is both a blessing and curse. Its a blessing to gamers and developers alike by keeping people playing certain games that would otherwise have no rewarding value to them in doing so but also a curse that has people only playing cetain games because they are easy "100%s or Platinums". When I see other gamers complain about a game sucking and being anxious to hurry and get the plat...I've casually asked "why are they playing a game that isn't fun to them?". Literally, in EVERY instance of this I've gotten a response back retracting their original assertion about their displeasure with the game and merely being frustarted with the difficulty of achievement hunting. Now, I'm not coming down on achievement hunting because I love it too but why can't people just give a honest answer? Is it really because in reality they lack self confidence and this makes them feel good about themselves? Is it because now they've exchanged one hobby for another (from gaming itself to merely achievement hunting)? Seriously, these questions aren't rhetorical...I would honestly like to know and understand why this is.

To be perfectly honest, I just don't have the time and patience to Platinum every single game that I play. The 2 that I actually have were stressful enough to get and I simply couldn't imagine going through all the extra effort (especially when I don't want to) to do this with EVERY or even the majority of my games. For me to even attempt this, I have to at least like the game to begin with, it be easy & not too time consuming, and give me a reason to do so. Even though one trophy stands between me and Platinum in the game, Mass Effect 1 is a great example of this. In addition to the game being very fun to play, the multiple playthroughs it takes to get the Platinum makes it well worth it since the game plays different each time due to different decisions you can make on the game, and the fact that said decisions & trophies transfer over into the next entry of the series to enhance the experience!

As far as how I personally view games and score them in my mind...at the end of the day, it all boils down to how much fun did I have playing it. If I can say that a game was generally fun, it gets a minimum of a 7.0 (good). To give it anything less is imo, implies that there is something so wrong with the game where it begins to ruin the fun. So, when I see reviews and hear reviewers say "I had fun" or for that matter, don't even mention if they enjoyed playing the game (and to what degree) but see a score lower than 7.0, I lash out. Do the visuals/frame rate really matter that much? Does the voice acting in a game where you have hundreds of different ways of blowing everything to bits really matter? Does the presence of voice chat/party chatting really matter in an other wise well polished experience? I mean, I see and hear complaints like this all the time and ask myself "but what does that have to do with the fun factor of the game?". Games like Retro City Rampage, Jetpack Joyride Super Meatboy, etc prove that games can have dated visuals (intentionally or not) and still provide a very fun and entertaining experience.

Some times I think what its REALLY all about is that folks start becoming nit picky when having to spend $60 a pop on games regularly. I can't say I disagree with this...however, why don't more people just stop buying games at launch? Personally, I believe that there is rarely any game (AAA or not) worth paying $60 for. Why not wait for the inevitable price drop or one day/week sales on these games? I just think that these days that people hold games to such high standards and expectations that they forget that whole purpose of them was to entertain and not just to look pretty with a bunch of bells & whistles.

Feedback is welcomed and appreciated (minus any douchbagory)