Playing a game, as with any other hobby out there, offers us a form of entertainment as well as a sense of accomplishment for a job well done. As if this wasn't enough, some games out there push us to go above and beyond simply beating the game be rewarding us for advanced play or dedication of our time into our hobby. Be it a new cheat menu or a new set of body armor to wear when we play online, this tactic of game design, while not necessary, adds a whole new level of gratification to the games we play and I'm all for it. One of my first experiences with this concept came in the summer of 1997 when I first played Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64. There was definitely a sense of accomplishment that came from everything that one did in the game, like beating Trevelyan on the Cradle or cracking some skulls with your buddies in multiplayer. (The memories of proximity mine matches still crack me up to this day…) But, there was another whole level to the game for those who wanted more; I'm talking of course about the cheats. Every level had a special challenge designated to one of the skill levels. This added challenge was to complete the level under a certain time to unlock special game options from the menu. More so than even typing in cheat codes in order to gain perks, Rare made you work for them, which made them feel that much more special. Some were easy to obtain, like paintball mode of Donkey Kong mode. (Which made all the characters have hilariously huge heads.) While others were tremendously difficult, and I'm not talking Bioshock on hard difficult, (BA-ZING!) I'm talking an infant against four MLG Halo players. One mission required you to complete it on the hardest difficulty, with four mission objectives in… you guessed it… one minute and twenty seconds. However, that cheat, which took me two months of daily drilling to get, made you invisible. If that's not awesome, I don't want to talk to you guys anymore. Today, there have been many attempts to mimic this kind of reward-based gameplay with mixed results. Halo 2 used a ranking system which allowed you to level up, not only earning you a distinction as a skilled player, but also allowing for you to play more and more equally skilled players as your own experience increased. Or there are Xbox 360 achievements… glorious, glorious achievements. While I think that achievements are a generally good idea, (they prolong the lives of many games, push you to try things that you normally wouldn't, help to give other players an idea of your mad skillz online etc.) there are a dark side to them as well in the form of achievement whores, those guys who play Cabella's African Safari just to boost their own Gamerscore. But my main gripe about achievements is quite simply that they're like a pissing contest without a target because there's nothing to be gleaned from earning them and other similar distinctions in other games. There's no real reward except for an increase in an arbitrary number next to your name, and that's not a whole lot of fun at all. The game that had whet my appetite for this form of player gratification was Rainbow Six Vegas. The game had a fantastic multiplayer that was fun to play on it's own, but knowing that I was only one more XP bar away from earning the AK-47 was pure icing on the cake. The reason I said "had" in reference to Vegas was because after months of playing, some of the online ranking system got a little stale, and it just took too long to unlock some of the things in the later ranks, but the game was still great nonetheless. The other reason I said had is because of my experiences with a little ditty called Call of Duty 4 earlier. Call of Duty 4, in my opinion, sets a new bar in this form of player reward program. First off, kudos to Infinity Ward for finally creating a system that allows for this kind of evolving, unlockable-centric play in a fully featured online game. As opposed to Vegas, where a set number of points were given based on the game mode and parameters, (a high-density, realistic Terrorist Hunt is worth 600 points, never more and never less) Call of Duty 4 gives you XP and rewards in real time. (A part of your HUD is even dedicated to your XP in-game and is constantly updated while you play) Not only that, but you start with almost nothing, (So you get Nothing! You Lose! Good day Sir!) in terms of weapons or special abilities. Want a red dot sight for that AK… alright sir, we can do that if you kill about 100 people for us. Oh you say you want to be able to pull off a last stand? (For those who don't know, it's a cool, surprisingly well-balanced gameplay mechanic where you don't die when shot, but lie on the ground bleeding out with your pistol in hand, with one last shot for revenge.. no pun intended, seriously, the pistols require headshots from my experience.) Even killing streaks are set at a new level. Halo gives you a medal, and while the announcer is reward enough, wouldn't you like to call in a carpet-bombing or a Hind Gunship for getting 5 and 7 kill streaks respectively? In the study of Psychology, the concept of positive reinforcement is to give the subject a reward when a conditioned behavior displayed in hopes that it will encourage further instances of this behavior in the future. While there is a sense of gratification for simply playing a game and participating in the events of a virtual world, whether this is alone in Midgar or online splattering people in Coagulation, there's something to be said about a game that brings a little something extra to the table. By giving us a tangible reward for our efforts above and beyond playing itself, a developer gives us an incentive and makes a game that much more fun, and I'm all for fun.