[quote name='Serpentor']As always, good or bad is subjective. To some people, playing video game is a waste of time let along hunting for achievements/trophies. As a gamer, achievements/trophies are value added. If you don't like them, you don't have to anything, they don't affect game plays at all (just maybe the slight inconvenience of popping sound and temporary subtitle-ish blockage on the screen).
In general, achievements/trophies are logs of accomplishments, i.e. how far or how much a gamer played a particular game under his/her usual ID (not every gamer care about IDs either). The accomplishments can also be compared with other gamers (this is value added as well).
It used to be that higher gamer scores or trophy levels mean dedicated gamers at play. Well, that notion has been decaying ever since with the rise of achievement/trophy addicts. I guess that's one of the primary reason that achievements/trophies are turn offs for most gamers. It's not about what one's accomplishments anymore, it's about justifying the meaningless hours of grinding for lesser purpose.
People don't see playing video games as arts (making games is art, that one is pretty easy to agree on). However, in my opinion, gamers with swift fingers and super fast mental reflexes are equivalent to playing orchestra musical instruments. There's beauty of making through a difficult level without dying or power ups. At one point (and I hope still continue to be), achievements/trophies are meant to bring out the talents, they test the gamers' endurance and perseverance. They are the rewards of accomplishing difficult and memorable tasks, like certificates to acknowledge your dedication and appreciation, a subtle way of saying "thank you." Well, that notion also has eroded over time. The "kill 100 enemies this way or that way" or playing "1000 online match and win all of them" achievements/trophies blatant self promotions by the game makers.
So at the end, it all comes down to us, the gamers. Personally, I enjoy trophies more than achievement because of the levels (it's like playing RPG when you're on PSN). It would be super cool if MS or Sony (sorry Nintendo) implements the system a bit further by allowing gamers to "trade" the achievements/trophies for "character class upgrades." In the case of PSN, you can choose to be a level 10 Mage or level 20 Monk or something like that.[/QUOTE]
I can totally relate to this I use to care about getting 1K in all my games, but then so much was lost to me. I remember getting back into Mass Effect 3 and was able to actually enjoy it to take in all the scenery not worrying about a certain thing I was suppose to do. As far as the orchestra in certain games you made me think of Devil May Cry you need fancy fingers for those games I think. Granted I do enjoy them.