There’s something about Xbox achievements that drives the way I play.  Chasing achievements is part of the experience and definitely extends the life of a game.  The whole system has been a huge success.  With that said, the point of this Blur is to bitch about how the achievement system is wrecking Horde Mode in Gears of War 2. 

With the latest Dark Corners downloadable content, tied with a great deal to bundle it with the rest of the released map packs, I jumped back in for some more Gears this week.  I was done, I put it a way to spend some more time with my other neglected games.  But, now I’m back…damn you Epic.

Horde mode has been my focus.  And, because I’m hugely driven by achievement earning, my decision on which map to play is completely driven by Gamerscore Greed.  And, it’s not just me.  It seems like the whole community is thinking the same thing. 

Getting a complete 5 man team of randoms is now officially impossible.  Players don’t get the map they need, they drop.  You usually end up with 2 or 3 guys trying to take on the horde, which becomes nearly impossible around level 9 or 10 (yes, playing with friends that you communicate with makes it less impossible, but with a bunch of silent randoms…no way).

Since most achievements revolve around reaching level 10, this turns into a pretty frustrating experience.  Quite a waste of time.  I’m sure this wasn’t the intended behavior, but it surely has created an annoying monster.