With one swipe of their sword on March 25th, Microsoft carved a big fat Scarlet ‘C’ on the chests of a small group of the Achievement Gamesavers and opened a big can of worms at the same time. Since then, Xbox 360 community forums have been ablaze with admitted Gamesavers defending their “craft”, those that are drilling them for being cheats and a lot of questions asking “Was it enough?”

When the achievement system first came about, it was seen as a means to stay interested in games, create a sense of accomplishment and, for awhile, a status symbol to have a high Gamerscore. Unfortunately, the last couple of years have seen issues and exploits within the Achievement System eating away at its integrity. With the Gamesavers starting to be addressed, these topics have begun to bubble to the surface as Xbox Live members everywhere are discussing the justice being served.

The actions taken by Microsoft this week only scratch the surface of what needs to be done to help the Achievement System get back to its desired state. If you really think about it, Microsoft had to take these actions because developers have essentially ignored the spirit of the Achievement and created an environment conducive to cheating (Gamesaves) or Boosting. Here are a few unsolicited suggestions that I think could dramatically improve the future pursuit of Achievements:

Finish off the Gamesavers
Any Gamesavers that weren’t picked up in the initial sweep by Microsoft should be cowering in a corner right now. There have been many opinions regarding the punishment fitting the crime, but the key here is that Gamesavers have now been put on notice Twice by Microsoft. Once with a warning from Major Nelson back in October 2007, and now with the hammer being dropped on the worst of the worst of the Gamesavers. I noticed they didn`t go after everyone in this first sweep, just the very obvious and blatant ones that 100% met their criteria. With Gamesavers talking smack in the forums and boasting that they wont get caught or will “go down in flames”, the time is right to finish them off. At this point in time, it would be prudent for ALL game savers to stop the practice immediately, as Microsoft has backed up their previous warning and proven they have the means to implement a very drastic penalty. Going forward, anyone that continues to gamesave is not dealing with reality and is opening themselves up to the same actions. There should be no whining or complaining when the hammer falls, as from this point forward Gamesavers are just begging to get their ass Pwned by Microsoft.

Eliminate or drastically reduce the amount of online and multi-player achievements
This one has several benefits for all sorts of gamers. Whether you love online multiplayer, or would rather immerse yourself in a single-player campaign, drastically reducing multiplayer Achievements will make many people happy. The campaign fanatics will start feeling the love again by not seeing more than half of the achievement points assigned to multiplayer. Couple this with more creative Achievements, and playing through the game could take on new dimensions. As for improving the Multiplayer environment (I’m not including Co-Op), it helps in two ways. People that enjoy, but are not good at, multi-player won’t be excluded from achievements because their skills or time commitment won’t allow it. The second reason is to eliminate the ridiculous amount of boosting that is going on in public games. I know from personal experience and having read in forums, people are complaining (the latest is Rainbow Six:Vegas 2) that they are booted from public matches because it is controlled by a group of people that are only trying to boost their Gamerscore. You eliminate the boosters from public games, and it will create a much be...

Fixed. Thanks for the catch.

That is the exact kind of outside the box thinking that is lacking...

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