Walk me through this...

So I finished the Fable 3 main story-line a few weeks ago.  Hurray!  But then I realized I had 8 gazillion collection quests to complete.  I've put in an hour or two here and there trying to get'em done, but it's slow going.  And I'm torn... Do I go to a walkthrough to tell me exactly where to go for the 30 books, 50 flowers, 50 weapons, 30 items of clothing, 50 gnomes, 50 keys....(Do you see how this is a scosh on the overwhelming side??)  Admittedly, in just playing through the game I have gotten halfway through most of the collecting, but that almost makes it worse.  Now I don't know which ones I've found and which ones I haven't if I do end up consulting a walkthrough.

Collection quests: teaching gamers how to become hoarders one gnome at a time.

So, in the end, I have two issues with these quests.

1) To use or not to use a walkthrough


I teased Debbie just a couple days ago about being a Cheater McCheaterson for using a walkthrough on L.A. Noire to five star the missions for an achievement.  But really, when the games are so huge and extensive that you can easily miss something that will cost you precious time later (replaying the same quests/areas over and over and over...), does that justify using the walkthrough?  Obviously this is only an issue if you are an achievo addict like us, because if you don't care if you get the achievement you won't have to worry as much about collecting/100% completion.


2) What is the point?

I'm doing these collection quests just for the achievements... but I wonder, while whiling away my hours searching for digital flowers, why do the game developers even put these things in there?  Especially the way they are handled in Fable 3..  In this game I have to wander areas that are confusing and maze-like just to find a single piece.  I wouldn't be in the area other than to get the item because that's the only reason it is there.  So it's cyclical.  If they didn't create the collection quest, they wouldn't have to create the area - and vice-versa.  If they want to create a huge game world, I feel like the collection quests are just a superficial addition, and the areas just end up feeling really pointless to me.  Especially because Fable 3 has the WORST map system ever, so I can't even easily tell what areas I've been in or where I'm at at any given time, and I end up wandering the same hallways and caves repeatedly.  It's infuriating.

It's the classic question of what came first? The chicken or the egg?  But in this case the chicken is the collection quest and the egg is the space that houses the collection item  What do you think?  And do you spend your time finishing up the collections for the achievos, or do you just let go and move on?

I suppose if you try hard enough to read this,
it could contain spoilers?

P.S. - This game and its myriad collections have my OCD flying at an all time high.  I have a 3 sheet spreadsheet, one for weapons/books/clothes, so I can check off what I've got and what I don't for ease of finding and finishing the collections.  It's beautiful and was time consuming to make, but oh-so-satisfying.  If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it up right.  Mama likes checklists.