It's like Achievements...for Achievements! I used to do these in my reviews on bucketofchuck.com, and I've decided to bring them back. Each Wednesday, I'll pick a game and post my selections for its Achievement Awards. The categories:
The "One With Combat"Award: For the easiest Achievement
The "Mile High Club" Award: For the hardest Achievement
The "Seriously..." Award: For the most tedious/annoying Achievement
The "Little Rocket Man" Award: For the most innovative/fun Achievement
The Scientist Gone Gamer Award: For the best looking icon (because I'm the one person on earth who cares)
So check back tomorrow and I'll hand out some awards!
EDIT: It was pointed out in the comments that these titles might not be crystal clear to people who aren't IMMERSED in the world of Achievements. With that in mind, here are the origins of the awards.
"One With Combat" was the fifth and final Achievement in Avatar: Burning Earth. All five could be completed within 45 seconds of the game's opening with little more effort than tapping a single button repeatedly. These are the easiest (and cheapest) 1000 points available in the 360 library.
"Mile High Club" is from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. After beating the game, there is a short, timed bonus level to complete. This Achievement requires that you beat the bonus level on the Veteran (i.e. hardest) difficulty, which is a near-superhuman task. I'm not claiming it's the most difficult Achievement out there, but it is definitely not for the faint of heart.
"Seriously..." is a now infamous Achievement from Gears of War that tasks the player with accumulating 10,000 kills in online multiplayer. Current estimates put the time needed for this milestone at 400 hours. Also, the Achievement is known to be glitched in such a manner that some kills, while registering on your total, don't count towards the Achievement. Many people have reported needing up to 13,000 kills, which would add an additional 100 hours minimum. There is a difference between "Achievements" and "Ludicrous time wasters"...apparently Epic Games and Microsoft don't know the difference.
"Little Rocket Man" is from Orange Box and is one of my all time favorites. At the beginning of Half Life: Episode 2 you can find a garden gnome in a building. You have to carry the garden gnome with you throughout the entire episode and stuff it into a rocket that gets fired into space at the very end. The trick is that you can't fight or drive a car while holding the gnome, so you have to set it down for combat, wedge it into the passenger seat while driving, and above all make sure you don't lose it along the way. While it can be frustrating (particularly while fleeing from enemy helicopters!), this award makes you approach the game in a totally different way, the hallmark of a great Achievement.
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Oh wait, are all these inspired by Orange Box?
ReplyDeleteI can puzzle out the whys of most of your names but will you explain "one with combat?"
ReplyDeleteRachel, thanks for the comment...the origin of the names are now explained above!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the description of all your achievement awards. Might I suggest a 6th award from Dead Rising. I think something like Zombie Genocider, Frank the Pimp, Transmissionary, 7 Day Survivor, Census Taker or even Saint.
ReplyDeleteZombie Genocider would have worked well in place of "Seriously..." as the grinding award. I enjoyed 7 Day Survivor, so that would have worked for "Little Rocket Man" as well.
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