Kotaku: Achievements

Microsoft now has Achievements for...Developers

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:00:00 EST

Taking the notion of institutionalised rewards maybe a little bit too far, Microsoft has begun awarding achievements to developers. More »

This Guy Cheated to get an Achievement (But He Did It in Style)

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 01:00:00 EDT

There's an achievement you can get in Gears of War 3 that can be earned by playing a piano 2000 times. That's a lot of button pressing, so LEGO builder Guy Himber set to work on a less strenuous solution. More »

How To Get Arkham City's One-Year Calendar Man Achievement In One Hour (Probably)

Stephen Totilo — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:00:00 EDT

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There's an Xbox 360 Achievement (and PlayStation 3 Trophy) in Batman: Arkham City called "Storyteller". The description: "Have 12 murderous dates with Calendar Man." To earn it, you have to talk to the incarcerated villain on 12 holidays, from New Year's to Christmas. More »

These Are All Real Achievements: Not in the Face, Quit Poking Me, Jumped the Shark

Brian Crecente — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:40:00 EDT

Shinobi isn't just a wonderful throw-back to the classic, painfully hard Shinobi of the 80s, it's also a game with a surprisingly long, surprisingly humorous list of achievements. More »

How to Speak Dragon: Here are Your Skyrim Achievements

Evan Narcisse — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:40:00 EDT

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We already know that the next Elder Scrolls game's going to suck up a bunch of your time. Days, weeks, maybe even months, depending on how you play. But how much is it going to spit out in sweet, sweet Achievements? For the answer, the officially unofficial Bethesda blog links to Xbox 360 Achievements, where the full list of 50 achievements is on full display. More »

The Toughest Xbox 360 Achievement You Can Get, We Think

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:00:00 EDT

To get the hardest achievement on the Xbox 360, Marcus Fenix had to do more than just kill a few Locust. He had to get his hands dirty. He had to put in some time. More »

Batman Achievements Confirm New Game-Plus in Arkham City

Owen Good — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EDT

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Crack achievement investigators Xbox360Achievements.org are back in action, and they've sleuthed out the 50 Achievement/1000 Gamerscore set for Batman: Arkham City. Included are two achievements speaking to a New Game Plus mode, which will allow a second playthrough with your fully upgraded Batman. Pore over the others, and then see Kirk's impressions from PAX and mine from Comic-Con to see if any of them concern details we haven't seen. (Hint: There are, and not just in the obvious story-chapter achievements.) More »

Achievement List Hints at New Features, Including "Online Association," in NBA 2K12

Owen Good — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EDT

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In my preview on Wednesday all I got to look at was "NBA's Greatest" and the play-now mode of NBA 2K12. So I can't tell you anything about an "Online Association" mode, other than the fact the game's achievement list hints it will have one. More »

Madden NFL 12 Promises One of the Most Hardest-Hittin' Achievements in Da League

Owen Good — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EDT

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More than a year after this Madden fan's near-religious experience [NSFW language], Green Bay's Greg Jennnnnnnnnings scoring a 99-yard touchdown on a broke leg is an Internet meme backed by five million YouTube views and gracious acknowledgment from the NFL player himself. And now it's memorialized as an achievement in Madden NFL 12 More »

Annihilation Map Adds Five More Achievements to Black Ops

Owen Good — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:00:00 EDT

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"Shangri-La" is the new zombies map in Call of Duty: Black Ops, and it is far from paradise, as that anthropomorphic s'more (above) will attest. Available in Annihilation, releasing next Tuesday for Xbox 360, it offers five more achievements worth a cool 150 Gamerscore. They are: More »

One Out Of Two Portal 2 Players On Steam Hasn't Finished The Game

Mike Epstein — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EDT

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So much for Portal 2 being too short. Fans of Portal 2 may be surprised to learn that a lot of people who own the game aren't playing it very much. More »

Minecraft Beta 1.5 Brings Weather, Achievements, And More

Mike Fahey — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:20:00 EDT

Minecraft updates to beta 1.5 today, adding achievements, weather effects, and various other improvements to Mojang's big bad building game. Be sure to update your servers! More »

Here's a Look at Minecraft's Weather Effects, Achievements and Stats

Owen Good — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:00:00 EDT

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Minecraft's next title update (1.5) will deliver a host of new features, among them an achievement system, a statistics log and, perhaps more importantly, weather effects. The game's creator released this video late last night showing all those features in action. More »

Minecraft Creator Already Working on Achievements; but First, Wolves

Owen Good — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EDT

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Minecraft's creator revealed on Friday that he's working on an achievement system for the PC gaming obsession. He didn't specify when that will be implemented, but he did say something new's coming in the game's next update: Wolves. More »

What Classic Gaming Achievements Have You Unlocked?

Mike Fahey — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:20:00 EDT

Today in a very special episode of Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenterQuiddity looks back on the achievements he would have unlocked had their been achievements when Chrono Trigger, Donkey Kong Country 3, and Final Fantasy VII came out. More »

Xbox Live's Achievement Numbers Are Slightly Terrifying

Luke Plunkett — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

Achievements. Almost every major platform has them now in some shape or form, but they started on the Xbox 360 back in 2005. Have you ever wondered how many have been unlocked in that time? More »

Minecraft's Creator Ponders Adding Achievements

Owen Good — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST

Noting that a lot of people dislike achievements, Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson says he's still a fan of them, and thinks they could be useful to his runaway indie hit as a type of guide leading newcomers through the game, rather than implementing a heavy-handed tutorial that stifles creativity. More »

Are Achievements Your Personal Video Game Ratings System?

Mike Fahey — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:20:00 EST

In today's Speak-Up on Kotaku, KillerIri5h notices a strong correlation between how much a player enjoys a game and the amount of achievements unlocked. Can you use achievements and trophies to rate your games? More »

A Nintendo Argument Against Achievements

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST

"We're not opposed to Achievements," Nintendo's Bill Trinen told me earlier this week, even as he confirmed that his company's next system, the 3DS, won't have one of the more popular features in Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC gaming. More »

Left 4 Dead Patch Brings Your Xbox 360 Achievements Back To Life

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:30:00 EST

Valve has updated Left 4 Dead for the Xbox 360, matching the patch the PC version received last October. The better news? Your Xbox Live achievements busted by "The Sacrifice" may have also been restored. Details here. More »

These Video Game Achievements Should Not Exist

Mike Fahey — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST

In today's episode of the daily Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenter BiggunSid talks about the trophies and achievements that he'd like to see game developers do away with. More »

It's Like Gamer Achievements For Your Car

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 10:40:00 EST

To motivate gamers, Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network give players achievement points and trophies. How does one motivate drivers? More »

A Patch 1.5 Years In The Making

Owen Good — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:00:00 EST

Enthusiasm for Ghostbusters plateaued soon after its 2009 release, but the game's solid multiplayer variety made it a cult hit for many. That's why, 18 months later, the developer's finally patched a bug that kept players from collecting four achievements. More »

Achievement Hunter Reaches Her Ultimate Goal

Owen Good — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:20:00 EDT

Last year, we profiled Kristen, the stay-at-home mom whose 165,000 Gamerscore made her the No. 5 female worldwide. She set 200,000 as a retirement mark. Monday, she reached it. Does she still plan to put the controller down? More »

The Trophy List and Soundtrack For Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

Owen Good — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 18:30:00 EDT

The 51 Trophies For Need for Speed; Hot Pursuit have been revealed, which mean 50 achievements for the upcoming racer's Xbox 360 version. Most of these cover in-game acts but a few require you to explore its social networking component. More »

A Little Bit Of Code In Your Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Achievements

Owen Good — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:30:00 EDT

The list of achievements for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is upon us; before you descend on it to pick pan for nuggets of info, let me ask you, do you know Morse Code? More »

Call of Duty: Black Ops Achievement 'Leak' Is Spoiler City

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:40:00 EDT

The next big Call of Duty game has just had much of its single-player game spoiled, thanks to an early look at the shooter's list of achievements and trophies. What do Black Ops' achievements tell us about Treyarch's war game? More »

Borderlands Turns Three Villains Into Snarking Unicycle Robots [Update]

Owen Good — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Part of the story in "Claptrap's New Robot Revolution," the fourth add-on to Borderlands set to arrive Tuesday, is that bosses from previous installments of the game have been "Claptrapified." The achievement list tells us of three. More »

NBA Jam Achievements Will Take Timing

Owen Good — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:30:00 EDT

The list of achievements is out for NBA Jam's Xbox 360 version, which is free for download with a one-use code included in NBA Elite 11 (also for the PS3). Three of them deal with buzzer beaters. More »

Level Up and Unlock Achievements By Skiing in Colorado

Brian Crecente — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EDT

Starting this November five popular ski slopes in Colorado, Nevada and California will start tracking powder time to award skiers achievements pins and the ability to level up. More »

Fallout: New Vegas Achievements Revealed

Owen Good — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EDT

The achievement set for Fallout: New Vegas got out on Friday, courtesy of the fine folks at Xbox360Achievements.org. You can get a look at some of the quest names and diversions featured in the game. More »

Achievement Unlocked 2: Revenge of the Pastry Pooping Pachyderms

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:40:00 EDT

The original Flash game Achievement Unlocked was a groundbreaking milestone in crossing virtual accomplishments off a list. Never has staying alive for 30 seconds or moving to the right felt so rewarding. Until now. Until Achievement Unlocked 2. More »

Halo: Reach Reveals Its Achievements

Owen Good — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EDT

Bungie's latest Weekly Update delivered the achievement art, and conditions, for Halo: Reach, rolling it out in a way that lets you look at the pretty badges without spoilering any campaign details. More »

Kane & Lynch 2 Achievements! Kane & Lynch 2 Achievements Here! Who's Ready?!

Owen Good — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:40:00 EDT

As we reported earlier, the Kane & Lynch 2 demo is already available for PlayStation Plus subscribers, with the rest of you rabble getting it on July 27. IO Interactive also released the full game's trophy and achievement set today. More »

Co-Op and Versus Coming to 360 Plants vs. Zombies

Owen Good — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EDT

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The recently revealed achievement set for Plants vs. Zombies coming someday soon to Xbox Live Arcade, hint that the game will have cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. More »

Where The Xbox 360's Achievements Come From

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:30:00 EDT

The Xbox Engineering Blog isn't the place you'd expect to find a ripping good read, but that's exactly what you'll find there today, with a post detailing the history and implementation details for the Xbox 360's "achievements". More »

MLB 2K10 Resolves Server Problems; All-Star Achievement Still Available for Today

Owen Good — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:20:00 EDT

2K Sports says it's resolved freezes and server outages in MLB 2K10, which came as gamers went to collect a rare Achievement/Trophy timed to the All-Star Game. Users still have until the end of today to pick that up. More »

Your Only Chance to Pick Up This Achievement Comes Tomorrow

Owen Good — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:30:00 EDT

Like an eclipse or an obscure comet sighting, tomorrow is the only day on the calendar you may pick up this Silver PSN trophy or 40 Gamerscore Xbox Live achievement, in MLB 2K10. So be ready when it comes. More »

Well Alrighty, Then: Here are the Madden 11 Achievements

Owen Good — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:20:00 EDT

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The full achievement list for Madden NFL 11 is now out in the open. It includes "Laces Out," which gives you 40 Gamerscore for kicking a 60-yard-field goal. That sounds makeable - provided Dan Marino's not holding. More »

Only a Few Have Left Tackle Alley 'Alive'

Owen Good — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EDT

You're a halfback, not a soldier, but it doesn't feel right to call these "turns," "tries," "chances," or "men." No, these are "lives" at stake in Backbreaker's Tackle Alley, where 99.12 percent of its players have ended up "dead." More »