Top 10 Achievements of September

We're finally approaching the end of the year, which means the cream
of the crop for game releases. The fall release schedule features a
mixture of very strong titles and genres, and they include a wide array
of achievements to unlock. Here are ten that I found to be noteworthy
during the month of September.







"You were defeated 100 times."


The old "give you a zero point achievement for sucking" trick.


Note to developers: This has been done many times before and it has never been the hip thing to do. Ever. We hate them.


I got this achievement by leaving my controller idle and getting
shredded to pieces. It's not very helpful in my quest to 1,000,000G
since it's worth a whopping zero points.


There are over 100 achievements that carry a gamerscore of zilch. One of
my favorites is "The Noob" from Frontlines: Fuel of War, which is
awarded for committing suicide ten times in a multiplayer game.







"Pitch a perfect game (9-innings)."


Done laughing yet? Good. This is not a bad game at all. It features the
same gameplay found in The Bigs, only with Nicktoons characters.


For this achievement, you want to use Sponge Bob as your pitcher. Focus
on painting the corners low and inside. You will rack up the strikes in
no time because the A.I. is quite lousy at hitting a properly-placed
pitch.


Work on getting the timing down so that your pitching meter is full for
every throw, which will almost guarantee strikes. You should get the
achievement in no more than a few games. Enjoy your 100 points.







"Use a Hammer to kill a series of 15 zombies without taking damage."


This achievement is actually extremely easy to get if you set it up
properly. You will need a hammer, preferably an upgraded one. Next, find
a group of zombies; look for the ones on the ground taking a nap since
they are stationary, which makes them the easiest of targets.


You can use the kick button (LB) to fend the zombies off, but make sure
the killing blow comes from the hammer. The easiest way to get this is
to have a friend with a level 1 character invite you into his game.
Bring in your leveled-up character at 15 or higher. The enemies will all
be at your friend's level (1) and the zombies will die with a single
whack from the hammer.



The video above shows a good place to unlock the achievement since the
zombies will generally spawn in the same spot. No zombies were harmed
during the making of this video.







"Finish the game on X-treme difficulty."


X-Men: Destiny is not the most challenging game, but I enjoyed playing
through it for the achievements. The gameplay is fun, and the
achievements come at a good rate.


A decent player can beat the hardest difficultly with no problem. Just
make sure to experiment with different combos of X-genes and suits.
Always remember to sink your XP into the upgrades whenever possible.







"See things that you will never be able to unsee."


The description for this one is no lie. There is nothing special that
you have to do for the achievement. Simply complete Act 2 of Chapter 2
and the 20G is yours.




Basically, in your past you witnessed a lumberjack and an alligator
getting it on. In the present, you are faced with fighting the offspring
of that encounter. The crazy beast is referred to as the gatorjack.






"Complete the entire game on Hard difficulty."


This achievement offers more points than anything else I unlocked this
month. It's not hard, but it still requires some knowledge of shooters.


Once you start the game on hard, keep it there and always hit "Continue
Game" when you leave and come back to play. You never want to go into
Chapter Select on this playthrough, as it will prevent you from
unlocking the achievement.


Make use of your shield because it recharges over time. The roll button
is your friend, so use it when the situation gets hairy. Take your time,
keep your distance, aim for the head, and use cover. If you are low on
health, use your Emperor's Fury, which will give you health while
activated.


Follow this strategy and the entire campaign should take no more than ten hours.






"Complete all campaign Acts on Insane Difficulty."


One of the best features offered in Gears of War 3 is four player online
co-op. Utilize that while playing on Insane, as it can be pretty tough
if you don't have a group of four.


I would recommend playing in Arcade Mode, which gives you infinite
respawns. The game will only end if every member of your party dies at
the same time. If you have a few mutators unlocked, that will help make
it even easier.


Some good mutators include Instagib Melee (which allows you to execute
one hit melee kills), Super Reload (makes active reload bullets deadly),
and Infinite ammo.


This is probably the second hardest achievement in Gears 3, behind "Seriously 3.0," which will take roughly 700 hours.






"Complete the 'Blast from the Past' Challenge."


To unlock this achievement, you need to find a Delorean.


Find the Delorean anywhere on the map, or simply play Smash Activity 1
and complete that to unlock one. You will then need to go into the
garage and purchase it.


Now get the delorean up to 88MPH to unlock the Blast From the Past challenge.

Within the challenge, perform a checklist of feats in under a minute to get the achievement.



The checklist is: Speed, brake, burnout, handbrake turn, reverse 180,
slalom, lap, and 360 spin. The key is doing them in the correct order
to cut the time down. The video above will show you every step you need
to obtain this achievement.







"Don't scratch the paint while piloting the paddleboat."



This achievement takes place in Chapter 2, Act 2, after you take control
of the paddleboat. The entire bit will last about three minutes, and
you cannot hit a single mine, rock, or boat.


Be patient and steady with your arm movements and anticipate your next
move. The Kinect has a little lag, so lift your arm up to jump slightly
earlier than you might normally. You'll unlock this one in no time.







"Take down the developers."


I know what you're thinking. "Raymond, why dont you and The Gunstringer
get a room already?" The truth is, this game has one of the best
complete achievement lists around.



This achievement is for killing the game's developers, and it happens at
the end of the game. Their whacky death animations and death sounds are
hilarious, and if you didn't enjoy the game, at least you can look
forward to killing its creators at the end. I think it's safe to say
more games should have this feature in the future.


The video above shows the madness taking place.







Raymond Cox goes by Stallion83 on Xbox Live
and has a gamerscore of over 617,000. He is currently on a quest to
reach a gamer score of 1,000,000. You can follow him on twitter here.