Consolation Prize

I think it’s safe to say I’m now done with The Orange Box after successfully escorting the garden gnome - sometimes affectionately known as Trey - to the White Forest missile silo. Placing him carefully into his streamlined carriage with only Lamarr as company we said our farewells, or rather a moment of respectful silence passed between Gordon and Trey as neither uttered a word.

Overall the achievement wasn’t particularly difficult, just time consuming, and careful progress is required in some areas. The most frustrating aspect of the entire adventure was trying to keep poor old Trey in the Dodge Charger, whom had a tendency to fly out of the car at the slightest change of direction or touch of the brakes as neither the car seats nor Alyx are apparently solid objects.

It got me thinking as to the reason why I bothered to spend the time and effort to get this achievement given that it’s only worth a measly 30G. I mean to be fair; some games award that many points just for putting the game disc in the 360 so it certainly wasn’t for the miserly boost it gave my gamerscore.

Personally the achievements of most interest, and the ones I find more fulfilling, aren’t those types that are the run of the mill “kill x number of enemies”, or “win x number of times”, but those that belong to the more bizarre and unusual variety. These kinds of achievements don’t really interfere with the game, they’re an option the player can pursue at their discretion but offer the possibility of changing the game dynamic. Like a moth to a flame I’m instantly drawn to these types of achievements; primarily for the extra challenge they present, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t also for the kudos amongst my peers.

With regards to recent Xbox 360 games that offer a decent selection of achievements I believe The Orange Box can be held-up-high as a preeminent example. It not only rewards the player for reaching specific points in the game, but it also provides a variety of additional achievements that encourage the player to go that extra mile. It is littered with examples like Little Rocket Man, One Free Bullet, and Zombie Chopper which give the impression that Valve have carefully considered how to incorporate achievements into each game and are not just an afterthought.

Little Rocket Man has to rank as my favourite game achievement to date, but I was wondering what game related achievement, Xbox 360 or otherwise, are you most proud of?

Sleeping Gnome image courtesy of
Thad Zajdowicz stock.xchng

Nice job on Rocket Man. I did not even try because I thought it would be to annoying.

Cheers Jigsaw! Overall it wasn’t as annoying as I initially thought it would be. There are quite a few places (after the mines) where you can leave the gnome, do what you have to do, and come back for him. I genuinely felt a great sense of achievement when I finally placed him in the rocket.