Zombies Deserve Achievements Too

Xbox Live® means different things to different people. For some, it is a perpetually raging battlefield where the world's toughest cyber soldiers can test their reflexes in tournaments, matches, and events ranging from real-world sports games to war simulations to fantasy epics. For others, Xbox Live Marketplace is where it's at for music, video, and game demo downloads.

Regardless of your leanings, there is one facet of the premiere online gaming service that can be used and enjoyed by all. That feature is the achievements system.

Every title published for Xbox 360™ has its own unique set of achievements laid out by the game's creators. Depending on the type of game, you can unlock and earn up to 1000 points through various feats of mastery. These accomplishments can vary greatly between genres.

Some of the more common ways to unlock an achievement are:

• Finish the single-player story mode
• Complete the game on the hardest difficulty level
• Play X amount of games, online or off
• Perform feats of mastery (three-pointers in basketball, headshots in first-person shooters, etc.)
• Find every collectible or secret
• Finish every optional side mission or quest

Ultimately, it's up to the developer to break down the total number of gamerscore points and assign them to different achievements for that game. As you pass each in-game milestone and accrue more points, you may unlock secret achievements that are only revealed to you when a required action is performed.

This element of mystery rewards players of a persistent and adventurous nature and encourages them to explore every nook and cranny laid out before them.

Join us as we take a look at some spoiler-free in-game achievements and explore the many gameplay possibilities ahead of you.

Kill Totals
The achievements in Dead Rising™ cover a vast array of accomplishments, and you won't necessarily accomplish them by just playing through your missions. The best kind of achievements are those that add something to the game rather than just marking your normal progress. In Dead Rising, the achievements, like the game itself, don't patronize you.

Lined up like ducks at the shooting gallery.

They achievements do, however, discriminate rather blatantly against zombies. Not only do zombies not earn achievements, but you earn them for killing—wait, you can't kill what's already dead—destroying zombies. You can capture the titles of Zombie Hunter, Zombie Killer, and Zombie Genocider by destroying at least 1,000, 10,000, and 53,594 zombies in one session.

At first, the number 53,594 can seem odd, but it equals the population of Willamette, Colorado prior to the … ahem … infestation. Have you ever wanted to take out an entire town? Now's your chance.

The trouble with going after so many zombies is that you're on a timer, and you have missions to accomplish. How in the hell are you going to get it all done? The fact is, something is going to have to suffer.

I recommend that you wait to go for the Zombie Killer and Genocider records until you're satisfied that you've played through the missions fully. Then you can come back and raze the town.

Frank recruits followers.

Frank the Pimp
There are plenty of achievements you can go for while successfully completing your missions, though. If you keep them in mind as you advance through the game, you'll find that opportunities regularly present themselves.

The Tour Guide achievement requires that you escort at least 8 survivors to safety at once, while the Frank the Pimp achievement (my personal favorite) requires you to escort at least 8 female survivors at once. You can accomplish either of these relatively easily if you remember to make them a goal.

Also related to survivors, the Humanist, Life Saver, and Saint achievements depend on whether you can get 10, 20 and 50 of these innocent bystanders out of the mall alive. Getting 20, and especially 50 survivors out is quite a feat and, as you might imagine, requires that you focus your energies on saving people.

In the beginning, this means many trips back and forth to the Security Rooms. If you're smart about it though, you can combine these trips with your missions. A good number of these survivors are in the mall. Get to them early, and your chances of finding them alive increase. The story progresses without you, and people will die when there are zombies on the loose.

Say cheese!

A Picture's Worth
The game's developer, Capcom, put a lot of emphasis on Frank's career as a photojournalist, so don't forget to take pictures. Almost 20% of the achievements relate to photos you can take. Start early and, as you gather survivors and lead them to safety, take their pictures. Photograph 10 to earn the Portraiture achievement. Capture 50 of them on film to gain the Census Taker achievement.

Get in the habit of snapping a quick shot of each survivor as you come across them. Group shots count. In addition, when you come across psychos (you'll know them when you see them), stop staring in horror and take their pictures as well. Get four to earn the Psycho Photo achievement. It's best to take these as soon as you spot them, before they notice you and things get ugly.

Point values count toward achievements as well. Line up your shot to max out the points. Score at least 1500 on a single shot, and you earn the Photojournalist award. Top 3000 and you've got a Pulitzer in the bag. You're a true Artiste.

In addition, if you find a crowd scene, like the one at the front entrance of the mall, try to get as many zombies in the shot as possible. A photo that has captured 50 target markers earns you the Group Photo achievement. You'll find this kind of group photo is easiest to capture from above or from a distance.

You have a tremendous amount of vareity and challenge available to you in Dead Rising, not the least of which is the achievements. Steal a car, jump a car, walk on zombies, and you earn achievements.

You have so many chances to earn gamer points, that you'd be foolish not to try to get them all. None are out of your reach. Just stick your arms out in front of you, and don't stop for anything. Now, repeat after me, "Achieeeevemennnts. Aaaarghhhh."

Article by Angel Leigh McCoy