F.E.A.R Achievements

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. For others, Xbox Live Marketplace is where it's at for music, videos, and game demo downloads.

Use cover, reflex boosters, and slo-mo to avoid damage.

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 game, you can earn up to 1000 points through various feats of mastery. These accomplishments can vary greatly between games and genres. Take a look at some of the available achievements for the upcoming horror shooter F.E.A.R.

Here's where things start getting creepy.

F.E.A.R. Me, Please
As if the game weren't scary or challenging enough already, with the evolution of F.E.A.R . from the PC to the Xbox 360, the game just gets better. In addition to the console controls and the HDTV capabilities, the developers add achievements that push you, dare you even, to succeed under certain strict criteria. That's the main philosophy behind the achievements of F.E.A.R ., and it doubles or triples the game's entertainment value.

The achievements in F.E.A.R. enhance both the campaign mode and the multiplayer modes by challenging you to make it through the levels with specific restrictions placed upon you. For example, in the campaign mode, you earn an achievement if you complete the campaign without dying, and you gain another if you merely complete the campaign, with as many deaths as you can manage, on Extreme Difficulty. When you go to Xbox Live and you see people who have these achievements, you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they worked hard to earn them. You don't earn these rewards for killing a few bad guys. No. If you get that badge, you know it's something special; you're something special.

As you explore the world and tackle your
missions, you may as well go for the gold.
Aim high, and kick yourself if you fall short.

C.A.M.P.A.I.G.N.
The campaign mode makes up the heart and soul of the game. Thus, the majority of the achievements available relate directly to how well you do in campaign mode. As you explore the world and tackle your missions, you may as well go for the gold. Aim high, and kick yourself if you fall short. As you're playing, try (I dare you.) to earn the following achievements. See how many you can get. It won't be as easy as it sounds.

• Complete the campaign with no boosters.
• Don't use any slow-mo. Stay in real time throughout the campaign.
• Try any of the difficulty levels other than easy. Don't be a chicken.
• Make it your goal to seek out every health and reflex booster. If you find them all, you get a cookie.
• Destroy every enemy agent. Gack them all. You can do it. You know you'll like it.
• Use your ammo sparingly. Play as if you have no more than 500 rounds. If you can get by with only that, you're a hero.
• Leave no piece of intel behind. That means you have to listen to every phone message and pick up every laptop you find.
• Take out 3 or more enemies with a single grenade or bomb.
• Can you play creatively? Kill 10 enemy agents with barrels, fire extinguishers, or fuse boxes.
• Use slow-mo and put down five or more enemy agents before they know what hit them.

All the achievements listed above deal with either finding things or killing them. You're doing the giving and the taking. But, it also pays to receive. How much pain can you take? If you use 50 or more medkits during the course of your campaign, you earn an achievement. Of course, you'll have to have the wounds to need the medkits. Pain, pain and more pain. Along those same lines, use up 50 or more armor vests and you get an achievement. How friendly is your inner masochist?

You and the boys in your F.E.A.R. team.

M.U.L.T.I.P.L.A.Y.E.R.
When a game moves onto Xbox 360, it usually gains online multiplayer elements. F.E.A.R. is no exception. A number of multiplayer modes expand the gameplay potential of F.E.A.R. and that means it has achievements to match. Among these, you'll find a variety that challenge you to push yourself to the limit as you face off against friends, strangers and enemies.

• Bet you can't capture 50 flags in ranked Capture the Flag matches.
• Bet you don't have the stamina for 1000 ranked matches.
• Bet you can't blow up 200 enemies.
• Bet you can't get 150 headshots.

Maybe those challenges are a bit too much for you, hm? If so, there's one where you have a chance, if you're a nice guy and make friends easily. Put together a team in which your fellow players make up for your shortcomings. Win five games in any of the Team mode games and you get your coveted achievement. It's as they say: "Teamwork pays off." I'd recommend you not burn any bridges and maybe you'll rack up those achievements after all.

Article by Angel Leigh McCoy