Prey for 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 ranging from real-world sports games to elaborate war simulations. 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.

There's always time to save the girl.

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

• Finishing the single-player story mode
• Completing the game on the hardest difficulty level
• Play X amount of games, online or off
• Performing feats of mastery (three-pointers in basketball, headshots in first-person shooters, etc.)
• Finding collectibles and secrets
• Finishing optional side mission and quest

Ultimately, it's up to the developer to break down the total number of gamerscore points and assign them to different achievements for their 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 specific action is performed.

This element of mystery rewards players for beign adventurous and persistent and encourages them to explore every corner of the in-game world.

Get a sneak peek at some of the available in-game acheivements and possibilities coming soon in Prey.  Spoiler-free, I promise.

Prey on Your Friends
While the single-player story mode in Prey offers hours of gameplay, you'll earn the majority of achievements in multiplayer mode. Whether you're playing MultiPrey (every man for himself) or Team Death Match, it's the number of your kills that count. Kill 50 opponents with any weapon and you earn the Young Blood achievement. Take out 250 opponents for the Brave Star award. The coveted Ultimate Warrior honor goes to the one who gets 50,000 kills. Yes, that's with four zeros.

Find prey or be preyed on.

Each weapon has its own achievement as well. For example, make 100 kills using sniper mode on a rifle, and earn the Sharpshooter award. One hundred kills with any of these earns you an achievement and a title:

• Use the wrench to be known as a Mechanic.
• Use the acid blaster to be known as a Toxic Overlord.
• Use a rifle to be known as a Rifle Ranger.
• Use crawler grenades to be known as a Crawler King.
• Use an auto cannon to be known as a Machine Gun Tommy.
• Use the crawler launcher to be known as a Launcher Lord.
• Use the leech gun to be known as a Soul Sucker.

Even when you're playing Team Death Match, you earn achievements based on your kill total, although it doesn't matter which weapon you use. Earn the Team Member acheivement by breaking 50 kills, then rack up for than 250 for Team Player. Bump off 1000 other players and get the distinction of being a Team Leader.

Prey Alone
In single-player story mode, as you defeat the alien threat as Tommy, the Cherokee hero, you can earn achievements from completing chapters and by finishing the game. Finishing the game unlocks Wicked difficulty, and if you defeat that punishing mode, you'll get yourself the title of Galactic Hero.

Various chapters and story landmarks also have achievements associated with them, but you have to finish them on the Wicked difficult setting. Struggling through on Normal doesn't cut it for these achievements. Some of them goals include:

• Complete Salvage to be known as a Scrap Yard Master.
• Complete all Shuttle levels to be known as a Shuttle Commander.
• Complete the Biolabs challenge to be known as a Lab Rat.
• Escape the Superportal to be known as an Escape Artist.
• Finish all Harvester levels to be known as a Harvester.
• To be an Avenging Angel, complete the Spindle levels and the GirlfriendX challenge.
• Complete the Keeper Fortress level and be known as a Keeper Killer.
• Destroy the Sphere Brain and be the Last Man Standing.

Prey has more than thirty achievements to aspire to, including five secret ones that you will unlock as you make your way through the game. You won't find them easy to attain either, but that's the whole point. You don't get bragging rights for doing something everyone can do. If you're at the top of your game, you can earn the Top Ten achievement by breaking into the top then of any leaderboard. And, if you're really good—and I do mean really good—then you can ascend to Zen Master of Prey and earn the Number One achievement when you hit the top of the leaderboard. Now that is an achievement!

Article by Angel Leigh McCoy