Achieving Double Agent

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 escapes. For others, Xbox Live Marketplace is where it's at for music, videos, trailers, 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.

Whether you knock him out or kill him affects your stealth grade.

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.

Want the Hero achievement? What's your choice here?

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

Level Complete
This represents what seems to be the quota for "standard" achievements in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® Double Agent™. As you make your way through each successive single-player mission, you will earn that addictive Achievement Unlocked popup, along with a modest addition to your gamerscore. If you're looking for tips on how to accrue these achievements, take a gander at our Tips and Tricks piece for the single-player game here.

Teacher's Pet
This challenge is a fairly easy achievement, but it also represents a clever motivating factor on the part of the developers to get you to play through the training mission. Too often players get frustrated at a game when having played through the tutorial would have greatly eased their aggravation. Now you've got a 40 point motivator to get started the right way.

Plenty of light sources to kill.

Ranking Achievements
There is a series of achievements tied to your overall prowess in the spy vs. mercenary multiplayer mode, whether playing through the co-op challenges or against other teams online. The more you play, the more points you earn.

• Earn the Recruit achievement after scoring a 1% ranking for 10 points.
• Earn the Operative achievement after scoring a 5% ranking for 15 points.
• Earn the Field Agent achievement after scoring a 20% ranking for 20 points.
• Earn the Special Agent achievement after scoring a 45% ranking for 25 points.
• Earn the Officer achievement after scoring a 75% ranking for 30 points.
• Earn the Commander achievement after scoring a 95% ranking for 45 points.

Map Achievements
Find an achievement for all eight maps when playing versus mode online in Double Agent. Each achievement is worth 20 points, and you can garner them by meeting the following requirements:

• Play the map at least 25 times.
• Win as spies and mercenaries at least 10 times each.

Co-Op Achievements
You'll find a series of co-op challenges that pit you and up to two of your friends against a team of A.I. controlled mercenaries. These challenges can net you three trophies, bronze, silver, and gold. Collect all of them to raise you gamerscore.

Use your cover carefully to earn Invisible Man.

• All the bronze trophies earns 15 points.
• All the silver trophies earns 30 points.
• All the gold trophies earns 50 points.

All the Rest

The following achievements don't fall into a category of their own, though they are all earned in the single-player mode.

• Hero: Complete the game with the most complete ending. Gamerscore earned: 20 points.
  • Tip: The name of this achievement should tip you off to the best way to earn it. When faced with decisions, make the most heroic choices to earn this achievement. Pay special attention to the "directed moments."
• Invisible Man: Complete any single-player level without being detected for 20 gamerscore points.
  • Tip: Earn this in the earlier levels, where it's much easier to progress without being noticed.
• Getting Technical: In single-player mode, collect all the gadgets and upgrades. Gamerscore earned: 20 points.
  • Tip: Be thorough, not fast. Make sure to completely search all the areas of a map before moving on.
• The Human Light Switch: Use your EMP Pistol to shut off at least 20 light sources. Gamerscore earned: 20 points.
  • Tip: Get this out of the way early as well by shutting off every single light you can find in the first level.
• Professional Ninja: Complete the single-player campaign on the Hard difficulty setting.
  • Tip: You'll have to be good, but if you want this achievement, you might as well start on Hard to keep from having to play through twice.
• Agent of the Month: Complete the profiles of all major members of the JBA. Gamerscore earned: 20 points.
  • Tip: Never consider a secondary objective merely secondary.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent mixes and matches its achievements as well as any game out there. What's more, while few of them are simple, none of them are so far fetched that you can't complete them with a little hard work.

Article by Ryan Treit