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The Best Achievements And Trophies Of 2011
Whether you love them, hate them, or forget they exist until they pop on your screen interrupting your game, achievements and trophies have become a (literally) required aspect of all PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games.
I fall into the love camp, and these are some of my favorites from 2011. The achievements and trophies that I find most interesting aren't the ones that mark your progress in a storyline, or that you get for attaining a certain number of headshots. I like the ones that can be skipped entirely and reward a player for doing something odd within the world of the game. I like the ones that force you to think outside of the normal functions of the game, or simply reward you for doing something weird.
LittleBigPlanet 2
I just found these Trophies to be oddly specific, and easy. There really should have been a trophy for getting the 9am and 9pm Trophies on the same day. That would have been true dedication.
A Game A Day Keeps The Doctor Away: Play LittleBigPlanet 2 on every day of the week.
Who Needs Breakfast?: Play LittleBigPlanet 2 before 9am.
Just… One… More… Go…:Play LittleBigPlanet 2 after 9pm.
Crysis 2
I got this achievement/trophy by setting a reminder in my phone to play the game again in six months. The idea behind it is to get people to continuously play Crysis 2, but my way works, too. I played the multiplayer a total of two times.
Dedication: Play online 6 months after your first time
Batman Arkham City
Pay Your Respects is interesting because it gives player a chance to see where Bruce Wayne's parents were killed, and it's something you can avoid completely. The Base Jumper achievement/trophy is similar to an achievement/trophy in Arkham Asylum, but like most things in Arkham City, it was on a much grander scale.
To get the Story Teller achievement/trophy, you have to visit Calendar Man on holidays that occur throughout the year. There is one outlined holiday per month. The game came out in October, but some people already have the achievement/trophy somehow. Time travel, I assume. [You know you can change the date/time on your console, right, Kyle? –Ed.]
Pay Your Respects: A moment of remembrance.
Gotham Base Jumper: Jump off the tallest building in Arkham City and glide for 1 minute without touching the ground.
Story Teller: Have 12 murderous dates with Calendar Man.
Ms. Splosion Man
Star Road in Ms. Splosion Man exists purely for the sake of the achievement associated with it. There is a road shaped like a star on the level select screen that you can unlock by finding a secret level exit, and beating a new level. It serves no purpose, other than to give you an achievement and hear Star – the character from Twisted Pixel's previous game, Comic Jumper – berate you as well as Ms. Splosion Man and even other game companies like Capcom.
This quote sums up the experience: "So yeah, if you want to keep hanging out here that's cool and everything, but uh, there really isn't anything to do here. Really it's just an achievement. It's the only reason this place exists, honestly. Really nothing more to see here. Not joking. Seriously. Go."
Find Star Road: Found star road.
Dead Space 2
Despite dismembering creatures left and right throughout Dead Space 2, it's still a bit of a welcome surprise when you get an achievement/trophy for dismembering a small child mascot statue.
Lightspeed de Milo: Dismember the Lightspeed Boy Statue.
L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire is a game that prides itself on its realistic city and faces. It's all about immersion. If you stray too far from the main goal and try to go all Grand Theft Auto on Los Angeles, you usually get punished. That is why these two achievements/trophies are great. They encourage you to go just a little crazy. At least long enough to get an achievement/trophy or two.
Lead Foot: Keep the needle above 80mph for more than ten seconds while driving.
Public Menace: Rack up $47,000 in penalties during a single story case.
Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem is full of references to games that are much better than itself, but this one actually rewards you. Hidden somewhere between the muscles and the *** jokes is a barrel with a heart on it. All I got when I unlocked it (other than a few points) was a sad sigh, and nostalgia for that brilliant game I played a few months earlier.
Companion Barrel: Unlock the secret closet at the end of the Forkstop.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
These are things you should probably be pursuing in real life instead of playing Skyrim, but achievement points and trophy score is cool too.
Citizen: Buy a house.
Married: Get married.
Infamous 2
Cole is brimming with power and agility, but for some inexplicable reason, in the first game he could not climb chain link fences. Cole can scale a building faster than Ezio Auditore, but not a fence with built in handles? I can climb a chain link fence and I am a real person (last I checked). Maybe he's too good for them? Who knows. In any case, the trophy perfectly encapsulates my emotion.
Don’t Fence Me In: Climb over a chain link fence and rejoice.
Rage
There is a hidden room in Rage that has some cool perspective work, and has signatures on the walls from all the developers. It's a sight to behold.
Dev Graffiti: Find the secret Developer Graffiti Room.
Uncharted 3
In Uncharted 2 you came across a pool while adventuring with Chloe. When you jumped in you played some Marco Polo with Chloe and she giggled politely at your antics. In Uncharted 3, you are alone on a sinking cruise ship, but you still find time to jump in a pool and yell out, "Marco!" to no one in particular.
Marco Solo: Play in the swimming pool on the Cruise Ship.
Portal 2
Portal 2 was full of all kind of great achievements/trophies that had absolutely nothing to do with the story. In fact, both the Good Listener and Pit Boss achievements/trophies effectively end the story in hilarious ways. The best part about these extra achievements/trophies? They were usually associated with extra dialogue from Wheatley or GLaDOS, and it was always hilarious. Smash TV is an especially good one to go after if you want to hear more from Wheatley.
The Ship Overboard is exciting for Half-Life fans. It's totally out of the way, but you can find remnants of the mysterious Borealis ship mentioned at the end of Episode Two. It's not much, but when it comes to anything about a new Half-Life game (or even just references to a previous one), we'll take it.
Good Listener: Take GLaDOS' escape advice.
Ship Overboard: Discover the missing experiment.
Pit Boss: Show that pit who's boss.
Can’t Touch This: Dance in front of a turret blocked by a hard light bridge in co-op.
Smash TV: Break 11 test chamber monitors.
You Made Your Point: Refuse to solve the first test in Chapter 8.
No Hard Feelings: Save a turret from redemption.
Metal Gear Solid HD
The Metal Gear Solid series has always been full of weird extras that are easily missed. I remember hearing from a friend that you could make Snake throw up by spinning him around in the menus of Metal Gear Solid 3. Doing this to Snake was like getting an achievement/trophy before the days of achievements/trophies. These additions finally get a little highlight in the HD releases of these games. I especially like the curt title of the Ocelot achievement/trophy. Right to the point.
Problem Solved, Series Over: Create the Ocelot Time Paradox.
Ralph Called: Make Snake throw up.
Sexting: Send Otacon a picture of the marine with no pants.
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