I was wrong.

I've developed the same unlocking fervor for "Smash Bros" challenges that I once had for Xbox Achievements. I didn’t see this coming, even though I knew full well that I have no problems performing arbitrary tasks to unlock virtually meaningless content. In fact, I have six months' proof in case I ever forget again.

At least I've been unlocking some fun stuff while playing through "Smash Bros." I've been rewarded with characters, levels, trophies, classic game demos, music and stickers for performing the same futile tasks that I had during my Achievements quest. For example, I received a Super Scope trophy for clearing Target Smash Level 1 with all the characters, which, in terms of "Smash Bros." is awesome, but in the grand scheme of life… it's not so much.

Here I am chasing trivial rewards all over again. I really think it's a personality flaw.

There are 128 challenges in "Smash Bros. Brawl" to unlock, and after almost two weeks I've unlocked 75. That's pretty good progress, in my opinion. But it still leaves me 53 to go. I'm certain there are some I won't ever get around to, like collecting Final Smash trophies for all characters. The Final Smash trophies are awarded for completing All-Star mode, and this means I literally need to beat every character with every other character.

It's just never going to happen, but every day I'm chipping away at the easier ones.

Much to my surprise, there are a few added features that make this challenge system superior to the Xbox's Achievements system I know and love. First of all, prior to the game's release I didn't see a list of requirements for all the challenges, so this venture is one of true exploration, discovering new challenges around every turn, and being legitimately surprised as I unlock items.

I also like the way it hints at how to complete new challenges. Once a challenge has been completed and marked in the game's Vault, you get a sneak peak at the requirements for two adjacent challenges. While they may not explicitly tell you the requirements to open that box, it gives you an idea of what you should try.

One additional added feature, which I like the best, yet I still haven't taken advantage of: Golden Hammers, which allow you to unlock items and challenges at your leisure, as long as you have one at your disposal.

I'm now forced to decide how I want to play "Brawl" when I turn it on. Do I go for the self-satisfaction of completing the challenges, or do I compete against my friends on-line?

I fear it may be a question that I will be asking myself for a very long time, especially since my time spent in the online modes doesn't contribute to certain tasks that I need to perform in order to complete a given challenge. For example, if I need to brawl on a certain level ten times, it only counts if I do it offline, not while I am online.

I knew going into "Brawl" that there would be loads to unlock in this game, but I didn't realize that once I had all the characters and levels unlocked that I would become so consumed with these challenges. I also didn’t anticipate the sheer number of challenges that would need to be completed. Well played Sakarai, well played.

While this may not lead to a six month weekly posting spree like my last quest did, it is showing signs of having the same effects on my social life, as well as simply how I and what I choose to play when I turn on "Smash Bros. Brawl."

It's over.

"Brawl" is coming out in less than a week, and I can have a little time to relax - detox if you will.

What started as a seemingly good idea at meager 10,000 points in 10 weeks ballooned to 25,000, and 26 weeks, and forced me to explore the seedy depths of achievement whoredom. I've played some of the best games of my life, and some of the worst, all in the name of Achievement points… and this is my story.

I originally planned this last week of whoring to be dedicated to cleaning up some of the mess that I started over the course of the last six months, and to scrape together points from titles that I had already started. Unfortunately, after about two hours of giving "skate." another chance I knew that wasn't the way to go. Maybe someday I'll go back and finish collecting everything in "The Simpsons," but it wouldn't be this week.

This is what I did instead:

After my time with "skate." I hoped that for some reason the last 705 points that I needed would just magically appear on my Gamertag, and I would just all of a sudden be all done with this quest. However, they didn’t.

I wasn’t on pace to even come near what I needed (read: I was playing too much "N+") until I reached out for some assistance from the MTV Multiplayer stack-o-games, and put all my faith into "Jumper: Griffin's Story." I knew that yet another licensed title would save the day when I noticed an off-handed comment on Major Nelson's twitter about how he was able to procure 200 points in less than a minute playing this game. While the quality of the game wasn't exactly what I would have hoped for (it's a button masher's dream), it did provide me with 600 points that I desperately needed. By Sunday night, with those points added to 30 from "skate.," 35 from "Madden '08," and 35 from "N+," I had 700 of the 705 points that I needed.

I only needed five more points

My desire to get this achievement monkey off my back got me out of bed early on Monday morning to complete my quest before heading into work (breaking one of my cardinal rules: no gaming before work). After reviewing all the games that I still had access to it turned out that I had overlooked a fairly easy 20 points in "The Club" for the "Save Our Souls" achievement - in which you needed to shoot out the letters "SOS" in a sign in the game. I thought it was a bit apropos that, after six months of an Achievement quest (which was really just an extension of a two-year Achievement addiction) that this was the achievement that put me over the edge.

I was done. It was over. I could finally relax.

Over the last 26 weeks I've played 59 games strictly for Achievements. I've "completed" 15 different titles (13 retail, and 2 XBLA). I've logged countless hours on both the best and worst the Xbox 360 has to offer. I've learned a lot; about video games, and myself as a gamer. The biggest lesson learned is that Achievements don’t mean anything; they are just an arbitrary number set forth by the developers of the game as an added incentive to play. There's nothing wrong with them. They just don't mean anything.

Now, I feel like I can finally go back to playing games that I'm legitimately interested in, instead of just playing the games that have really easy points. At the same time, this quest forced me to play a lot of games that I wouldn’t normally play, and it turns out that I actually enjoyed some of them. I've learned that in the future I won't be so quick to write off certain titles just because they may not be targetted at me. I've also learned to hate game delays, more than ever.

That's it - six months, 25,015 achievement points, and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" coming out in five days, everything worked out rather well. Thanks for following along, and keep an eye out for me on Live (jaded cynic), just not this Sunday.

One added bonus: After months of "research" I was able compile this list:

My Achievement Awards For Outstanding Achievements

Best Arcade Game (for Achievements)
Galaga

Game So Bad I Couldn't Even Finish It (Even For "Easy" Achievements)
Beowulf

Best (Easiest) Achievements
Avatar: The Last Airbender -- The Burning Earth

Game That Wasn't Worth The Effort
Asteroids & Asteroids Deluxe (0 points)

Most Pleasant Surprise
The Cabela's Games (Trophy Bucks, Big Game Hunter)

Game Most Avoided Because Achievement Points Were Too Hard
Tie: Mass Effect. Assassin's Creed

Best Game Actually Worth Playing (Achievements Were Just A Bonus)
Tie: Call of Duty 4, BioShock, Puzzle Quest, Portal

This lofty goal has changed me. Much like the child who is caught smoking, and his parents subsequently make him smoke an entire carton, I think I have overdosed on Achievement points. I know they have been meaningless since the beginning, yet I felt compelled to collect them, but after whoring myself out for 24,295 points over the course of the last 25 weeks I have really come to appreciate just how little I need them.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think they are the greatest gimmick of this console generation, but I may not be going out of my way as much to get them. The string of games I've played has had highs and lows (some very low lows), and I've seen the best and the worst of what the Xbox 360 has to offer. I now know, deep in my heart, that I don't need to get every Achievement point in every game to prove myself to anybody (after all, who really cares) In other words, this quest has changed me - however, I regret nothing.

I still have 705 points to go, and about two weeks to complete that in. I feel very confident I can do that without breaking a sweat (especially if I break down and spend the $3.99 to pick up a used copy of "Madden '06").

So, I may be calling it a little early, but I feel that my first game of "Smash Bros." will be along with the masses, and I won't be left behind in anyone's dust. At the same time, I still have 705 points to go, and I need to focus on completing that, if, for no other reason than to prove it to myself, and close this chapter of my gaming career. It's almost time to move on.

I've pushing my way to the finish line with another one of last year's biggest titles. "Madden '08" was my biggest contributor last week, affording me 885 points, with minimal playtime. It was the first time I have picked up a "Madden" game since 1994, and it somehow felt like I hadn't missed a beat. The game didn’t really feel like it had changed too much in four console generations, and I was able to breeze through a good handful of football games as if I was still 12 years old and in my bedroom at my parent's house.

Last night, I was left at an impasse. Should I complete the last six more difficult achievements, or move on to another title? I have yet to decide, so we will have to wait and see what this next week holds. Another shinning highlight of this past week was the XBLA release "N+." While I may not have raked in the points on it, like so many other XBLA games, it is one of the best things that I have ever downloaded, and everyone should play it… everyone! I also cleaned up a few easier points in "The Club," finally putting that one down until I'm completely done with this quest (so very soon).

My quest is winding down, and it makes me a little sad. I'm sad that my Xbox actually might not get played too much in the next few months, and that my quest has left me wanting more. I know, in my brain, that points really don’t mean anything, yet, much like an addict, I want more. All I can think about (aside from finally being able to play "Smash Bros.") is that once I hit 45,955 is that 50,000 isn't that far off.

And really, how sad is that?

Hopefully by this time next week I will be done, but if, for some reason, you just can't possibly wait, please check out my Xbox Live profile (jaded cynic) to satiate your desires. And, for the love of God … please wish me luck.

I had all intentions of spending my President's Day racking up 1,000 points in "Madden '08," but instead I was treated to yet another error message. This time, instead of last week's dirty disk error, I was treated to my Xbox 360 telling me to put my game into an Xbox 360 to play it -- while the disc was already in there. That either means my Xbox is going through an identity crisis or the game was damaged. My guess was the latter. So I didn’t get to indulge in my first "Madden" game since the days of the SNES, maybe next week.

Other than that one road block, I was back on track, scoring a total of 1,145 Achievement points this week. That puts my overall total at 23,220, only 1,780 points to go, before my March 9 deadline. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my on-going self-imposed "Smash Bros." spoiler denial. It's just not holding up.

After months and months of daily tidbits on the Dojo, I've broken down more than once in the past week to peek at some of the hidden stages, and even a character or two. I can't help it; it feels a bit like an addiction. I need just a little bit more to get me through. The only thing I can really do is try my best to focus that energy on finishing off the last 1,865 points that I need to end this already well drawn-out quest.

This week's mix of games was quite eclectic, since I had to finish what I started last week with "Cabela's Trophy Bucks" and fill in the space I had originally allotted to "Madden." Once I completed "Trophy Bucks" for a total of 1,000 points (210 last week, and 790 this week), I moved on to an advance copy of "The Club," which served as a few hours of entertainment, and 260 more points. Then, with Monday off, and a whole President's Day to myself, I whittled away at a few different titles: "Beautiful Katamari," "Undertow," and a five- point gain in "Gauntlet." With only a few weeks to go, every point counts.

I have fewer than 2,000 points to go, and, honestly, I want to be done with this as soon as possible. Perhaps I can pull off that unlikely task next week. If GameFly decides to be a bit more helpful than they have been, I just might be able to do it, but we'll just have to wait and see.

If you're up for finding out if I reach my magic number of 45,955 in the next week, check out my Xbox Live profile: jaded cynic.

In all likelihood it was the fault of the person that rented "Cabela's Trophy Bucks" before me. Whoever that was, I fear they may have drastically thrown off my quest. With only a few weeks left, my ability to play "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" when it is released, hangs delicately in the balance.

This past week, I only added 370 Achievement points toward my 25,000-point GameScore goal. A minimum of 1,000 P.P.W. (Points Per Week) has been my overall goal, and I have been able to hit that fairly consistently for the past month, as I have needed to ramp up my point production after the holiday slowdown. Instead, this week I drastically dropped off my pace. In weeks three and four of this quest, these may have been acceptable numbers. Now I'm playing with fire.

It's not like I didn’t intend to get a whole heap of points this week. It's just the disc I received from GameFly for this week's 1000 point hopeful ("Cabela's Trophy Bucks") was kicking back a dirty disc error over and over again. After trying it on our Xbox at work I was able to whittle away a small handful of the Achievements from the game. But I was still getting the same error periodically. After notifying GameFly about the problem, they sent me another copy of the game. That's great, but I got it yesterday, and wasn't able to run through almost the entire game last night. This contributed to my meager score for the week, consisting of mostly XBLA games, my completion of the medium setting in "Guitar Hero 3," and my attempt to finally start "Dead Rising." I'm hoping that I'll be telling you a different story next week.

On a related note, I'd like of offer you a friendly reminder that (for the second time) you and I should be playing "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" by now. This week (February 10 to be exact) marks the second "official" release date for the game that Nintendo missed. On the plus side, it also marks the second time that I would have surpassed my goal. I was supposed to have 20,000 points by now, and I do. But I'm stuck suffering through another month of waiting, as well as avoiding the spoilers (which is getting harder and harder every day). As the song goes, "I will survive." At least I hope I will.

If you'd like to follow along with my quest check out my Xbox Live profile: jaded cynic, and let me know if you think I'm going to get the rest of the 2,925 points that I need in order to complete my quest by March 9.

On a side note, I finally changed my Gamer Pic this week to something I can be proud of, one of my heroes, ScrewAttack's Angry Video Game Nerd. I just wanted to make it clear that even though I generally have a similar scowl on my face, that image is, in fact not of me.

The inevitable happened. "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" was officially released - in Japan, and I have spent every waking minute since last Tuesday avoiding the spoilers for the game that have flooded the internet. It's been rough.

I'll admit, I spent most of early last week distraught and in denial.

Much like your average 10-year-old, I didn’t even want to play anything, just because it wasn’t "Smash Bros.," so my quest this week started extremely slow. By Friday of last week I had only scored a measly 30 points playing "Zuma" of all things, and realized that if there was any chance of me keeping pace with the minimum of 1,000 that I needed this week I was going to really need to get back into the game, but really all I could think about was that huge post on GoNintendo that had all the "Brawl" spoilers in it.

I some how persevered, demonstrated a huge amount of willpower, and didn't look at the post (or any other post for that matter).

Distracted, I moved on.

The only bright spot for me in gaming last week was the fact that "Rez HD" was released on Xbox Live. However, it was too little to heal the wounds of not being Japanese. The game looked and played amazingly, and was truly proof that games in HD (and with achievements) really do make a difference. The collector in me purchased a copy of the PS2 version of "Rez" less than six months ago, shortly before "Rez HD" was announced, and I barely played it. Compared to the HD generation of games, the original looked dull, and unappealing. However, the Xbox Live version looks much cleaner. That alone enhanced the gameplay for me. Now, what would have made the game perfect was if instead of flying through a computer, Mario and Pikachu were fighting in the middle of the screen, and it was actually "Smash Bros." Oh well.

In addition to "Rez HD" I spent my Super Bowl weekend rolling up 1,000 points playing "FIFA Soccer 06: Road to the World Cup." While soccer games have never been my virtual sport of choice, after five or six hours I definitely perfected my skills. I was able to use Italy to destroy Muldova, with the difficulty was set to amateur. It's time to make another confession - I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. I was too busy getting achievement points (it was my own little Totilo-esque rebellion). By the time the Giants won, I had another "cool" 1,000 points, capping my week at 1,110 points.

My 22-week total now stands at 21,705, leaving me 3,295 more points to go until I hit 25,000 (an overall GamerScore of 45,955) and then I'm done with this. With about five weeks to go, it seems like a reasonable goal -- depending on how you define "reasonable." I'm almost there. I'm almost done. I still can't stop thinking about how I could actually be playing "Smash Bros." if I lived on the other side of the Pacific. Lucky Japanese.

If you want to follow along with me, and see just how close I am getting to my goal of 25,000 points check out my Xbox Profile: jaded cynic.

This past week I collected another 1,415 achievement points, which, put me past my secondary target goal of 20,000 points before February 11 - "Smash Bros.'" second pre-delay release date. I've now collected a total of 20,595 points since mid-September, and am well on pace to hit 25,000 points by March 9. I've been furiously obsessing over Xbox 360 titles for almost six months now, but, as some of you readers have pointed out, at what cost to my other game systems?

Great games on other systems have come and gone since I started, and I have barely touched them. I've been too busy playing games like "Open Season," "Cars," and this week's 1,000 point-getter "NHL 2K6." I haven’t stopped collecting games, filling in my back catalog of titles that I missed when they were first released. In an attempt to demonstrate just how much I am actually missing out on, I now present a list of games that I have added to my collection since I started this quest back in September.

Atari 2600
"Spider-Man"

Famicom
"Kirby's Adventure"
"Pac-Man 2"

NES
"720"
"Adventure of Lolo"
"Barbie"
"Darkwing Duck"
"Disney Adventures in the Magic Kingdom"
"Donkey Kong 3"
"Duck Hunt"
"Evert and Lendel Tennis"
"Gun-Nac"
"Heavy Barrel"
"Heavy Shreddin'"
"Home Alone 2"
"Kickle Cubicle"
"M.C. Kids"
"Mappy Land"
"Mega Man 5"
"Mickey's Safari"
"Nightshade"
"Quantum Fighters"
"R.B.I. Baseball"
"Rampage"
"Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos"
"Spelunker"
"Stinger"
"Super Sprint"
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project"
"Tetris 2"
"Thrilla's Surfari"
"Tiny Toon Adventures: Cartoon Workshop"
"Wacky Races"
"Widget"
"Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros Visions of Power"

Gameboy
"Killer Instinct"

SNES
"Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures"

PlayStation
"C: The Contra Adventure"
"Danger Girl"
"Die Hard Trilogy"
"Medievil II"
"MediEvil"
"PoPoLoCrois" (JP)
"Valkyrie Profile" (JP)
"X-Men: Mutant Academy 2"
PlayStation Developer's Demo Disc

N64
"Banjo-Kazooie"
"Pokemon Stadium"
"The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask"
"The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
"Yoshi's Story"

Dreamcast
"Shenmue"
"Skies of Arcadia"
"Virtua Tennis"
"Wacky Races"

GBA
"Boundish" (JP)
"Drill Dozer"
"Fire Emblem"
"Gunstar Super Heroes"
"Rhythm Tengoku" (JP)
"Wario Ware, Inc.: Mega Microgame$"
"Warioware Twisted"

PlayStation 2
"Amplitude"
"Beyond Good & Evil"
"Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1"
"Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King"
"Frequency"
"Kingdom Hearts"
"Kingdom Hearts 2"
"Lesuire Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude"
"Mega Man X Collection"
"Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty"
"Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence"
"Mister Mosquito"
"Odin Sphere"
"Silent Hill 2"

Gamecube
"Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem"
"Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance"
"P.N.03"
"Pac-Man vs". / "Pac-Man World 2"
"Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door"
"Skies of Arcadia Legends"
"Star Fox Adventures"
"Star Fox Assault"
"The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures"
"Viewtiful Joe 2"
"Wario Ware Inc. Mega Party Game$"

Xbox
"Fable"
"Marvel vs. Capcom 2"
"Shenmue II"

DS
"Contact"
"Game & Watch Collection" (JP)
"Kirby Canvas Curse"
"Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis"
"Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney -- Justice For All"
"Pokemon Diamond Version"
"Simpsons Game"
"Star Fox Command"
"Super Princess Peach"
"Tingle's Balloon Fight" (JP)
"Wario: Master of Disguise"
"Yoshi's Island DS"

PSP
"Mega Man Powered Up"

PlayStation 3
"Aquatopia"
"Calling All Cars"
"Everyday Shooter"
"fl0w"
"Locoroco"
"Mesmerize"
"Motorstorm"
"Pixeljunk Monsters"

Wii
"Baseball Stars 2"
"Bubble Bobble"
"Link's Crossbow Training"
"Super Mario Bros. 3"
"Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels"
"Super Mario Galaxy"
"Zack and Wiki"

It's been a great few months for collecting, but not so much for actually playing any of them. Of the 118 games on that list, I have only sat down and played about eight of them. With the majority of my gaming time dedicated to my Xbox 360, there has been a lot of dust collecting in my apartment.

So, for those of you that think that I don’t know what I'm missing, I promise you, I do. It is one of the reasons I'm hoping I can hit 25,000 achievement points with some time to spare before "Smash Bros." comes out. Maybe I can actually get a chance to beat "Super Mario Galaxy."

I hope this offers you, the reader, an insight into my level of dedication, and over-all stick-to-it-iveness that I have for this quest. As meaningless as Achievement points are (and I understand that they mean absolutely nothing) I still feel compelled to collect them. Just like your mom and her Hummel figurines, this is what my life really boils down to -- obsessive collecting.

If you're hoping to see how I'm doing, please check out my Xbox Live profile: jaded cynic, and drop me a line.

[Edit: Removed the duplicate "Star Fox Adventures," and added in "Zack and Wiki"]

To catch everyone up, with last week's heartbreaking news of "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" being delayed into March, I tacked on an extra 5,000 achievement points to my quest. The new addition upped my target goal to 25,000 points (15,000 more than my original number). With more time brings more games. I was able to stay on-point this week, scoring 1,230 points, bringing my overall points scored in this challenge to 19,180. I have 5,820 points to go. I'm so close, yet, so far.

This past week I ran up my Gamerscore with the help of "Viva Pinata," "Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2008," "Heavy Weapon," "Gripshift," and the ever-present "Scene It: Lights Camera Action." Prior to this challenge I could have sworn that "Viva Pinata" and "Big Game Hunter" would never enter my Xbox 360, yet, in the name of Achievement points, I played the hell out of them - and liked them.

Who knew I would actually enjoy a gardening sim in which I get to bring piñatas into the world, and a redneck "Gears of War" in which I get to take out forest creatures? It was very reassuring this week to find out that there are still some games out there that I can actually enjoy getting the Achievement points, instead of hating myself for playing another kids game.

Last week's post was written in a fury of frustration over the game delay for a title that I have been looking forward to for a few years now, and, it was pretty much targetted at whomever at Nintendo made that call. Remember - the Multiplayer blog is here to make the gaming universe a better place for all gamers, and I was using my piece last week as a place to release some aggravation. So, in response to some of the comments from last week's post about why I'm continuing on my quest, and what's my motivation, all they need to do is read above and see that I am actually enjoying myself as I work my way to 25,000 meaningless points. I'm well aware that it seems like I'm "grinding the axe" for this series, and to some extent I am, but it's all in the name of the blog Additionally, I just like having more points than everyone in the office.

I'm fully aware (you'll see just how aware next week) that I am passing up some amazing games while I'm working through this, and it really wasn't supposed to be this way - remember how "Smash Bros." was supposed to come out at the beginning December?

We'll see what this next week holds, but hopefully I can score at least 1,000 points, and keep pace with the last few weeks. If you want to follow along, check out my Xbox Live profile: jaded cynic.

I'm losing interest, and ambition. You play 40 different (and mostly bad) Xbox 360 games over the course of 19 weeks and see where your faith in the game industry is at. My Achievement quest was only supposed to be 12 weeks and 10,000 points long, but now here we are 19 weeks and 17,950 points in, with (what I thought were) four weeks to go before my endpoint, the release of "Super Smash Brothers Brawl" on the Wii.

Lo and behold we have hit another delay, and "Smash Bros." wont hit stores until March 9 in the states now (yet somehow it only got delayed a week in Japan). Do I recall NCL President Satoru Iwata saying he wanted this to be a launch title for the Wii?

So where does this leave me? This past week I racked up 1,090 points, pretty much all from playing yet another kids game, "Open Season." I peppered in a few points from "Guitar Hero 3," "Puzzle Quest," and "Scene It?," but really, I spent another week playing a game targeted at someone at least half my age. It's starting to get a little old. Now, with eight weeks between today, and the release of the game, I am torn as to whether or not to continue to score more points, or stop at my original 20,000 points.

Some quick calculations of the points I have already scored shows that my weekly points average is just under 950, and using that number to make some predictions; that would put me right around 20,000 points by the end of January, and allow me to complete this whole ordeal by the targeted February end date, with time to spare. However, in the spirit of competition, I think it might be fair to tack on an extra 5,000 points to compensate for the month long delay. So we now have a new goal, 25,000 points by March 9, in order to be content with my GamerScore in time for the release of "Super Smash Brothers Brawl." Take that Nintendo - you're forcing me to play more Xbox - that's kind of counter productive don't you think?

To get an extra 5,000 points, I'm really going to have to scrounge around. I've polished off most of the list of games that you can get the full 1,000 points in under five hours, and a couple of the ones that can be done in under 10. I may have to dig for some older titles, and maybe finish games like "Kameo" and "Marvel Ultimate Alliance." I can only cross my fingers and hope that another "Avatar" comes out in the next few weeks, and I'm most likely going to have to suffer through the rest of "Beowulf."

If you're interested in following along with what I do end up choosing in the next few weeks, please feel free to check out my Xbox Live profile: jaded cynic. Feel free to message me and wish me luck.

Unfortunately my anticipated time off over the holidays did not translate into as much gaming as I had hoped, and I was only able to make small steps towards my overall goal of 20,000 points before "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" comes out.

I was only able to get 2,510 points over the course of four weeks, a number that I've surpassed in just one week during this quest (during Week 6, where I got 2,530 points). The past four weeks of effort really only translates into approximately 628 points per week, a number that I should be ashamed of considering the amount of time I had off from work. However, it was the holidays that got in the way, again. The parties, the traveling, the spending time with family (a state away from my Xbox) were all obstacles, restraining me to only a few prolonged gaming sessions – not the day or two long gaming binges that I had looked forward to. Alas, I didn’t even get to one of the "good" games that I was hoping to in my last post. But, on the plus side, I did get some games out of my way forever.

I started out my break clearing out the easiest thousand points possible, by getting all 1,000 points and finishing "Avatar: The Last Airbender" in less time than it took me to boot up the game. Things went downhill from there.

I spent most of my vacation jumping back and forth between retail and arcade games, both good and (mostly) bad in both cases. On the retail side I played as much as I could of "Beowulf," "Rayman: Raving Rabbids," "The Darkness," "Scene It," and "Viva Piñata: Party Animals." (Notice how none of those games made any "Best of" lists for 2007.) Xbox Live afforded me playables from all ends of the gaming spectrum. "Yaris" and "Heavy Weapon" provided me a much needed mental vacation from regular gaming. "Totemball" was great, if you truly believe the old adage: You get what you pay for. It did however yield me 10 points with my new Xbox Vision Camera (which I bought only because you can get 50 points in "Rayman" for playing any game with the camera). The amazing "Puzzle Quest" rounded out my XBLA selection; it gave me my proudest Achievement of the break which was 35 points for beating Lord Bane, which is the final boss in the game.

I think my fatal flaw was spreading the love around. Had I focused on one game at a time, I could have easily scored more points. I was able to focus on "Rayman" and "The Darkness," but I haphazardly jumped back and forth between everything else. This was coupled with the fact that I was too lazy to get up and change the disk in my tray on more than one occasion, forcing me to turn to XBLA games. Normally, this isn't a bad thing, but there really isn't the wealth of points to be found in those games.

The overall total for my quest now rests at 16,860, well past three quarters of the way there, but I still have a ways to go. With the release of "Smash Bros." starting to loom ominously ahead, I'd really like to finish off the last 3,140 points soon, and put a nail in this coffin in the next couple weeks; I don’t want to be down to the wire come the beginning of February. If you would like follow along and see how close I am getting (remember the magic number for my GamerScore is 40,955), feel free to check out my Xbox profile: jaded cynic.