Questing and Boosting

I'm looking for a group of players to help me boost a few specific games, hopefully in the next three days (sun-tues) if possible. Rather than previous posts where I offer up a long list of titles I could use help on, I thought I'd drop the specific titles I'm ready to roll on RIGHT NOW.

First, Ghostbusters. The extremely-late but still appreciated patch has made the full 1000 possible, so I'm looking for 2-3 Ghostbusters to work with me to complete the multiplayer aspect of the game. I eventually want to go back and snag the full 1k, but at this point, I'm not bothering until the MP is complete. I own the game. If anyone else owns the game or decides to rent it, message me over LIVE. We'll be working on virtually every MP achievement.

Second - Bioshock 2 (360): I need to find a group of people who all own the Rapture Metro maps, so we can work on the virtually impossible (legit) achievements for public play and a public win on the new maps. (2K, you suck SO MUCH for not making a special playlist for these. Seriously, WTF!?) WOuld rather not run the session if I can help it (swear to god I have to run 95% of the boosting sessions I'm in... it gets old), but I'd be happy to help gather the troops.

Third- Bioshock 2 (PC): Want a group to boost the Little Sister capture achievement. The rest of the achievements are easy to obtain legit. Almost nobody plays CTS anymore on Bioshock 2 PC, thus the need for a boosting group.

When not boosting, I'll be continuing to work on the same assortment of Games I've been playing lately. Expect to see me online working New Vegas, Enslaved, and either version of Bioshock 2. I may also spend some time with games newly purchased via Steam during their week of deals, including Mount and Blade or King's Bounty.

I've also decided I'm changing (yet again) the rules for my annual completion challenge, starting 2011. The rules include an expansion of what games count, and a change to the "40 hour rule."

Starting 2011, ALL games count toward the completion challenge, not just 360 games for achievements. 360 games will be considered complete if all their acheivements are unlocked. Non-360, non-GFWL games are defined as complete once I have finished the game to the ending credits. I don't care about Steam achievements, so games with achievements on steam don't have to be maxed out to be considered done.

The 40-hour rule is changing to make for more completion points with the super-long titles out there. The old version is, once I've played a game for 40 or more hours hunting its achievements, it's automatically worth +1 completion point, and +1 more for every 40 hours after that. Next year, I still have to play a game for 40 hours before I see the first +1 for the time involved, but after that, it's +1 every 24 hours, not 40 (excluding the 48 hour mark). This way, I would be seeing bonus points at 72, 96, and 120 hours, not just at 80 or 120. There are a few games I'm looking to finish next year that are long enough to profit from this rule revision.

Boosting S.O.S.

I've looked through my tag (again) for games where I'm missing some online achievements, and will need help to complete them. Take a look at this list and let me know if you're missing some of the same stuff, or would be willing to help even if you already have it. I've organized this list by the number of people needed to play. If a game is bold, that's a higher priority target to me. This list is not exhaustive, but having this list to work through is certainly enough for now.

2 People:
Stranglehold (MP Boost)
The Darkness
Doom II
SOF Payback
Fracture
Warhammer Battlemarch
Halo Wars (coop)
Red Alert 3 (coop)
Crackdown 2 (online orbs)

4 People:
Read Dead (Advanced Coop Missions)
Crackdown 2 (4-player achievements)
Halo ODST (see my card for what I need)
Resident Evil 5 (team MP achievements)
L4D
Ghostbusters

6+ People:
Bioshock 2 (Map Packs)
Unreal Tournament 3 (a couple ranked achievements)
Hour of Victory

8 People:
Read Dead (Posse Up achievement)

??? People:
Turning Point
Army of Two
Wolfenstein
Section 8
Timeshift (only missing a few achievements)
Dark Sector
F.E.A.R
Lost Planet

Riding the XP Train

This week I've been doing what I've seen many like-minded achievement hunters doing... riding the 6x XP event in Gears 2 for absolutely everything its worth. I've successfully paired myself up with boosting groups on a couple different occations. The rewards for boosting have exceeded my most optimistic projections on how far I'd go during this event, and I'm not done yet. I've gone for rank 57 to 76 at the time of posting, going from maybe 700k experience to around 2.8 million XP. Clearly I still have a long ways to go, but I can't even begin to count the number of normal play hours this has saved me. Even normal games are more fun considering how much XP is doled out.

As I type this, I'm in yet another boosting session. I will see where it can get me tonight, as I will not be boosting tomorrow (we need to record the next episode of the Podcast.) Then, I'll give it a go on Saturday night if I can find a group, as I don't work Sunday. I may not be able to boost on Sunday as I'm going out of town for Fathers Day. If I can get to about 3.4 million (50% of the total needed) I'll call that successful enough, and hope that there will still be people looking to boost this the next time an XP event rolls around.

Dust Off Your Lancers for E3 and Join Thrawn

For a week surrounding E3 (June 14-21) Gears of War 2 will be offering up 6x the multiplayer experience. I know of many people who have no interest in obtaining the rank 100 achievement, but I still think I'll eventually get there at my own, admittedly long-winded pace. As fortune would have it, I have four of those 7 days off from work. So, I'll be getting E3 news on one screen while probably playing Gears on the other... or just playing Gears.

I play Gears 2 in spurts, going wild on it for a few days, then setting it aside for a while. I'm planning to make the most of the E3 bonus and devote virtually all of my gaming time to Gears until the bonus ends, at which point Gears 2 will likely sit unplayed for another 3 months before I so much as glance at it. I'd like to make as much progress to rank 100 as I possibly can.

If any of my readers are of a similar mindset, and would like to get together to boost Horde on Security (and mix in some MP when that gets dull) let me know. The more, the merrier.

Boosting Group Update

There's been a good amount of interest in joining the boosting group, so I thought I'd give everyone an update. Here's my 100% confirmed roster at this point:

1. ThrawnOmega
2. Bishop024
3. Sabre x360a
4. DarkTharen

I will be getting in contact with a few more people over the next week (give me a little time... it's a crazy busy work week) to access the possibility of joining the group. I want to be careful to add enough we can easily boost but not so many that organizing sessions becomes a logistical nightmare. To that end, I have a strong preference for people located in North or South America, due to little time zone differentials. No offense to my overseas friends, but a 6+ hour time difference really limits everyone's options.

So, while I'm here, let me try to flesh out more specifically how I'd like to see this work. A social group on x360a will be our primary means of communication, because of the ease of access and that everyone can see it. The first game we play will be decided by group concensus. After that, selection would be made on a rotating basis, from the person with the highest gamerscore to the person with the lowest gamerscore, as of JANUARY 1, 2010. At that time, I'll lock in the rotation so if one person should pass another, the rotation isn't messed up.

What game we play from month to month is open for discussion, but the person whose turn it is gets the final say, and may choose a game others have already completed, if they so choose. Games will be selected at least one month in advance to give everyone time to secure their copy and to plan sessions. That may not be the case this first month or two, but for example, a game to be boosted in April should be selected during the first week of March.

I'd prefer not to boost a game the month it comes out, for example, selecting a game that releases in February to be boosted that month. My reasoning for this is that the newest games can be the toughest to locate if Gamefly-ing or regular renting, and I dont want to push anyone into buying a game they may not want to. So, I would suggest that we only boost games in their release month if there's group concensus we want to do it.

As we rotate who picks the game, we'll also rotate who is in charge of running the boosting sessions. Basically, if you picked the game, it's your job to do any necessary research on how to best boost and give directions during our sessions.

I hope this doesn't sound rule-heavy, but I figue some structure will make life easier for us all. Considering who is currently in the group, I don't anticipate any problems. We've all gamed together. We know each other. It'll be easy as cake.

So, what do we pick for our inaugural game? My first nomination would be Wolfenstein, since I own it and I know Bishop has it coming from Gamefly, so 1/2 of our current roster would already be ready for it.

You guys ready for a great 2010?

I need a dedicated boosting group...

All the super elite achievement whores have one. You know, that same little group of people they always hang out and boost games with. I want something like that, but not nearly as hardcore. I've never cared about being near the top in the world leaderboards (though a couple genre boards would be sweet), nor does it matter to me to rattle out completions for a game the week it comes out.

What I'd like to do is get a group of people together who would agree to plan for and take down one game a month, two if we're in agreement on it. This group would be 4-8 members strong. We would each take turns selecting the next month's game on a rotating basis, so everyone gets to choose a game they want to boost, and everyone knows what the current and next month's games will be. This would give everyone time to buy the game or rent it, with plenty of time to schedule boosting sessions around people's schedules.

This structure would allow us to knock out some of the crap that requires boosting while still having a lot of time to pursue our separate gaming interests. With the right people, I actually enjoy a good boost every now and then.

Of course, I already have enough reliable friends to set this up, if they're willing to go for it and work around this structure. So, how about it, current and former GSL teammates? Other established achievement hunters I know? Interested?

Group activity would begin in January. I'm thinking the first game will be decided by open discussion/vote. After that, we'll rotate around in order from highest GS to lowest GS for picking games. Everyone remains free to make requests/suggestions, but the person whose turn it is would get the final say.