What exactly is an achievement? [fade]Microsoft defines an achievement as "A game-defined goal that is stored and displayed in your gamer profile. Achievements can be as simple, complex, or off-the-wall as a game wants."

Basically, achievements are exactly that; an achievement or accomplished goal within a game. You earn achievements by successfully completing specific objectives within a game. For all your hardwork, you receive an achievement which can then be shown to the world, proving that are a true gamer. Can you lose an achievement if you fail to meet the achievement's criteria again or simply start playing poorly? The long and short answer to that is no. Once you have earned an achievement, it is yours to keep.

Gamerscore is another term you need to understand. Microsoft defines gamerscore as "a cumulative score of all achievements that allows you to quickly gauge and compare the accomplishments and experience of other gamers."

In short, it is the total of all your achievement points that you have earned throughout your achievement career. We hope this clears up some of the questions many people e-mail us about regarding the achievement system!