Just because the holidays are now here, that doesn’t mean you get to slack off from achievement hunting! Here are 15 date-specific achievements you can unlock over the festive period.
The holidays are here, which means it’s time to relax, see your friends and family, and eat copious amounts of food. However, you shouldn’t relax too hard as there are important achievements to unlock, specifically, achievements that can only be unlocked on certain days over the holiday period, so put down the presents, pick up that controller, and get back to it!
Below we’ve detailed all the date-specific achievements that can be unlocked over the holidays. Some can be unlocked today (December 24th), and others on the big day, December 25th. Of course, for some of these, you could be a naughty little scoundrel and change the date on your console and unlock these at any point throughout the year, but where is the fun in that? Santa is watching, and he can view your achievement unlock timestamps…
The Swindle – December 24th
The first achievement you’ll need to unlock over the festive break is the You’re a mean one achievement in The Swindle. This one can only be unlocked on December 24th, and it appears that it goes by the GMT timezone, so bear that in mind. To unlock the achievement, you’ll need to clear out a “poor person’s house” in the Slums with 100% loot collected on Christmas Eve – what a way to kick off the holidays, hey?
Halo: The Master Chief Collection – December 25th and January 1st
Next, we’ll be spending some time with everyone’s favourite green shooty dude, The Master Chief, in Halo: The Master Chief Collection to unlock two more achievements. You can unlock the Elder Signs achievement (providing you’ve already viewed one sigil) which requires you to view two different sigils on the Halo 3 map Valhalla on two different days of the year. This can be done in matchmaking, custom games, or in Forge, but only one sigil can be viewed at a time. You’ll find the Christmas Day sigil located on a far wall behind the turret (it should be a Christmas light with a cross marked through it). For more and an offline method, check out the Elder Signs achievement guide on TA.
The next time you’ll be able to view a sigil will be on January 1st (New Year’s Day).
For our next Halo: MCC achievement, we’ll be taking a trip to Zanzibar to unlock the Destination Vacation achievement. To pop this one, you’ll need to view one of the seasonal signs on the Halo 2 map Zanzibar in classic multiplayer on December 25th. You’ll find the sign over on the beach next to the water, and it should read: “Danger, This Soffish, DO NOT EAT!” If you don’t get around to it on Christmas Day, you can still view it on January 1st, where it will say “Baby Shark Petting” instead. Check out the top-rated guide here on TA.
If you do go for either the Elder Signs or the Destination Vacation achievements on December 25th, you may as well fire up Halo 3 while you’re there and unlock the Third Time’s A Charm achievement, if you haven’t done so already. All you need to do is start the game and the achievement should pop
Batman: Arkham City – December 25th and January 1st
Next, you have an important date with Calendar Man in Batman: Arkham City. To unlock the Storyteller achievement on December 25th, or at least make some progress towards it, you will need to talk to Calendar Man in his cell on 12 specific dates throughout the year. He is located down in the Solomon Wayne Courthouse which can be accessed near the beginning of the game. It’s also worth noting that this achievement goes by the GMT timezone and not your local timezone. The next day you’ll need to visit Calendar Man will be on January 1st. This achievement can also be unlocked offline and by changing the date on your console. For more on this check out this guide. There are also Xbox 360 and PC achievement stacks for Batman: Arkham City, so don’t forget to visit Calendar Man in those versions of the game too.
It’s Quiz Time – December 25th
The Merry Quizmas achievement in It’s Quiz Time is a simple one to unlock. All you need to do is play the game on December 25th to pop the achievement.
Chickens Madness – December 25th
Also on December 25th, you’ll need to fire up party game Chickens Madness to unlock the Jingle the Bells achievement. Again, this one should be pretty straightforward as all you need to do is play the game to get the achievement and a rather tidy 60G for your efforts.
Saw 2: Flesh & Blood – December 25th
Ah yes, the classic Christmas game Saw 2: Flesh & Blood is next on your festive achievement hunt. To unlock the You Wasted Your Life achievement (how cheery), all you need to do is start the game and reach the main menu. Unfortunately, Saw 2: Flesh & Blood was delisted from the Microsoft Store some time ago, and it’s not backwards compatible, so you’re going to need to dig out your Xbox 360 to pop this one.
Dance Central 3 – December 25th and December 31st
While you’ve got the old 360 out, you might as well bust a move in Dance Central 3 and unlock the Go Shorty achievement (though you will also need a Kinect for this one). To unlock this achievement, you’ll need to complete 50 Cent’s number one Christmas smash hit “In Da Club” with Oblio. If you don’t quite get around to it on December 25th, the next time you can earn the achievement is on December 31st by completing the same song with Dr Tan.
The Go Shorty achievement in Dance Central 3 worth 52 pointsPerform “In Da Club” with a character on that character’s birthday.Big Buck Hunter Pro Adventure – December 17th to December 31st
We don’t imagine many of you will be going for this one over the holidays, but if you’ve got Big Buck Hunter Pro Adventure (Win 8), you can unlock the Flying Solo achievement by shooting 12 whitetail bucks between December 17th and December 31st.
If you’re interested in receiving a notification each time date-specific achievements like these become available, make sure you turn on the date-specific achievement reminder notification setting in your notification settings on TA. You can find that setting at the top of this page.
If you know of any other date-specific achievements that can be unlocked over the festive period, let us and the community know in the comments below. Happy holidays!
