How to Score 1000 Xbox Live Points using Xbox Live Arcade Games

So here's the deal. You've just earned yourself a fat 6000 points and you're thinking "What do I do now?" The answer, my friends, is clear... get more points! But instead of having to leave your couch to head over to the retail store, rental place, or mailbox; you want to get as many points as you can without even getting up!

That's what Xbox Live Arcade is for!

Well, sort of. The funny thing about the games on Xbox Live Arcade is that their achievement points are actually about having to achieve something. It's pretty difficult in most cases to scam the points in these games, and after all your hard work, the most you're going to get is 200 points out of them. But if there were loopholes, I was intent on finding them.

Of course there are a few Xbox Live Arcade games with points that are so difficult to get that only the most devoted (and desperate) point-collectors will be able to achieve them. With this handy guide, you'll be able to maneuver through the Xbox Live Arcade menus, downloading only the games that offer you the most points possible. Because you don't want to play any game that doesn't have easy points, do you?

Crystal Quest:
Crystal Quest is the Xbox Live Arcade game that has the easiest points to get, and as an added bonus, the game is one of the cheapest on Xbox Live Arcade. The trick to getting the points out of Crystal Quest is to play the game several different ways on several different difficulty levels depending on what type of achievement you're going for. There is one achievement point that's pretty tough to get, and a few that require some patience, but if you apply yourself, you'll get them all.

Crystal Rookie - 5 Points:
You just need to score 10,000 points to get this easy 5.
You should do it in your first game, if you're awake.

Crystal Master - 10 Points:
Getting 1,000,000 points in one game is actually pretty easy on any difficulty, but a little harder at standard difficulty or less, which is what this achievement asks you to do. Put the difficulty at standard (level 5, which is right in the middle of the difficulty bar) and get as many bonus crystals as you can.

Smart-ass - 15 points:
Saving up 30 smarts is pretty easy, considering that you can play through most of the early levels without using them, and there's at least one smart bomb on each level. If you play through on normal difficulty then you should be able to collect these no problem.

Speed Freak - 20 Points:
The key to getting wave 1 finished in 5 seconds or less is the placement of the crystals on the first level. Keep restarting the game until they're all clumped close together and close to the exit and you'll be fine.

Navigator - 20 Points:
You'll get this one just by playing the game carefully and staying away from the mines. It's best done on the normal difficulty and when you're in the mood to play a little more safely than normal. Just avoid the mines and snatch up this fast 20 points.

Treasure Hunt - 10 Points:
Treasure Hunt means you need to pick up the large bonus crystals that spawn from the two spots where the enemies spawn. This means that instead of shooting at the spawn at all points, you need to wait to figure out what's coming out first. The best way to do this is to get most of your crystals on the first few levels. If you collect slowly (forget about the timer), the enemies (and also the crystals) will keep popping out of the spawn point. So hang around waiting for their spawn, leaving some of the small crystals on the board to keep them coming. You should rack up an easy 20 or so crystals by level 10, and then if you play carefully, you'll get the next ten before you even have to worry about dying.

Life-saver - 15 Points:
Since bonus crystals are worth so many points, and since you'll really start to lose lives when the swirly enemies start appearing (level 31), the best way to do this is during Treasure Hunt. This is a little tricky and will require a fair amount of patience, but if you get 20 lives by level 20 or so, you're doing well.

Marathon Man - 15 Points:
This one isn't hard, you just need to be patient and focus. You can put it on the lower difficulties (and you'll need to) just to stick around for 60 levels.

As counterintuitive as it seems, the next few achievements are the easiest to get when you're playing on the hardest difficulty setting. So crank it up all the way and be prepared to watch your points go flying! The enemies are going to be pretty tricky on these levels, so be careful.

Immortal - 25 Points:
To get 1,000,000 on your first life, set the difficulty setting all the way up to 10. You should get 1,000,000 points by level 5, with the only difficulty being level 4 when the enemies begin to shoot at you a lot. Keep your cool and get your 25 points.

Nerves of Steel - 25 Points:
This can be done really easily while you're doing Immortal. It only requires that you keep your hand off the smart bomb trigger while you play through the first 5 levels on hard.

Crystal Ninja - 25 Points:
Once you've gotten Nerves of Steel, it's time to go for Crystal Ninja with the super high difficulty. The game will get more challenging, but at the hardest difficulty setting the points come very quickly. You should get 10,000,000 points around level 12 if you've been playing your crystals right.

Apocalypse - 15 Points:
This is the hardest achievement in Crystal Quest. The best way to get it is to crank the difficulty up all the way and play to level 19. At that point, 20 enemies will spawn and you can blow them all up with one smart. You just need to make sure to stay alive for the first few seconds until they do.

News-Source: http://www.gamespot.com