Xbox 360 Achievement Points FAQ?

[slip81]

As a hopeless n00b to the 360 can someone please tell me what these things do or point me to an online FAQ explaining their purpose?

Right now I'm quite confused as to exactly what they are and what they are good for. I know you get them by doing specific things in games, but can they be used like money on the marketplace, or are they just there to show other gamers how bad ass you are in certain games?

I tried google for an FAQ, but as usual came up short. I also searched here, but couldn't find a thread that answered my question (if there is one though please diret me to it and lock this one).

[Kejoriv]

"they just there to chow other gamers how bad ass you are in certain games?"

Ding Ding. We have a winner.
Check out xbox360.com. M$'s official site. There is a ton of info on everything 360 especially if you are a 360 noob. Whats better to get that info from the source?

[stuffedmonkey]

There are two kinds of points...

Achievement points are a sort of unified score system across all games. Each game has a max of 1000 points that they can dole out how they please.

Microsoft points are sort of like gift certificate money that can only be used to buy stuff from the xbox live system. That's how you get the arcade games.

(Disclaimer - I do not have a 360 yet - so if I am way off please correct me)

[THATinkjar]

Here are a couple of handy links that cover the 360's Achievements feature pretty well...

www.xbox360achievements.org

www.xbox360achievements.com