Finally, your obsession for unlocking every single Xbox 360 Achievement --- even the ones in those ridiculous Burger King games --- will pay off.

On February 12, Microsoft launched Xbox Rewards, a new program offering gamers loot for playing 360 games. Sign-up is free, but participants must live in the United States, have an Xbox Live ID (either Silver or Gold will do), and be at least 13 or older.

The first event, the "Old Spice Experience Challenge," invites players to increase their Gamerscore by 1,500 points by April 12, 2007. Goodies await anyone who completes the event.

After registering at the website (http://xboxrewards.msgamestudios.com/), players are sorted into one of three Levels based on their current Gamerscore; that Level dictates which rewards become available.

Level 1 players, whose initial Gamerscore is less than 5,000, can win a free copy of Konami's Contra for the Xbox Live Arcade, as well as a gamer picture and dashboard theme. Successful Level 2 contestants, who fall in the starting bracket of 5,000 to 9,999 points, get all the Level 1 benefits plus 100 Microsoft Points and a contest t-shirt. Level 3 competitors, starting at 10,000 gamer points and up, get both previous Level packages as well as 200 Microsoft Points, an Old-Spice T-shirt and a copy of Hudson Soft's Fusion Frenzy 2.

Recent changes to Microsoft's Achievements policy should make the challenge run smoother. The new rules state that all 360 games must now include at least 1,000 unlockable Achievement points, without requiring players to purchase additional content. Up to 250 additional points can be offered in downloadable add-ons through the Xbox Live Marketplace. Live Arcade titles, due to their smaller size, will only need to offer 200 gamer points to players, with another 50 points allowed for add-ons.

According to Microsoft, more Rewards challenges are on the way, with some open only to certain player levels, others specific to certain games. Some may even be mission-, rather than achievement-, based. No word on whether any will be sponsored by Axe Deodorant, however.