This weekend I heard the familiar pop of an Xbox 360 notification, but for the first time, the notice read “Avatar Award Unlocked” rather than “Achievement Unlocked.”

Even though my band of Left 4 Dead 2 survivors were in the middle of a campaign, I quickly thumbed the guide button on my controller to see what I’d earned.

Turns out I’d crossed the 10,000 kill milepost and nabbed a nifty virtual black-and-white T-shirt bearing Left 4 Dead 2’s trademark zombie hand. First chance I got I edited my Xbox 360 avatar’s appearance (right) so that I was wearing the shirt.

Achievements are one thing. They’re fun to chase, especially when they inspire you to stray outside the way you’d usually play a game. But I can see Avatar Awards being even more compelling.

After all, what good is an accomplishment if you can’t brag about it? For weeks, I’ve coveted an article of clothing on my friend Abbie’s avatar. She’s a much better Left 4 Dead player than me, a total surgeon with her shotgun. Her avatar is clad in the hot pink Depeche Mode shirt that Left 4 Dead 2 survivor Rochelle wears throughout the entire game.

I want that virtual tee. But to get it, you have to lug a gnome through the entire “Dark Carnival” campaign, the one campaign I’ve yet to survive. I always find myself face-to-face with a tank when the chopper comes. or even worse, I’ll be caught in a scrum of zombies and on the wrong side of the concert stage when our escape vehicle comes in for a rescue.
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There’s also an Achievement for this feat. Blogger Tom Francis recently posted a visual account of his quest to complete Guardin’ Gnome. But on the PC, there’s no secondary carrot — that silly, audacious, barely related Depeche Mode T-shirt to go along with that Achievement.

I probably would have given the Guardin’ Gnome Achievement a shot just for shits and giggles. But that Avatar Award, as purely aesthetic as it may be, is one more reason to master the rocking finale of “Dark Carnival.”

Anybody want to give me some cover?