And I think (maybe) I’m going to do it
Roundabout, the quirky FMV game about a constantly revolving limousine, came out on Xbox One today. I’ve been playing it for review (coming soon!), but upon reaching the end, I found one of the most tedious, mundane, and diabolical Achievements ever put into a videogame.
The ending unlocks a new challenge mode that has an Achievement named “Smoke & Mirrors” that is described as “Drive the entire ‘classic’ length of Desert Limo without crashing.” This is a call-back to what some consider one of the worst games ever created: Penn and Teller’s unreleased Desert Bus. And, it takes eight hours of barely paying attention to complete.
In Desert Bus, players simulate a real-time drive from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada in a bus that can’t go any faster than 45 miles-per-hour. The only real task is making sure it doesn’t careen off the road — something that’s accomplished by ever-so-slightly resisting the vehicle’s natural veer. It’s about as boring as boring can get.
As of last night, I was the world-record holder in Desert Limo, clocking in at somewhere just over 32 minutes. I had no idea what the “classic length” was considered. Upon looking it up, I found that the developer confirmed an eight hour session is necessary to earn the 51GS Achievement. Well then.
I’m not sure when, but I think I may eventually make a run for this Achievement. It’ll be in the name of science. I want to chronicle my time with a running diary to share with you. But, please don’t hold me to it, because, good lord, that’s a long time to stare at a screen while doing (almost) nothing.
