Review: Xbox Achievement Trophy Light from Paladone

One of the items featured in my “Holiday Gift Guide for the Xbox Gamer in Your Life” article was a snazzy little Xbox Achievement Trophy Light from a company known as Paladone. I didn’t have one myself, but it seemed too neat not to include. Maybe a little cheesy, but at the same time, pretty cool if you’re an Xbox fan.

Strangely, for reasons I can’t explain, I’ve just been drawn to this thing ever since I first laid eyes on it. Maybe it stems from never winning any noteworthy trophies of my own as a child, and merely having to make do with the unclaimed foosball trophies from a tournament held at my dad’s arcade. Or maybe I just thought it would be a good way to commemorate an Achievement unlocked on stream if we ever end up using a webcam setup. Or maybe I just thought it was neat.

Either way, with holiday shopping out of the way, finances freed up, and finding a decent listing (MSRP is $29.99 USD, but I’ve often seen it go for more), I finally caved and grabbed one for myself.

For starters, it arrives in a box, as seen above (quarter provided for scale, and hey, I found an American one this time!), which does the boxy job it’s meant to do. You know, protecting its contents from damage, showing the prospective customer what they’re buying, all that fun. It’s nice, but not necessarily so nice that you might feel compelled to display it. Or depending on your setup, it might make a nice backdrop to the light itself.

It’s bigger than I thought, even knowing it measures in at 8.3 inches. I guess the circumference is part of what took me by surprise, but it’s a beefy piece of kitsch, to be sure.

It’s constructed of a lightweight plastic which seems like it might be durable enough, but you probably don’t want to put that to the test with any extreme force or roughhousing. It is a light, after all, so maybe put any designs of recreating the Ottawa Silver Seven’s time with the Stanley Cup out of your head when it comes to this.

The light sports a chrome paint (I think?) finish, with the light-up Xbox logo emblazoned on the front, resting atop a light-up base. The top of the “cup” has a narrow dip, as there are electronics inside. From the back, it’s pretty plain, with a button and port for the included USB power cable (no socket for electrical outlets, however) to plug in. Alternatively, you can go wireless with three AA batteries.

As for the light itself, it has three modes activated by the single button: press once for normal light, again for it to begin flashing, and a third time to get a sort of circular strobe. I demonstrate all three of these in the following video clip.

WARNING: Do not watch if you’re prone to flashing lights!

I don’t know if they’re rapid enough to cause seizures, but if that’s an issue for you, I’d rather you didn’t take the risk.

It throws off a pretty good amount of light. Personally, I’m more of a fan of the circular strobe than the flashing lights, and wish there was a way to get to that third step without having to cross the second one.

All told, I’m pretty satisfied with this purchase. It’s a fun little knick-knack that’s exceeded my expectations on most every front, and I’m happy to have as a part of my overall Xbox collection. If it fascinates you as it has me, and you spot one at an agreeable price, then I definitely recommend going for it.

Thanks for reading!

All photography featured herein is my own, except where noted otherwise. Banner uses stock photo from Paladone.

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.