The Scoreboard #13

Last time, we promised reviews for both Grid and The Incredible Hulk for The Scoreboard. Alas, in the wake of unlocking and reviewing Achievements, neither game made the final cut, and as awesome as Grid’s total-a-car, get-an-Achievement Achievement is, there were more pressing things to deal with. What kind of things, you ask?

This week, you can check out reviews for the Battlefield: Bad Company, Alone in the Dark, and Wall-E, or if you’re a little on the cheap side, it’s worth reading about Sea Life Safari, Ticket to Ride, and Soulcalibur. Since we’re covering the intricacies of Gamerscore, and nothing else, course you’ll find no complaints like “Bad horizontal tearing and some echo-happy sound FX.” – even if it’s present – or any praise resembling “Visuals and mechanics are still great.” – even if they are. The Scoreboard has a singular focus, and with a tunnel-vision focus, we strive to let you know the critical path to jacking your Gamerscore with the latest games.

Soulcalibur

Best Achievement: Conqueror (25 pts.) Beat 25 opponents in Extra Survival Mode – Extra Survival mode is Extra Awesome, in that each fight lasts less than a second. The Extra Survival battles are one-hit-one-kill, no matter who the character is, or what attack they use. The intensity rises with each match, and the closer Round 25 gets, the more tingly bladders become. Choosing a character with a quick stab, or longer weapon – Kilik, Mitsurugi, Tseng Mina – is a better choice than someone like Nightmare or Astaroth, whose slow speed is detrimental, despite their incredible strength. Heck, even Elvis, er, Maxi, works well in this situation, as he’s incredibly quick. Earning the Conqueror Achievement requires as much luck as it does skill, and the challenge of getting to 25 is incredibly rewarding.

Worst Achievement: Summon Suffering (20 pts.) Perform the move Summon Suffering with Ivy – The Summon Suffering combo isn’t the toughest combo out there – far from it. It’s got a funky combination of disjointed diagonals, but it’s fully doable – just not with the Xbox 360’s godawful, unusable D-pad. Even with the analog sticks there, it’s just awkward and painful to pull off, and it makes us want to plunk down the quid for a Hori fighting stick...

Easiest Achievement: Zen Warrior (10 pts.) Win a round with a perfect – Remember when we talked about Extra Survival being so awesome? You know, the one-hit-one-kill matches leave you with a perfect, since you instantly win with full health, or lose with no health. It’s one way or the other, and if you’re on the better side of the deal, you’ll end up not just with a perfect, but an Achievement as well. Now there’s only 24 left before the Conqueror Achievement!

Hardest Achievement: Noble Soul (25 pts.) Beat the game in Ultra Hard without losing a round – Fighting games are notoriously tough, which is why those nerds get so much attention for being complete bad-asses at Street Fighter and the like. The credit is well earned. Completing Soulcalibur on its uber-difficulty is a personal Achievement in itself, but when we even consider getting through Cervantes or Voldo without being utterly obliterated, it starts to hurt our brains and thumbs. You need an award – scratch that, make it all the awards; Pulitzer, Nobel, Grammy... All of it! – not an Achievement, if you can rock Soulcalibur on Ultra Hard without getting dominated.

Time Investment vs. Payoff: 6 (out of ten) – One character campaign will take you less than ten minutes, each play-through time being cut with experience. The little things, like coming back from practically no health, will come in due time, and since Soulcalibur is a great game already, you’ve got reason to devote the time to it. Just don’t expect a ton of Achievements after your first few fights.

Overall: 5 (out of ten) – There are loads of seriously tough Achievements to unlock in Soulcalibur, and while vets will have less trouble than others, they’re still challenging as hell. Don’t expect to walk out of your first session or two with more than 50 Gamerscore, and if you make it 100 points, you’re one of the aforementioned complete badasses.

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