It’s been a hot week of scoring and record-breaking in the Twin Galaxies Adjudication Archives with a wealth of new records coming in the door and onto the leaderboards, so it’s time for another Scoreboard Spotlight! We’ve laid our eyes on some impressive feats of game play and gathered some of our favorites to give shout outs to yet again. This week, we look at an incredible marathon record on a classic arcade, some explosive vehicular destruction breaking into the millions in Burnout, and an incredible NBA Jam record that comes down to the final seconds to break into the top, just to name a few.
Tim Pudenz - NBA Jam (Sega Genesis/Mega Drive - NTSC): Biggest Blowout - Single Player
This record is a tight one to say the least. Who doesn’t know about the over-the-top basketball antics of NBA Jam? Winning a game isn’t necessarily tough, but how much you can beat a computer controlled opponent by is a whole other story. Jam has some AI rubber banding mechanics that come into play to try to keep things fair and competitive all the way to the end, but Tim “Pudwald” Pudenz won’t be denied in his attempt at the Biggest Blowout record in Single Player. In his record run, Pudenz takes the Miami Heat against the Detroit Pistons. Early on, Pudenz finds the right match-up and spacing to land 3-pointer after 3-pointer and give himself a wealthy lead. The third quarter slows him down a bit with some misses and the fourth quarter becomes a fight for every last rebound and shot, but at the end of it Pudenz lands at an excellent 78-point lead to take the top record in the Blowout leaderboards. He sits just one point ahead of Hal “IAmNerdJock” Hawkins who set his own record back in February 2018. Pudenz is humble. He claims he could have done better and laments his shakey fourth quarter in which a few opponent shots made it to their basket. All these things considered make this look like it’s going to be a record worth watching as Pudenz claims king of the hill, yet remains hungry for more.
Arron Pitchford - Game & Watch Gallery - Manhole (Game Boy/Game Boy Color): Classic - Points
Next we take a look at a handheld blast from the past. The Game & Watch Gallery was a fantastic collection of the grandfathers of all handheld gaming and Manhole is a great little look into the frantic nature of some of these games. Arron “itsmrpitchy” Pitchford takes up the task of bridging gaps in two structures for a multitude of fellows to safely cross on his way to a record. Even on “Easy”, this game features a ridiculous amount of space and timing management to make sure every one of the hundreds of crossing people get where they’re going without falling down through the gaps. Pitchford games the game to put up thousands of points across almost two hours of play. By the time he finished, Pitchford amassed an amazing 9,999 points, absolutely decimating the previous record set on the leaderboard back in 2017 (385 by Patrick John Fenton Jr.). Pitchford mentions a few tips on how he could have gotten more points in his run, but with such a vast lead, he is content to sit at the top with what he’s got for the time being. Fair enough, as it will take patience and dedication to dethrone him.
Angela Stefanski - Burnout Revenge (Xbox 360 - NTSC): Crash - Drain Damage (Dollars)
Burnout is a series most certainly known for its arcade and over-the-top racing, but anyone who’s gotten comfy behind the wheel of these wild games know the destruction and chaos one can sow in them. In this Burnout Revenge record, Angela “GibGirl” Stefanski takes comical destruction to extremes. The challenge is to destroy a target vehicle while amassing as much damage in dollar figures as possible in one crash. In her record run, Stefanski hits a pinpoint mark in the initial crash that puts the dominoes in play for a great chain reaction. Moreover, she builds up a meter that allows her to blow her wrecked car sky high not once, but twice, complete with a little point pushing before the second explosion. By the time the chaotic crashfest is over, Stefanski has caused $25,696,800 in damages, putting her over the previous record (set by Troy Whelan in 2007) on the Burnout Revenge Drain Damage Crash leaderboards by some handsome millions of dollars more. You’ll have to nail down some serious accuracy and timing if you want to match Stefanski’s glorious appetite for destruction in this one.
Adam Hulbert - Wizards of Wor (Commodore 64 - Emulator): Points
This one takes us back into the Commodore 64 days with a little emulated play. Adam “Radcore” Hulbert takes on the frenetic mazes of Wizards of Wor to blast some beasties and become Worlord Supreme in this intense run. With enemies increasing in speed, disappearing and reappearing, shooting back, and spawning new enemies when killed, there’s a lot to look out for as the difficulties of this game increase. Hulbert manages the task with staff a-blazing as he runs level after level and collects bonus after bonus for killing off some very fast enemies. He goes the distance in his run to 187,700 for his troubles in his run lasting slightly under 20 minutes. It’s enough to outdo the last Wizards of Wor emulator record holder, W. Michael “MichaelD” Dietrich, who put up a record of 148,900 back in 2016. There’s a lot to consider for this run. The way the monsters move, your reflexes for killing them, and the monster that sets up double points for whole stages means players are going to need a little bit of luck and a lot of skill on their side if they want to challenge Hulbert’s high score.
Donald Hayes - Centipede (Arcade): Points (Tournament Settings)
This is a record we had the pleasure of seeing in person for it’s massive entirety. Back at Score Wars at the end of March 2018 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, fantastic Galaga play wasn’t the only thing going on. Retro gaming pros were also making attempts at their own previously set records and achieving new heights. One of those pros was Centipede master Donald “Dbh” Hayes. In the course of an incredible marathon lasting nearly 10 hours, Hayes pursued his previous Centipede high score to set a new one and did when he finally blew his last life at an incredible 7,750,817 points. His previous record sat at 7,111,111 on the Centipede Tournament Settings Leaderboard. We had a chance to talk to Hayes after the fact and ask him what it took to make a score like that. He kindly shared that much of the skill doesn’t just land in moving fast, but also knowing where to stop.
“The control over the stop-and-go of the ship with the trackball is something I feel like I can tell you about all day,” Hayes claimed. “But it’s also the sort of muscle memory and reflexes you can’t teach with words. It’s what lets me get records like these and be able to say I’m the best at this.” Bold, but fair words from the champ, and a record that will take dedication and practice of an incredible level to match. To see Hayes in action was a pleasure, and this is a record more than earned.
And that covers our Scoreboard Spotlight for this week. As usual, there was a mountain of great scores and achievements to check through on our way to the ones that caught our full attention. That said, rest assured every new Undisputed score and time in our Twin Galaxies record books earned its place in the gaming pantheon and these were just a handful of great plays. Keep scoring high and finishing low and you just might end up on our next Scoreboard Spotlight. In the meantime, check out our previous Spotlight in which we got a look at the amazing Hard Drivin’ of David Holycross Jr. and much more!