Maybe it's just a coincidence, but was that a reference to the game "The Last Remnant" in the tutorial? If so, major props. That is one of my favorite games and it's highly underrated. ;)
The "Solo Star" badge should definitely be a hard badge, IMO. I have been playing this game for two and a half hours and I always blow up in the sky on Level 16. ALWAYS! :( Still a fun game, though, even if slightly frustrating at time. Only complaint I have is what has already been said about blowing up in the sky. 4/5
*Clicks Quick Race. Waits 10-15 minutes to connect to server/track to load. Finally get to the race. Few seconds into the race, car crashes into the water and is taken back to the main menu.* FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU--