Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts review

Following up on the review of the original Banjo-Kazooie, here comes the Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts review. The question of whether or not it does the series justice will finally be answered... by me, right here, right now!

Story
This is a Banjo-Kazooie game. Story? Really? Well, yes there is a small one, but who cares. I don't, not in the least, and the game is still damn fun. But since you might care a but more, I'll give you the rundown. Some crazy pong-faced guy named, “Lord of Games” has taken you and Grunty, and thrown you into a competition of sorts in a little world he's built specifically for this contest. The writing is pretty funny, and no doubt worth reading instead of just skipping over, but the overall story is just uninteresting and wont be your driving force to play the game.

Gameplay
The gameplay in Nuts & Bolts is quite original. It takes the familiar “shit-load of challenges scattered around a map” throws them in with some sandbox elements, mixes all that with old Banjo style, and holds it all together with a very accessible yet powerful vehicle creator. Yeah, its all about the vehicles this time around. You wont do one challenge on foot. While there is still some classic platforming in the hub world to complete small tasks, such as collecting notes, or getting new parts, most of your time will be in a vehicle. The controls in vehicles can be extremely frustrating, but it depends very heavily on how well you build them. In all honesty, your enjoyment will come from the vehicle editor in this game, not really the challenges. They just give you a reason to build new vehicles. If you don't enjoy the vehicle creator, you wont think too much of Banjo N&B. But for those of you who do, there is a full single player adventure, a interesting, yet not amazing multiplayer mode, along with split screen, and countless challenges for you to test your creations out on. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts will either last you a very, very long time, or the exact opposite. The opinion on the game seems to be split right down the center, so just keep in mind going in that this game is for you creative people. You will have to build things, and you will have to be interested in building things in order to enjoy the game.

Graphics
The graphics on Banjo N&B are just breathtaking. That's all there is to it. There is minimal pop-up, but it's quite hard to notice. Slowdown is also apparent in some water areas, but its pretty small, and it never got in the way of me playing the game. Besides those two gripes, you just cannot beat these graphics, color and all. Not just brown either. All of 'em. I know, unheard of. You have to see it to believe it. The draw distance, the art style, the textures, the color. It's all just so gorgeous. Nutty acres specifically, has a very cool view from atop its highest point. The fact that everything, even the clouds, are meant to be hand built, also makes things interesting. The full effect cannot be explained, you'll have to see it for yourself.

Sound
The soundtrack brings back some pretty good memories. For those of you who have played the old Banjo games, it's quite a treat. For those of you who haven't, its just beautiful music. It's a win-win situation. The tunes aren't quite as catchy as their N64 counterparts, but they're still very nice background music. The sound effects are pretty nice on their own, very cartoony, very silly, very Banjo. It all just works, and it works well.

Final Thoughts
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is not for everyone. Like I said before, it all depends on how much you like tinkering with the vehicle creator. If this appeals to you, maybe try the demo, or rent the game. Hell, just buy it, it's only 40 bucks. But if vehicle creation isn't your thing, you may want to stay away from this one.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Banjo-Kazooie Review

Being a big Banjo-Kazooie fan, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed playing through this old favorite. It brought back plenty of childhood memories, ya know? Question is, does this upgraded Xbox Live Arcade version best the classic Nintendo 64 game?




Story
Honestly, how much can you say about the story in this game? Your a bear and a bird trying to save your sister from being turned into a green monstrosity. Roaming from one world to the next, collecting puzzle pieces (known as Jiggy's). It might not sound like much of a plot, but I suppose it was your average story back in the Nintendo 64 days.

Gameplay
Banjo-Kazooie has nine levels total, each growing in difficulty the further you make it in. Each world has it's own set of challenges, each of which will earn you a Jiggy. A challenge that is similar in each world is hunting for Jinjo's (not to get confused with Jiggy's). Each world has 5 Jinjo's hidden throughout it. When all the Jinjo's are found, you earn a Jiggy (not to be confused with Jinjo). Other challenges simply jumping from one platform to another, or running through a maze. Some include puzzles, and there's a race from time to time. One of the things that I don't recall from playing this game on the 64, is how difficult some challenges get. More than once did I want to throw my controller at the television. Along with challenges, Banjo-Kazooie provides plenty of abilities for you to get your hands on. The game includes 15 or so abilities, my favorite being the ability to poop eggs (very entertaining),as well as being able to fly, and go god mode for a short period of time.

Now, Sure, new abilities are cool and all, but my all time favorite thing in Banjo-Kazooie, is the being to change into various creatures. You will occasionally find Mumbo's hut every few levels, there he will transform you into various creatures, such as an ant, walrus, bee, pumpkin, and my all time favorite, a crocodile! Just look at him! He's so cool!... Each animal that you transform into will have there own special abilities (walking through a swamp, not slipping on ice, etc). A new feature that has been added exclusively for the Arcade version, is Swap-and-Stop. Throughout the game, you will find hidden eggs (6 total). These eggs allow you to get new parts for your vehicles in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, a nifty little feature. In the end, I think that Banjo-Kazooie definitely has it's fill of gameplay options, especially for it being such an old game.

Graphics
Why am I even doing a section on this? If we compare to the Nintendo 64 graphics, then I would have to say that they're pretty good. But, compared to today's standards, they suck.

Sound
Aside from there being no voice overs, I'd say they're pretty good. Banjo and the gang have this pretty freaking awesome song in the opening cut-scene, too (just thought I'd throw that out there).

Overview
Even after all these years, I'd have to say that Banjo-Kazooie is still on the top of my list. The graphics may be crap, and there's no voice overs, but the gameplay rocks. All the features that Rare has put into the game have not been dully noted. The entire game includes hours of fun,fun,fun. Challenges come at your like crazy, and if your really up for a challenge, try looking for the stop-and-swap eggs (they're not easy to find). Although the game was a lot of the same thing, it never got that repetitive feel to it (maybe it's just me). If you have never played a Banjo-Kazooie game before, I highly recommend it, I'd even go to say that it's better than Mario 64. If you have played Banjo-Kazooie before, I would still recommend it, it truly does bring back memories of your childhood, and you'll find yourself thinking "I remember this challenge!" and "Uhg, I hated this world!"

Overall Score: 8/10

Two New Banjo-Kazooie Videos!

Over at IGN they've put up two brand new Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts videos, and it's looking like a must have for me!

I can't get over how great this game looks, also, I'm very excited to hear that its still "very much a platforming game". I can't wait to try it!

Also worthy of noting is when Kazooie is twisting the Mumbo thing with her magic wrench, the narrator says something along the lines of "you twist the controller to interact with objects in the game" and their is speculation of this referring to motion controls. I for one doubt that, but hey, anything's possible?





via IGN.com

Banjoe-Kazooie Boxart!

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts boxart?

Looks pretty nice in my opinion. Although I find it hard to believe my eyes... It's just so crazy, a 360 game... with colors? The background isn't even gray!

Although in all seriousness, I don't see nearly enough googly eyes to make this a true Banjo-Kazooie Game.

Way to rub it in RARE....

New Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts trailer... with a very special message at the end...



EDIT: So, looks like the blowing up of Mario was removed from the video. But seriously, for lack of another example, that's like saying 9/11 never happened. We all saw it, removing a clip won't fix the damage.

Game Informer Details

The newest game informer magazine apparently has a load of details about upcoming games. This is big stuff, and I personally am excited for Banjo Kazooie. Sounds amazing.

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (360)
- You create vehicles with parts you find around the levels.
- RARE showed them a vehicle that was a monster truck that was able to detach its chasis to become a mini bike. When the bike ramped off a cliff it revealed collapsible glider wings and started flying.
- GI says that despite the large focus on vehicles it still features platform elements from the previous games like traditional platforming, tight rope walking and jiggy piece collecting.
- Showdown Town is 16 times larger than anything RARE has created before.

Guitar Hero 4 (PS3, 360, Wii, PS2)
- Drums, bass, vocals, guitar
- Create a song. Although these exclude vocals due to storage and possible copyright issues.
- You'll be able to name your song as well as creating album art. After you've done all that you can upload it to GH Tunes where anyone can download it.

More details on those two, the new Prince of Persia, Resident Evil 5, and Viva Pinata via the link below.

Game Informer Info

New Microsoft and Nintendo consoles in 2010? Too soon. :(