Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts first review is up!

Eurogarmer 7.

 

We shall be hearing abit more about the game now the PAL version seems to of leaked about a week early. I think i might buy it but i havent enjoyed a platform game since sonic adventure on the dc. I played kameo but just dint get on with it.

 

I played the demo a long time yesterday...I think it's really fun and has a good sense of humor but it doesn't feel like an all out platformer. I love the one comment Gruntilda makes...

"Your mouth is square, the fans will hate that"

or something. It was funny.

 

I played the Demo and it was garbage. I wonder how much Rare/Microsoft is paying for the good reviews

 

I can see where Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts will be a divisive game. Me, I think the original is quite possibly the greatest platformer of all time, and when I first heard of the new direction that they were taking with this title, I was understandably pissed. More so considering that Rareware has been laboring under something of a curse these past years, ever since the BFD "incident". (I can respect BFD as a game, but I won't forgive what was sacrificed to create it, especially since I waited three freaking years for Conker's Quest. Poor Berri never could catch a break.)

However, having played the demo, I can clearly say this: Nuts & Bolts is not the Banjo-Kazooie sequel we have been waiting for. It is something new, different, and - dare I say - ingenious.

Now, building your own vehicles is nothing new: Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 allowed you to build your own spaceship (or giant robot, or anything you could create out of the palette of Lego-type blocks you were given) for the rail-shooter levels between worlds. This, however, takes the whole "make-your-own-vehicles" idea and expands it into the game's central concept. There are worlds to explore, Jiggy Pieces to collect and challenges to beat your head against, just like the Banjo games of yore, but rather than having the player accomplish these objectives with the aid of upgrades, powerups and abilities doled out over the course of the game, Nuts & Bolts hands you a paintbrush (or magic wrench - whatever) and tells you to go wild with it. Race cars, tanks, airplanes, helicopters, boats...anything is possible once you have the parts, and some of the things you can create nicely defy conventional description. On my first play of the demo I foolishly ignored most of the handy part crates lying around town and went into the first world with nothing but some basic parts and a propeller. Frustrated by my inability to build a monster land vehicle capable of defending Clanker's eyeballs against the Gruntbots, I decided to try building myself a Banjocopter with my lone, underpowered propeller, backed up by a jump spring to help get it into the air. Two things happened next: I discovered that my helicopter did not work, but at the same time I realized I had invented an utterly impractical but incredibly awesome vehicle: my very own pogobike. The lightweight construction I had opted for coupled with the jump spring resulted in a hopping chopper, virtually impossible to control but truly a sight to behold. It was this event that sold me on the game: the sky is the limit as to what you can create, and this is the game's true selling point. It is a game that rewards invention, thinking outside the box, testing, fine-tuning, and creative effort.

After discovering all the interesting ways that Rare had inexplicably broken Viva Pinata's fundamental concept (several but by no means all of which are highlighted in this VGCats comic), I thought I'd never have a good thing to say about Rare again, but this game could very well mark the end of their long-standing curse of mediocrity.

My preorder money is down, and I can honestly say it's worth it.

Oh, and a recommendation? If you're playing the demo on an SDTV but have a decent monitor, invest in the VGA cables. Bought mine today; Nuts & Bolts is worth playing in HD (if only so you don't have to squint to read the text XD).

 

1up gave it A- :dance:
I can hardly wait, only 3 more days!

 

I pre-ordered it and it arrived and gotta say I'm impressed, was worried it wasn't gonna be a proper Banjo 3, but it truly is, thankfully

 

I preordered my copy back in august and it still hasn't been shipped...(hopefully very soon).
and for those about to get Banjo Kazooie XBLA original, - , game is available today on xbox live if you preordered it so you can start enjoying BK awesomeness in widescreen with hdified graphics ;-)

 

...You won't be disappointed, truly the 'Banjo Threeie' that we deserve

 

I must stress that it isn't the gameplay quality that is questioned here, it is the sense of sequel-ity that seems to be lacking from the direction that rare has chosen.

It might be an excellent game with a lot to offer yet it doesnt claim to be a sequel in name nor in practice. It's "nuts and bolts", emphatically demonstrating that it's a "handy-man's" take on banjo-kazooie.

It's comparing apples to oranges really when the comparison involves this title versus the three (counting the GBA game) older ilterations.

in the light of the above, it is not Banjo Threeie, nor does it claim to be, it's just "nuts and bolts" =)

 

got my original banjo kazooie hd off xbox live, been playing it for little under an hour and already completed first two worlds(100% completion on each), this is what playing BK madly did hehe, I have this game completely memorized and know it fully in and out.
graphics have been significantly improved, framerate is perfect(no chugging from N64 version), runs in true widescreen, and sound seems to be fully remastered, sounds awesome!
controls and everything is perfect, I cannot wait to play it later today,
this is how ports/remakes should be done!
well done Rare :icon_bigg
ps.still waiting for BKN&B to arrive, but my time is occupied with classic anyway ;-)
ps2.we're getting Banjo Tooie early in 2009 and that also excites me to no end as N64 version have been cursed with an awful dosage of framerate drops.

 

Bad ass. I guess I'll wait to play it on XBLA then on N64. I never had it as a kid but I bought it earlier this year and have barely played it. I like classic games and all but N64 is kind of nasty looking, hehe.

 

mind your words about the N64 blasphemer !!! :O

 

Have you actually played the game?

...Even I was surprised that we would get Banjo Threeie so soon into this generation, respect goes to Rare, again.

 

my XBOX has been unfortunately belly up for the past two weeks, and only last week did they pick it up. It should be somewhere in germany now, being man-handled. Wish I could pre-order and get BK:HD for free but alas I m not in the UK currently and Greece doesn't really do gamers a favour.

that said, the lack of bird/bear moves is what I find unsettling, being a die-hard platform fan.

 

I feel your pain for the dead Xbox. Incidently I sent one to Germany the other week and was repaired and returned in 9 days total! :dance:

...As for Banjo: N&B, definately wait until you have played it, theres some seriously nice surprises relating to the earlier Banjo episodes that I'll try not to spoil your fun by saying too much else about :nod: :nod: :nod:

 

If anything I think Barcode would appreciate the humor. In the demo the only thing that annoyed me was some of the controls and physics.

 

The demo was crap and not a proper representation of the final game.

 

Oh....I still thought it was pretty good...

 

listen barc0de, you have no idea what nuts & bolts is :nod:
finally got my game in the mail yesterday and have been playing it all day long, and even though I'm only about 50 jiggies in(been playing almost 18 hours straight h: and I cannot stop!), I know that this is my game of the year!!!
this game feels like true sequel to banjo kazooie, tooie, even though formula is a bit different, it feels completely like next huge Banjo Adventure, you guys gotta check it now.
completely mind blowing adventure :icon_bigg