Ultimately, there's a great idea at the core of Nuts & Bolts and, from superb construction tools right through to lavish presentation, there are plenty of individual elements worthy of praise. When it fails though, Banjo fails badly and the lack of any fundamentally engaging framework to support the game's creative elements renders the game pretty much obsolete for anyone looking for something to appreciate beyond the incredibly flexible building component in isolation. There's one moment of delicious irony in Banjo as you hop from one bland task to the next though. Don't like the vehicle-based gameplay on offer?, the loading screen enquires. Don't worry, it says, before suggesting you might want to try downloading the original Banjo-Kazooie from Xbox Live.
Presentation - 7.5
Graphics - 8.5
Sound - 7.5
Gameplay - 6.0
Lasting Appeal - 6.5
Overall -
Jared writes: "With the Battletoads having made a triumphant return, let's look at the rest of Rare's back catalog for which series deserves a return to form next."
I actually don't want them. I'm not a big fan of Microsoft rehashing IPs they had nothing to do with creating just because they happen to own them.
Before you call me fanboy tell me a game they did that to that actually lives up the the original?
Just leave our beloved memories alone. You want to bring something back, redo crimson Skies or Brute Force. At least they were your games and they need updates.
I'm all for The Initiative rebooting perfect dark as a third person though, sounds like its trying something new and not just rehashing with a new coat of paint with this idea. Hope we see a tease of it in the next showcase.
Rumor is The Initiative is working on rebooting Perfect Dark in third person, normally I wasn't a fan of taking existing IPs but if its something new like this I'm up for it.
Donkey Kong Country is probably my favorite game of all time but I've not connected with much else Rareware has made since other than maybe Killer Instinct. Sea of Thieves has got to be close to my worst $60 purchase I've ever made.
Wonder why some series just seem to feel lackluster as time goes on? Well, it's because some later installments really mess up the formula. Check out ten times sequels really screwed everything up.
Ugh Musashi: Samurai Legend is so meh. Don't understand how you can go from Brave Fencer Musashi to that. I really want a Brave Fencer Musashi HD Remake or a true sequel. It's one of the best games I've ever played.
Grant Kirkhope, the composer of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, explains what he thinks the issue was with the often-criticized Xbox 360 title.
I actually liked it for what it was. But then again I'm not a Banjo fan. I actually hated a lot of the N64 style games that all followed the same Mario 64 style. Except for Conker.
I really enjoyed this game, the building was fun, I thought it was a well made platformer.
I kind of agree. The game had many new ideas that would have worked better in a new IP as people wouldn't be so upset that Nuts & Bolts played so differently from the older titles.
I seriously hate how angular the redesigns are for so many of the characters in the game
The X06 trailer built people’s hopes only for the final release to ruin those dreams
Damn right it should have
Can we just get Banjo Threeie and write this game off as Kazooies bad dream or something. An in game joke.
The glory days are long gone from Rare.
I had such high hopes for this game. The demo ruined it for me, it was way too different for me.
Nuts,Flops and BoTs
FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP