Museum Of Banjo History

I have not been the only one to play my copy of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts since its release. My girlfriend has played a significant chunk of it and so has my little three year old sister. Watching them both play has been rather fascinating. My girlfriend, a seasoned gamer like myself, approaches the game's challenges in a completely different fashion to me by building different vehicles and trying new methods. Seeing this different play-style is intriguing as it gives perspective on how I approached them and also demonstrates how everyone plays games differently. I noticed this the most when I realised that my girlfriend was engaged with the main aspect of the game, building vehicles, a lot more enthusiastically than I was. As a result, her progress ultimately reaped the reward of her patience. My sister on the other hand, well, all she really does while playing is run/drive/fly/swim around the levels. I assume that their size is overwhelming for her yet extremely compelling, possibly exciting her as she discovers more and more things that she could see or play with. Again, I find this intriguing but I also find it exciting because her enjoyment is different to my own, or my girlfriend's -- that and it suggests that I will have another co-op partner as she continues to grow up. Watching them showed me something else though, something that was a pleasant surprise yet ultimately something that I should have expected from the game and Rare.

The attention to detail in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts is simply mind-blowing. Rare has always been known to include subtle references to their own products (or even others' like the Nintendo 64 that was in Wrinkly's Save Cave in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie's Double Trouble) and they also have a reputation for their attention to detail. This continues in Nuts And Bolts with the game's levels absolutely filled to the brim with self-referential nods to other games -- none more so than the level Banjoland.

As I watched my sister fly around and crash into various things, I was simply astounded by all the references to past games in the series. Being a theme-park about Banjo, it obviously has main attractions from previous games such as Clanker from Banjo-Kazooie, but what I am talking about here is the less obvious stuff -- the subtle nods to games gone before and even other games from the company's line-up. Whether it is a garbage bin filled with copies of Grabbed By The Ghoulies (Rare poking fun at how unpopular it was), cabinets featuring statues of Banjo's various transformations or posters on the walls of characters and levels that we all know and love, the level is just full of references. Even the infamous 'Stop N Swap' gets a reference via the ice key which is situated below the Freezeezy Peak Snowman exhibit. Banjoland isn't the only level to feature this stuff though, other levels like LogBox 720 have small hints here and there, namely the spinning discs of Rare's previous games: Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, Viva Pinata, etc. Dialogue between characters also contains references to previous games, as well as other franchises not owned by the company such as a reference to a certain Nintendo mascot. Even the character LOG parodies the industry's traditions by claiming to have created the many mechanics we've come to know and love over the years such as losing all of your health in a challenge resulting in "Game Over". This subtle fan service is essentially unnecessary, yet, Rare chose to include it anyway. It's enough to make a massive fan like me cry. Okay maybe not cry, but there was certainly a big grin on my face as I was seeing it all.

The game's attention to detail doesn't stop with self-referential nods to previous games though, the way the levels are built also demonstrate just how much Rare enjoyed revisiting the franchise. Take the first world Nutty Acres for instance; in the distance you can see cogs rotating and controlling things such as the clouds, while on the ground you will see parts of the grass peeled back, revealing the framework of the level below. Banjoland features a snow-making machine where you can literally see the ice cubes being destroyed, while the Jiggoseum has sporting equipment from nearly every sport that is featured in the Olympics - the references even extend to the massive scoreboards hanging from the roof. The level also has its own Torch that you get to relay in one of the level's challenges. It is awe-inspiring to see so much attention to detail and I have only just scratched the surface.

What can I say? I love it when developers take the time to include this stuff. Rockstar has a reputation of doing it with their games, the most obvious one being the Grand Theft Auto series. Nintendo also do it, though they mostly go about it in a subtle matter. A few other developers are known for it as well but beyond those, the majority of developers don't and I honestly find that disappointing. I understand that it takes time away from more important agendas and that they have a schedule to keep (not to mention budget), but as a consumer who doesn't have to care for those things I can't help but crave that more games are given more attention to detail. It is fan service through and through and as a fan, I love it.

Nuts And Bolts: A Love-Hate Relationship

Earlier in the week I added Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts to my completed pile and it was a great feeling. It has been a while since my last completed game and with so many other games to still get through, it's nice to not have to worry about Banjo anymore.

After reading the above paragraph it wouldn't be too hard to sense some negativity towards the game and well, I'd love to be able to point out that I love it, because I do, but unfortunately I also have some negative thoughts about it. Despite admiring the new vehicle-based direction Rare took with the game, I just can't help but feel as if overall Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts was not for me. The structure of the game and its challenges are the concern for me here, with the idea of doing various challenges such as racing and transporting objects being fun to participate in but not all that compelling. The use of vehicles dictates the kinds of challenges you end up doing and while, as mentioned above, I admire the idea, it definitely started to grate. Maybe I am not a creative person but having to build a vehicle for every single challenge got tedious after a while and I certainly did not have the patience to continue doing it. The vehicle builder is the game's best asset and yet I just could not engage with it when I needed to. For a while I enjoyed experimenting by creating my own vehicles with the process reminding me of the many hours I have spent building Lego throughout my childhood. With 97 challenges to complete however, I soon lost the motivation needed and I just wanted to progress without having to worry about what parts or weapons I would need beforehand. Seemingly easy challenges were instead frustratingly difficult because I didn't have the 'right' vehicle and my frustration only escalated once I realised that it was my own fault by not having the patience to continually build vehicles suitable to the tasks at hand.

Building vehicles to help overcome the challenges is the meat and potatoes of the game so failing to engage with it is a shame. That is why I feel that maybe Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts isn't for me, but it doesn't mean that I disliked it either. It may be my fault for not having the patience required, but it is Rare's fault for making a game that is so charming, so beautiful, that my frustrations are mostly irrelevant. Levels are expansive and it is an absolute joy to be able to see them from the land, sea or air -- in fact soaring through the skies and seeing the lush worlds below is so enjoyable that it is almost exhilarating. The vibrancy of colours helps this, and is a fresh breath of air after playing a darker game such as GTA IV: The Lost And Damned. It is, quite simply, gorgeous to see. Throw in some memorable tunes -- a lot of them remixed from earlier games -- and the self-referential humour that both Rare and the series is known for and you get a game that provides something a lot of others don't these days: fun.

As I mentioned in my previous post about Nuts And Bolts, the good far outweighs the bad. For every annoying challenge there is something funny, gorgeous or exciting and for this, Rare deserve to be commended. The problem, however, is that they aren't. They are not getting the recognition they deserve for the game and that is a downright shame. As far as I see it, there are two reasons for this: the game was released during the holiday rush of last year and went alongside other massively hyped and big-name titles such as Gears Of War 2 and Fallout 3. The other reason is, unfortunately, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts fell off a lot of people's radars after the vehicle creation aspect was revealed. Long-time fans of the series jumped to immediate conclusions and cried foul, claiming the game was completely different to its predecessors and that Rare were making a big mistake with this new direction. Because it was not another platformer in the same vein as the original game a decade ago, these people chose to ignore it and weren't even willing to give it a chance. Again, that is a downright shame because after playing it myself I firmly believe that, had they given it a try, a good portion of them would have thoroughly enjoyed it. With that said, a good portion would have justified their hasty conclusions too, finding the creation of vehicles wasn't for them in the exact same way that I did, as I outlined above. What I think separates me from these people though is that I was willing to give it a chance, was rewarded with an immensely fun game and can recognise that Rare had good intentions with this new installment -- intentions that ultimately paid off by delivering a fresh take on the bear and bird duo and preventing the franchise from becoming stale.

Surely that can only be a good thing in an industry where profits are a higher priority than trying something new, advancing the medium or even bringing it back to its bare essentials by providing the mechanics and elements necessary to entertain the player and ensure that they have fun.

A Brief Look At Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts

I couldn't hide my excitement when the original trailer for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts was first unleashed into the wild, with my face being covered in one big massive grin. I watched the very short trailer five times in a row because of this excitement, but in hindsight I also wonder if it was because I couldn't believe it was happening. A new Banjo, two generations on from the last game Banjo-Tooie? Yes, please.

That trailer just announced the game though and no actual information about it was revealed. As more trailers, previews and the like came to fruition, people started to get an idea of how the game would play and well, a lot of them were disappointed. As soon as the vehicle-based gameplay was revealed people immediately jumped to conclusions and became very skeptical of it, having their interest and anticipation in the game wane while they complained on forums about it not being "Banjo". Perhaps they were right to do this, perhaps not, but I refused to get involved and decided to take a step back from it all and wait until I had played the game before deciding what I thought of the new direction.

The decision was a good one, with the game being a lot better than the vocal community would have had you believe on the lead up to its release. It was different, yes, but it still retained the old Banjo humour and charm that was present in the two predecessors. I actually believe that while flawed, the new vehicle direction the game took was a good move on developer Rare's behalf because if they released a game similar to those before it I dare say it would have gotten stale fast. I have my reasons why I feel this way and will outline them in a future post, but for now let me just say that I am definitely pleased with Rare's decision to go down this path.

Catchy tunes including remixed versions of tracks taken from the previous games; vibrant and colourful graphics and the aforementioned Banjo humour all combine to make a game that is laid-back in nature but can be quite complex if a player wants it to be. Unfortunately it can be frustrating, especially with a reliance on building vehicles to suit a particular challenge but the good far outweighs the bad.

Wow, so much for brief impressions. As is obvious from this post, I am quite the Banjo-Kazooie fan so I suppose it is no surprise that this post ended up being longer than I originally planned. As with my previous two posts, more in-depth thoughts of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts is on the way so stay tuned for those and for tomorrow's post on another game I have been playing recently.

Third Time Is A Charm?

It has been an awesome few weeks lately for me and gaming news. Two games were announced that I was not expecting at all and yet my excitement and anticipation for both games are as high as my anticipation was for GTA IV. The games?

Beyond Good and Evil 2 and the new Oddworld game.

Sure, Beyond Good and Evil was pretty much guaranteed when it was revealed that Michel Ancel and his team had been working on it for quite some time but it was never confirmed as going to happen until Ubisoft decided on it. They made the right decision and announced it at their 'Ubidays' event that just recently happened. The new Oddworld game on the other hand completely came out of the blue and was especially surprising considering that Lorne Lanning and the developers of the previous Oddworld games were meant to be working on other unrelated to gaming projects. Both announcements were welcomed with a jump for joy from yours truly and I now look forward to seeing how these games pan out in the course of their development and of course I await the day I can play both.

Why is my anticipation so high for both titles? Well put simply, I absolutely love the previous games in the two franchises. Beyond Good and Evil was such a unique experience and a breath of fresh air at the time when I had played quite a few FPS games and a couple of big RPGs as well. Having a game focus on a conspiracy and even a journalistic side was such a nice change from shooting anything that moved or fighting battle after battle and I was immersed in the world of Hillys and Jade's adventure from start to finish. Not even the short length of the game could detract from the fun I was having and I have finished it many times just because it's a great game to go to when I feel like a change in my gaming habits. The soundtrack was also absolute bliss and complimented the game perfectly.

I'm anticipating the latest Oddworld game because I loved the side scrolling games of the PS1 days and I also loved the two games that came out last gen, Munch's Odyssey and Stranger's Wrath. I won't go into detail like I did for BG&E but simply put, the Oddworld story was never completed as far as I am concerned and it is great to know that it will finally be continued on through this new game. Will it be a side scrolling game like the old days, or similar to the most recent Stranger's Wrath? Perhaps neither and perhaps something completely different again. I can't wait to find out.

As the title of this entry alludes to, the third time is a charm. What am I referring to? Well I guess you could say that it refers to two things; one being some other game announcements that happened recently or the second being that another announcement is perhaps due (these things always happen in threes don't they?) in the near future.

I'm hoping that it is the latter and that I can be absolutely shocked and surprised again, but if not I am quite happy to settle for BG&E2 and the new Oddworld game. So that leaves me with the other games I'm happy to see announced recently.

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts was announced last year but it was only recently that more information was revealed about it. As far as I'm concerned, what was shown is the Banjo of old that everyone loves with the addition of vehicles and the creation of them to provide a new and unique experience that is still similar at the same time. A lot of people don't seem to like this new direction that the game is taking and while that's their opinion, I feel they perhaps jumped the gun a bit too quickly and made their decision hastily as they saw the vehicle concept. I'm content to sit it out and wait until I see more before I decide whether the addition is a welcome one or not, but from what I saw in the recent reveal it is still a game that I am anticipating. The Banjo games rock, after all.

Another Rare game was announced recently and that is Viva Pinata 2: Trouble In Paradise. Personally I am anticipating this more than the Banjo game (and I absolutely love Banjo) so that is saying something about my appreciation and admiration for unique games with beautiful art directions. The original Viva Pinata was fantastic; it was simple in style and execution and yet rather complex when it came to maximising the potential of your garden. It was also a great game to play to unwind after some intense Gears of War play as I went for the Seriously achievement. I spent hours enticing the little Pinatas to enter my garden, watching them interact with each other and of course mating them as well. Viva Pinata 2 looks like it will continue the brilliant and simple fun of the original game while adding some new Pinata species to the mix, co-op play and a few other additions. I'm really looking forward to the game and can't wait for it to be released.

And that's the game announcements that have made me one happy gamer in the recent past. As I said above, I'm quietly hoping that another game announcement happens in the near future that excites me as much as the Oddworld and Beyond Good and Evil 2 announcements did. If it happens I'll blog about it here (proving that things really do happen in threes) and if it doesn't happen, well I'm content in knowing that not only will I be playing a new Banjo and Pinata game soon, but that I will also be playing a new Oddworld and Beyond Good and Evil game in the future as well.

Awesome.