I've recently just played over Banjo Kazooie and Tooie (finished the first still on the second) to remind me why these games were on the top of my love list. What really impresses me, and something which very few games ever do, is build upon the original for the sequel without changing anything from the original. Banjo Kazooie not only did this, but made sure that nothing from the previous games was redundant. Unlike say Metroid series, you had everything from the original game (including secrets, excluding the stop n swop) and everything you had in the original was still used throughout the game, even though Jamjars still gave you a heck of a lot of new stuff. Yes the games weren't perfect, but there were as damn near as you are going to get for the adventure series, in my view definitly topping any 3D Mario game, partially because it got everything right. It has the go anywhere any time feel to it fairly soon after you start, giving you the freedom to collect what you want, when you want to, and while you need to work your way up to some of the higher levels, you can skip the majority of one or two before reaching the final boss.
So yes the two originals are high on my list of best games of all time, so BK3 has got a lot to live up to, and unfortunately I'm already disapointed by one thing, Banjo. Fine the series has always been cartoony, but I feel this time they've gone too far into the cartoony realm. While Kazooie looks fine (and you can almost tell she is female now) Banjo's design to me is just too square (cuboidic if you really want to get technical) and while I appreciate they want to go for a particular art style, he just doesn't look like the old Banjo anymore.
I don't know what to think about the new one yet since I've not seen enough. I have my hopes, no voice acting (keep it like the original two) same style gameplay, Gruntilda as the main villain and most importantly, keep what made the originals the great games they were, the sense of freedom while still pushing players along and engaging them in the collecting of items and puzzle solving.
And please don't make this an action game.
Anyway, as everybody knows
(or should know) Banjo-Kazooie 3 has been in development for quite some time now. I'll try and get as much info in this first post as possible.
Info:
Developer(s) Rare Ltd.
Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios
Series Banjo-Kazooie series
Engine Havok physics
Platform(s) Xbox 360
Release date November 2008
Genre(s) Vehicle platforming, vehicle construction, adventure
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Media DVD-DL
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is an upcoming CMS and platform game in Rare's Banjo-Kazooie series, first announced at the X06 Media Briefing. It is the fifth game in the franchise to be released and takes place eight years after
Banjo-Tooie. It is also the first game in the series released for a console unaffiliated with Nintendo. Director Gregg Mayles stated that roughly 80 percent of
Nuts & Bolts involves the use of vehicles. Rare has announced several characters for the game, including returning characters from the series. In an ending sequence for
Banjo-Tooie, character dialogue led players to believe that the game would be entitled
Banjo-Threeie.
Plot synopsis
Set eight years after
Banjo-Tooie, the plot of the game involves Banjo and Gruntilda competing to determine the true owner of Spiral Mountain. Banjo wishes to preserve his home while Gruntilda plans to transform the vegetated area with towers and malls. A new character named Lord of Games (also known as LOG) attempts to settle the conflict between the two by devising a series of worlds and challenges. LOG transports the other characters to Showdown Town, his headquarters, and starts the contest. The winner would be set to own Spiral Mountain; the loser must endure eternal hardship at LOG's video game factory. While Banjo and Kazooie seek to win by completing the challenges, Grunty uses her powers and abilities to try and stop the duo. An army of mechanical Gruntbots also assist the witch in her goal.
Gameplay
The game is not a traditional third-person action and platform game like the previous entries in the series, but instead utilizes vehicles to transport Banjo and Kazooie around the levels. According to Mayles about 20 percent of the game retains traditional platforming elements. There are however no conventional "moves" for Banjo and Kazooie to use.
According to Eurogamer magazine, the original team from the earlier Banjo-Kazooie games will be working on the new game. In a video interview, concept artist Ryan Stevenson said, "It's still gonna be the same characters, and it's still gonna be the same thing. It was just so many years ago that Banjo was around and we've got a lot of technology and a lot of new things to pour into that world. It's a game for all the people that appreciated the game years ago, and also for new people coming to the 360."
Interviews:
http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=188055
http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/05/...jo-kazooi.html
Hands-on Previews:
http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/05/hands-on-banjo.html
http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=188867
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/872/872701p1.html
http://gamespot.com/xbox360/action/b...ml?sid=6190499
http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-36...-and-Bolts/p1/
http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3167777
http://www.giantbomb.com/2008/05/13/licensed-to-drive/
Gameinformer:
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (360)- RARE says they didn't want to make a high resolution version of the old Banjo platformer.
- You create vehicles with parts you find around the levels.
- GI says their first vehicle was a 4 wheeled kart with a spring attached to the bottom that allowed them to jump things. They later found a helicopter blade that allowed their kart to fly. Later they added balloons to the vehicle and put the blade on the back and created a hovercraft.
- 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.
- There will be 1,600 parts including weapons that you'll be able to attach to the vehicles.
- The town is called Showdown Town.
- GI says that, despite the large focus on vehicles, it still features platforming elements from the previous games like the traditional platforming, tight rope walking and Jiggy piece collecting.
- Showdown Town is 16 times larger than anything RARE has created before.
- Every level has a different intro. Nutty Acres begins with a credits spoof of 80's soap operas like Dallas.
- Note collecting is back, and will act has currency that'll allow you to buy vehicle blueprints.
- RARE says there are 15 different challenges spread across 6 different levels. There will also be side missions.
Official Rare Website
Official BK3 Website
Images:
Videos:
X06 Trailer
'Debut' Video
Official Gameplay Video 2
Rare Studio Tour
GameSpot Interview
Xbox 360 Developer Commentary
Fan-Made Trailer
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Image made by The_True_Keyblader
Linear Mode
