Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

Banjo Kazooie was one of my favorite N64 games, and I was very happy to see it brought back to life on Xbox 360, and in such great form.
The game is very much like the original in music and characters, as well as the style of cutscenes and dialogue, which all bring you back years to the good N64 times.
The vehichle building is original and very easy to use. The peices connect only in certain ways, and the body is made up of simple pipes and plates. While this seems to limited, it holds the balance between being too limited and too complicated very well, resulting in a very straight forward and easy to use builder.
Even if you don't like building, there are premade plans given to you at the beginning as you progress farther in the game, which you can modify if you wish.
In all, this game is inventive, fun, and well worth a buy.

Okay. It's been 8 years since the last Banjo Kazooie game, and us Banjo Kazooie fans have been glaring at this game from the time it'd been confirmed by Rare. And I must say, way to go Rare! As with every sequel to an already successive game, their are pro's and cons, especially considering the bolt move Rare has taken. Yes, there are vehicles. Yes the gameplay is severely altered. Yes banjo's nose is big and square. But I didn't say they were cons... Sure, a 3D platformer for the next gen console would have been awesome, Rare is broadening their demographic. They're gathering younger and more diverse fans to their already pristine base. And if this is direction Banjo is heading, I'm glad they've done what they're doing. The graphics. A Banjo Kazooie game wouldn't be right without superb graphics, and BKN&B does not fall short. Luscious environments, brimming with bright colours and detail don't even give them half the justice. Every level has it's own theme, and every level looks brilliant, right down the floor textures, that look as though they've been stitched to together, by some Lord of Games...

The sound. Again, it wouldn't be a Banjo game without it's music, and again, BKN&B doesn't hold back. Although some levels have boring repetitive music (Logbox 720), the music generally fits in well with the action of the game. However, I noticed the serious parts don't cut to serious music like in the prior N64 games, which really does detract from the serious moments, playing bouncy cartoony music... The gameplay. This is a big one. Kazooie has a wrench. No, she can't leave Banjo's backpack. She can't fly, she can't shoot grenades, she can't even shoot lazers and torpedoes. BUT, her vehicles can! Showdown Town, the hub world for N&Bs, is just like a platformer should be, and feels like a banjo game right to the core. Certain areas are only accessible when you've levelled up your trolley, and this retains the restricted access that was ever so much fun in the previous games. For example, at the beginning of the game, you can't drive up steep walls, leaving you designated in the town part of showdown town. Upon defeating Grunty (yes, Grunty still believes she can defeat the anthropomorphic bear and bird) you are given "high grip" tires, which thus give you access above the town district. Simple platforming! The vehicle gameplay is fun, on so many levels. You can play the game with pre-built vehicles, but you can't help but enter Mumbo's workshop to build crazy zealous contraptions to play around with. You can create an armored tank, brimming with rockets, grenade eggs, lazers, and Clock Work Kazooie Bombs, right down to seat with a spring, that upon being sprung, launches you miles into the air.

Through and through, Banjo's original platforming has been mutilated into something much more brilliant, and as we know, Rare never lets us down!

This game is all about building vehicles and using them to do challenges in its many worlds. You can make cars, boats, planes and mixes of them and the possibilities are endless.

The gameplay is very fun to mess around with your creations and some of the later stages will make you think. For the amazingly low price you cant go wrong with nuts and bolts

Takes me back to the days of a Bear and a Bird. I you really like building vehicles and driving them but also love cartoonish style graphics than this is your game. With a range of parts to unlock and choose from the vehicle transformation is endless.

I have downloaded the demo off the xbox live marketplace. It looks pretty good a few things missing from the original but theyve been replaced with new features(ex. Mumbo Jumbo is now where you build your vechiles as apposed to changing character. Its more focused on building things which the title suggests. The graphics are good. The controls are simplistic. I just hope in the full game he original features like carrying banjo around on kazooies back and firing eggs. Overall looks good. One cool thing is those annoying theme songs are back. Been waiting 10 years for this so it better be good. Hope this helps a few people.