Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts is not a common game, and this is the best about it

User Rating: 8.5 | Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts X360

By doubalfa | Review Date: March 9, 2009

Gameplay If you played Banjo Kazooie back in the n64 days then forget everything you know about it, Banjo Kazooie is platformer but not a conventional one, as everthing is made to take advantage of the create a vehicle system. Banjo has only a couple of movements at his disposal, he can jump, swim and clim poles and thats it, kazooie is only able to carry things wih the magic wrench given to her early in the game, or do a spin attack, so the big star here is Mumbo motors, in this auto shop you are able to build your own vehicles, with pieces you buy or get doing missions, anything goes here, there is only one rule, you should have a seat for Banjo, apart from that you are able to put piece after piece of anything you want, the options the game gives you seem endless, you have body parts, weapons, items, miscellaneous, gadgets, and everything, the most interesting thing here are the physics and motor rules, of course if you want to do a bike then you need a motor to make it move and to make the motor work you need fuel, vehivles can fly if they have the parts to do it, so you can have wings, propellers, or even balloons to make your vehicle sky high, or have floaters for a bot or sinkers for submarines, of course you can mix all of this styles into one vehicle and its the fun part about it, designers at Rare made it simple if you want your vehicle to be faster put more extra motors on it and everything works this way, I made a tank (imagine a big panzer) wich is able to float in the water with just a button press, or can get into the air with other button, obviously it can shred you to tiny pieces if you let it, so if you have creativity you can make the craziest things you can imagine, oh and of course there is a trial field for your vehicles...oh and you can also paint them wathever color you want
The good
+Vehicle Creation is pretty fun and dynamic
+seeing a vehicle working makes you feel great
+pieces seem unlimited
The bad
- Banjo and Kazooie are just to dumb to play with them
- sometimes physics are your deadliest enemy

Presentation as the Banjo and Kazooie of old, every character in the game doesnt have a voice, they make weird noises when they speak, so its kind of funny to hear them nowadays, the music is is really good as it is what you may expect from an animated movie, there are some of the classic Banjo Kazooie tunes in a mixed version, the new ones are not as good, but they get the job done, also the vehicles you create make very unique sounds based on the pieces they have so they sound wacky. The graphics in N & B are good, they are pretty easy to the eyes, and colorful, in some cinemas they seem like a pixar movie, so i found it to be great, the characters animations are not as good as the visuals, but it doesnt interfere in the game flow, as for the enviroments just one word..amazing, every game world is pretty unique from showdown town to banjoland, they are all great and really nice to explore, the vehicles you make at the beginning may seem clunky and simple but as you get experience and parts they become more complex and pretty.And as pointed in the gameplay physics are kind of realistic and impressive
The good
+wacky enviroment makes you feel like in a cartoon
+sound effects and music are the way you want them to be
+ physics
The bad
-maybe the character noises annoy you from time to time
-some clunky animations on the citizens of Showdown town

Single Player the Story in N & B is the same as in the old games...Gruntilda the witch is back and she is only a jumping skull, and she want revenge on banjo so she decides to challenge banjo to a Collect everything you can imagine race, Banjo is not the athletic bear of old instead he is pretty chubby because he has now a life of lazyness.So the race begins and at half point t the game the Lord Of Games (L.O.G.) makes his debut telling them to stop that the collection is not what players want anymore, os he makes a special game for them to compete, Banjo stops grunty using a magic wrench, and Grunty is just mean. With this premise starts N & B its nothing from outer world, the game puts you to collect jigsaws as in theg ames of old, but this time you dont have to find them, they are awards given you by certain characters for completing challenges through the game worlds, your mission is still to collect jiggies to unlock doors, and proceed through the levels completing each challenge, so collect is the key word here, as you have to collect jiggies, trophies wich are given to you by Trophy Thomas if you make a challenge in a certain amount of time or with a certain score, you also have to collect musical notes to buy stuff through the game such as blueprints, some jiggies or even vehicle pieces, the game has 6 game worlds each with lots of chapters and challenges so in order to complete the game you have to complete as many challenges as possible. there are also some minigames or options such as Klungo saves the world, Jinjo Bingo etc. the single player game will take you a while to complete and with the vehicle creation it wont get old, just certain missions give you a set vehicle for it but other than those wich are few, you are free to create whatever you want.Oh I almost forgot, yo uare also able to save the replay of any challenge and send it to a friend
The Good
+pretty funny game with jokes and gags.
+freedom to complete tasks
+game worlds are huge
The Bad
-just 6 worlds
-a few missions dont let you change or build your vehicles

Multiplayer

N & B multiplayer is mindless fun most of the time, as it pits you in different game types with the vehicles you have created in the single player, game modes are varied there are races, soccer, waterpolo, sumo fights, team games etc, they dont suffer from variety, the game modes are fresh enough to keep you coming for more, and even more if you like the vehicle creation system, the bad thing about this is that some players have vehicles created for certain game modes, and if you are not prepared you will loose to easy, other interesting multiplayer feats are the ability to send blueprints, screenshots or videos to your friends. also there is a party mode where you get to compete in any game list you want with friends or random people
The good
+ability to choose your created vehicles
+too many game modes
+wacky races and crazy action will make you laugh more than once
+share blueprints or videos
The bad
-some players are too prepared

Take this game witout thinking of the Banjos of old, it is a great game and some fresh air for the platform genre, it will last you long, and if you get into vehicle creation you will be more time thee than in the game modes

Other Helpful Reviews for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

• Rating:8.5

  Glad to see the Bear and Bird back in action

  By Gearsman92 | Review Date: Nov 15, 2008 | X360

  That's right world, the Bear and Bird Duo known as Banjo and Kazooie are back in action. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts for the X-Box 360 is newest Banjo-Kazooie to come out in over 8 years. So what have the Bird and Bear D... Read Full Review

  4 of 4 users found the following review helpful
• Rating:7

  I really wish it had just been a platformer...

  By IRUN2 | Review Date: May 28, 2009 | X360

  I hate to say it. I hate to type it. But this game is terrible. At a younger age I really enjoyed playing the first banjo-kazooie along with the great sequel. Compared to those two this game is just really disappoint... Read Full Review

  6 of 7 users found the following review helpful