I got my first chance to finally play a finished version of Banjo: Nuts and Bolts this weekend, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I finally had one of those laugh-out-loud, now-I-get-what-Rare-was-thinking, moments that I thought I should share. 

I spent my first few hours using preset vehicles, only going into the workshop a couple times to perform slight tweaks to my ride. But now I'm facing off against Grunty for the first time and needed something with a little more oomph. I've been avoiding my first confrontation with her until I get some better pieces, but I figured that I should just suck it up and see what she's got.

In typical ridiculous Rare fashion, my first battle with the witch involves a giant coconut that can somehow destroy the world. I'm not sure about the details, but I'm sure science is involved. My job was to steal this overgrown nut from her, which would require more power than I'm used to. I would have to build a vehicle from scratch to overcome this problem. To the workshop!

I had a basic concept in my head: I usually have this huge tray in my car to carry objects around, but I didn't need that here. I needed something quick and maneuverable, but also powerful enough to do battle head-to-head. I stripped everything down to the core essentially--a few blocks provided the basic structure, with spiked ramps along the side to protect me from heavy contact. I mounted Fulgore's Fist, a melee weapon, on the front of my tiny ride so I could cause pain with a direct hit, and mounted the egg gun above it to provide some long range attacks.

Of course, I forgot all about an engine. Silly me. So I went back to add an engine, along with an ammo tank for my egg gun and fuel for my car to move. But, once again, I found my vehicle inoperable. Turns out in my attempt to streamline, I only attached three wheels (one in front, two in back) which makes it a pain to turn. I added two wheels and, before starting up the mission again, went to the test track to make sure it worked. It maneuvered like a breeze, was faster than my other cars, and the egg gun had great range. I was happily ramming an overgrown soccer ball around with Fulgore's Fist for a good five minutes before I remembered my objective: get that coconut!

After 20 minutes of tinkering with my first self-made car, I finally set off to fight the witch. I tore off after her like a man possessed, slamming on the X button to egg her stupid car to oblivion. And... I won. After 8 seconds, I was collecting my prize of notes, jiggies, and a shiny T.T. Trophy. So awesome! All that planning and plotting and all I needed was an egg gun. 

This game is going to take a lot of my time. If my review takes a little longer than usual to go up, just realize I'm carefully molding the perfect tool of destruction. I can't wait until I get a spring, or a boat-mobile!