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Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Rare
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: November 11, 2008
Platform: Xbox 360
ESRB: E+10 - Everyone
Reviewer: Eric
 Rare
hasn’t exactly set the Xbox 360 on fire with their games so far. When the two
companies teamed up it seemed like Microsoft was going to get one good game
after another. This didn’t go as planned but it looks like Banjo and Kazooie are
just what the Xbox 360 has been looking for.
It’s all good when a developer makes cracks at themselves. The story of Nuts &
Bolts is set in the future, after the events of the last Banjo game. Both of our
heroes are out of shape and only enjoy the finer things of life, eating food and
playing video games.
Rare sets up the rest of the story very nicely with a lot of humor, showing that
there is a bright side to bad games. Throughout the game Rare is making jokes at
themselves and at the same time they seem to be hinting at future games. If this
was Rare’s last game then they defiantly went all out with Nuts & Bolts, this is
the game that should have been released when the Xbox 360 launched.
Instead of sticking to the same formula the series is known for Rare tried
something new. This 3-D platformer adds in vehicle construction, something in
the lines of Little Big Planet (in ways). During the course of the game you
collect pieces to build your own vehicles. If that isn’t your thing then you can
just use one of the pre-made vehicles you find throughout the game.
This aspect of Nuts & Bolts is a blast. The dull platformer genre is getting the
proper adjustments it needs and thanks to Rare it looks like this is the right
move that needed to be done. Being able to build different vehicles and
exploring all of the stages in the game might sound like it’s been done before
but trust me on this one, Nuts & Bolts has a lot more than most platformers.
Editing your vehicles is easy to do with Rare’s construction tool. All of your
items are just a click job away from making that next dune buggy or tank. If
anything gets too hard Rare has added in a lot of tools to make things easier.
This might sound like the game is too easy but trust me you’ll be wanting help
when you have at least half of the games pieces.
Speaking of building you can exchange your blueprints with others on Xbox Live.
This gives the game some replay value if you are one of those who love to share
your creations. Let others see what you created or just find some new vehicles.
 You
can also play in other online modes. I had a hard time finding matches in the
morning hours. Unlike some of the popular games on Xbox Live you might have a
hard time always finding a match. When you can get into a match (shouldn’t take
too long really) it is a lot of fun. There is a slight lag in the beginning of
matches I noticed. Thankfully the lag doesn’t last the entire match.
At times the game can seem a little stale, mission wise. Too many characters
will have you racing around doing them a task. As long as you know how to follow
signs or roads you can breeze through this game without problems. It would have
been nice if Rare put in more of a variety of tasks, but then again when they
make fun of themselves over it how can you stay mad that long?
If you played the old Banjo games then you will notice the same sound. To me it
seems like Rare took the music from the past and reused it. The sound effects
the characters used before are defiantly back. That means no spoken dialogue. By
now you would think these characters would talk.
Final Verdict
For only $39.99 you are getting a fantastic game. Nuts & Bolts is one of the
better priced platformers on the Xbox 360 right now. Rare put in a lot of time
into this game, the details and the endless possibilities with the vehicle
builder are amazing. At times the game may seem like the same thing but you need
to look at the whole picture. Pick up this title if you like platforming games.
Rating
9 out of 10
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Trailer
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