[Official] Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Developer: Rare Ltd.

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Designer: Gregg Mayles

Composer: Grant Kirkhope & Robin Beanland

Engine: Havok physics

Release dates:

NA November 11 2008

EU November 14 2008

Genres: Platform, vehicle construction & adventure

Modes: Single-player & multiplayer

Hands On - 11th Sept 2008

by Rob Fahey

With only weeks to go before Rare's venerable Banjo-Kazooie franchise emerges from its decade-long slumber, the game is seriously taking shape. This week, at Microsoft's UK headquarters in Reading, we were able to go hands-on with almost finished (albeit not yet bug-free) code.

You can tell a game is approaching its final state when the small touches start appearing - like loading screens bearing helpful hints, tips and suggestions. One of those tips in particular caught our eye - suggesting that if you aren't getting along with vehicle-based gaming, perhaps you might like to try out the Xbox Live Arcade download of Banjo-Kazooie instead.

It's a bit of a throwaway comment (and we suspect it might not make it to the final version), but it sums up our primary misgiving about Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts rather well. A lot of players, we suspect, are going to find that this game has rather too much emphasis on Nuts & Bolts, and not quite enough Banjo-Kazooie to go around. It's going to be a controversial one, and right now, that could be Good Controversial or Bad Controversial. It's tough to call. It could go either way.

In essence, then, this is a game about vehicles. Its nod to its platforming roots lies in the progression system, which is a fairly pure example of Nintendo's well-worn Mario 64 system in action. The idea is that a chap called Log has decided to settle the battle between Banjo and Grunty for once and for all. In order to achieve this, he has created a number of game worlds and populated them with challenges - Banjo has to complete them, Grunty has to stop him.

This gives us our hub world - Showdown Town, a city environment dominated by Log's Castle. Showdown Town has a large number of districts, only one of which (the Central Square) is accessible at the outset. There's also one challenge world available to begin with, Nutty Acres. As you progress, Log will give you new worlds to play with - these come in the form of crystal balls which need to be transported across town (progressively further away from Central Square) and placed on pedastals to activate dormant gateways.

Each world is accessed by several different doorways - and depending on which doorway you enter via, there'll be a number of different challenges on offer. Some doorways open as soon as you place the game sphere on the pedestal - others will only open when you achieve a certain Jiggy Score, indicated by the number above the doorframe.

Jiggys, of course, remain the currency you're awarded for each challenge you complete - the direct analogue of Mario's Stars. One interesting tweak, however, is that you have an opportunity to earn a TT Trophy for completing challenges in excellent time - win the trophy, and you'll earn a quarter-Jiggy, so four trophies add up to an extra Jiggy in the bank.

Each game world is uniquely themed, and is introduced by a retro-TV style video when you first unlock the world. In a nice twist, all of the standard characters from Showdown Town appear in each gameworld in different guises - Rare has deliberately given this an amateur dramatics society feel, with rather weak costumes and some bad character acting thrown in for laughs.

Similarly, each world has been crafted to look like it's been stitched together imperfectly by Log himself. "The design was that Log had created these worlds, and we wanted them to look like they'd been created," lead technical artist Neil Harrison explains. "Our idea was that he's done quite a good job of creating these worlds, but not perfect. There are holes in the floor which have been patched up, and sometimes you can see the workings of the levels, big cogs under the floor and that sort of thing." It's one of the nicest aspects of the game's unique visuals and was, Harrison claims, a fun challenge for the art team. "It's almost like you're trying to deliberately make things look bad sometimes, and that's quite risky.

"It would be quite easy to make a level with grass, put next-gen grass effects on it all blowing in the wind, and that looks great - that's what people expect. If you want to make it look constructed, though, you have to ask how you make it look as good as that, but without doing that - making this patchwork of fabric instead."

Continues at Eurogamer..

Screenshots:

Videos:

Showdown Town Trailer

E3 2008 Trailer

E3 2008: Chris Chamberlain Interview

E3 2008: Goal Scoring Cam Gameplay

E3 2008: Gameplay Clips

E3 2008: Driving Cam Gameplay

E3 2008: Flying Cam Gameplay

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 1

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 2

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 3

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 4

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 5

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 6

Mumbo's Factory Gameplay

TGS 2008 Terrarium Trailer

Achievements:

Pointless Collector 10

Take part in the L.O.G. badge collecting challenge at the start of the game in Spiral Mountain

Open Nuts 10

Place the Nutty Acres Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

Next-Next-Gen 10

Place the LOGBOX 720 Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

History Lesson 15

Place the Banjoland Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

Let the Games Begin 15

Place the Jiggosseum Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

Super Banjo Universe 20

Place the Terrarium of Terror Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

My First Bank 10

Bank your first Jiggy in Showdown Town

Little Banker 20

Bank 10 Jiggies in Showdown Town

Big Banker 30

Bank 30 Jiggies in Showdown Town

Shower of Gold 40

Bank 60 Jiggies in Showdown Town

Jiggillionaire! 50

Bank 131 Jiggies in Showdown Town

Pimped Up 20

Complete the Showdown Town Trolley with Parts won from Grunty battles

Witch Hunt 50

Defeat Grunty at the end of the game

My First Trophy 10

Earn a T.T. Trophy from any challenge

Few Trophy Pts 20

Earn 10 T.T. Trophies from any challenges

More Trophy Pts 30

Earn 30 T.T. Trophies from any challenges

A Lot of Trophy Pts 40

Earn 60 T.T. Trophies from any challenges

Be Crateful 15

Find and return two crates to Mumbo's Motors

Blueprint Buyout 15

Buy a blueprint from Humba in Showdown Town

Roid Rage 15

Train Banjo once in the Showdown Town gym

Start to Free the Showdown Six 15

Free and re-house a Jinjo in Showdown Town

Vigilante 15

Lock up a Minjo in Showdown Town

Bingo! 20

Complete a line on the Bingo card at King Jingaling's Palace

Stop 'n' Swop 0

Return a Stop 'n' Swop crate to Mumbo's Motors

BBQ Beef 20

In Nutty Acres, they like their steak well done

Massive Damage 20

Aim at the 10 legs for massive damage

Test Your Strength 20

Roll up, show the whole of Banjoland how strong you are

Great Balls of Fire 20

Take a heavy ball around the Jiggosseum and get a burning sensation

Ultimate Combo 20

More like a three-hit combo in the Terrarium of Terror

Floater in the Pipe 20

Eeurgh! That's not going to help the Test-O-Track plumbing

Burn the Witch! 20

Showdown Town witch hunt

Head for Heights 20

Find the best view in Showdown Town

Fuzz Off! 20

POP goes the Weasel!

Paint Your Wagon 10

Paint any part of your vehicle in Mumbo's Motors

Speedy of the Colossus 25

Build a vehicle with 200 blocks or more and go over a set speed

Minimalist 25

Build a vehicle with five blocks or less and go over a set speed

Whoa Nelly! 25

Travel in a vehicle over a set speed

Loose Change 20

Collect ALL the Showdown Town Loose Change

Arcade Pwner 20

Finish all levels of Klungo's Arcade game

Sunday League 20

Play in and complete a multiplayer game League

Premier League! 40

Play in and complete a marathon multiplayer game League (Every Race, Every Sport or Every Race and Sport)

What's That Smell? 10

Play an Xbox LIVE multiplayer game against a Banjo team member, or somebody who has already done so

Bit of Blue 10

Share a blueprint with another player or Friend over Xbox LIVE, or save 20 blueprints

Paparazzi 10

Take a photo and upload it to Xbox LIVE, or take five photos

Caught on Camera 10

Send a video replay to a Friend over Xbox LIVE, or save five replays

High Fives All Round 10

Be on the winning team in a ranked team game

All My Own Work 20

Win a ranked solo game with a custom vehicle

Too Easy! 10

Win a ranked solo race by reversing over the finish line

Too Easy Too! 20

Win a ranked solo race by running or swimming over the finish line

Are You Trophy Thomas? 40

Win 20 Xbox LIVE ranked multiplayer games in any mode

XBLA Titles:

Banjo-Kazooie

It was announced at Microsoft's E3 2008 press conference that Banjo-Kazooie will be made available for download on Xbox Live Arcade in the future. This version would feature increased screen resolution and minor graphical refinements. Properties of Nintendo have been removed throughout the game. For example, the animated Nintendo 64 logo is absent from the opening sequence, while the Nintendo company logo on Mumbo's xylophone in the introduction was replaced by the Microsoft Game Studios logo. Characters who have appeared in other Nintendo-published games will be unchanged, including Bubblegloop Swamp's Tiptup and Click Clock Wood's Gnawty the Beaver. On its website, Rare revealed that the port is being handled by 4J Studios. The game will be publicly released on Xbox Live Arcade on November 26, 2008 for 1,200 Microsoft Points. It will also be offered as a preorder bonus for the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts two weeks before the public release.

Source: Wiki

Screenshots:

Videos:

Leaked XBLA Footage

Leaked XBLA Gameplay

Banjo-Tooie

Banjo-Tooie has been confirmed to be re-releasing in an updated Xbox Live Arcade port, much like its predecessor. So far, only a vague release window of "early 2009" has been given by Rare and Microsoft.

Source: Wiki

Links:

Xbox.com Game Page

GameTrailers Game Page

GameSpot Game Page

IGN Game Page

Eurogamer Game Page

Thanks to my good man .Kick for helping put the topic together!

Edited October 12, 2008 by DrunknMunky

[spenser.d]

I'm stoked for this, though I probably won't have it until Xmas. I will get the original on XBLA when it comes out though, as I'm sure I can get all of the achievements for it (considering I've completed it 100% multiple times on N64...) and because I know I'll spend well more than enough time on it to make it worth the money.

I had initial misgivings about the whole vehicle thing at first, but I think I've warmed up to the idea and I think this is going to be an awesome game.

-Spenser

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Waiting for reviews on this one.

Want to see how big the vehicle impact is, then how fun/well implemented it is!

I'll just emulate the past games :p

I'm not paying for a game that's not really been improved in anyway since the original (like higher res textures or something). Funny thing is, there is probably an N64 emulator hi-res texture patch for the older games. I know patches exist for Zelda and some other big N64 games.

[White Cuban]

looks like that coke commercial with the huge factory to make a bottle inside machine, all colorful and gay ( gay as colorful, 86' :p)

[spenser.d]

I'll just emulate the past games :p

I'm not paying for a game that's not really been improved in anyway since the original (like higher res textures or something). Funny thing is, there is probably an N64 emulator hi-res texture patch for the older games. I know patches exist for Zelda and some other big N64 games.

They are upgraded graphically though on XBLA, and they do have achievements now...

-Spenser

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

They are upgraded graphically though on XBLA, and they do have achievements now...

-Spenser

Yeah just upscaling from the looks of it.

For 1,200 points, which is like ?10.20, I'd expect a bit more:yes:: Especially after buying Wipeout HD for like ?11.99, and it's essentially a "port" seeing as it uses PSP tracks. However it's production values are of a retail game.

If the game was like ?5-7 I'd be happier.

I'm not an achievement ###### so I don't ca:p :p But fair enough, achievements add value to those who care.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

I get it free with my preorder so I'm happy (Y)

Esp since I don't have an N64 to play the original and it would cost me more to buy one from Gamestation or eBay, this is the best way to play it :yes:

/spits on emulators :p

[spenser.d]

@Audio - All the articles about it have said that there are graphical and resolution upgrades to the game - it's not just upscaling. It even says that in the OP in this thread. To each his own though - I'm not trying to sell you the game, I'm just trying to make sure you actually know the facts about it and you're not just spreading around your assumptions in these threads.

-Spenser

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Don't need to sell me on the game, it's awesome, I just think that's a bit of a high price to charge for an existing game!

That's all :)

Here's what high res textures are like for it on emulation. Bump up the res as well on the emulator and it looks awesome!

I am a tight bugger though with money :p

[Browno]

Is this the one coming to marketplace or the actual game?

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Is this the one coming to marketplace or the actual game?

Nuts & Bolts is the new game, but the title coming to the market place is mentioned in post 1 as well.

[jerzdawg]

Is this the one coming to marketplace or the actual game?

Both are listed in the OP... so... to answer your question... both!

[+Mystic MVC]

I played the original many times but I just don't think I will plunk down the money for it (big tight wad :p). This game has taken an extremely different direction so let's hope they succeed!

[Draken]

Waiting for reviews on this one.

Want to see how big the vehicle impact is, then how fun/well implemented it is!

I'll just emulate the past games :p

I'm not paying for a game that's not really been improved in anyway since the original (like higher res textures or something). Funny thing is, there is probably an N64 emulator hi-res texture patch for the older games. I know patches exist for Zelda and some other big N64 games.

I'm with Audioboxer, too much for a game you can emulate at higher quality

[Ricardo Gil]

I'm with Audioboxer, too much for a game you can emulate at higher quality

Except only one of those options is legal. :p

[Draken]

Except only one of those options is legal. :p

Legal? :blink: is that a game?

:rolleyes: ahem ahem /wonders how many legal things Mr Gil owns ........ :p

[Ricardo Gil]

Legal? :blink: is that a game?

:rolleyes: ahem ahem /wonders how many legal things Mr Gil owns ........ :p

A lot, honestly. :p

[MillionVoltss]

I preordered with Amazon uk hearing there were going to offer the pre order offer of the first game but because i preorder to early all they could tell me was,

On checking with the relevant department, I can confirm that this offer applies to first 1000 pre-orders only and is only redeemable from Xbox LIVE. Unfortunately we can?t confirm that your order is in the limited 1000. However, if your order is in the first 1000 pre orders you will receive the pre-order code.

Should i cancel order and try to get best price on game and buy the arcade game ? or wait and hope i get an early code.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

I'd reorder it from Game, they are giving the XBLA game with every order afaik.

[GameOverRob]

Plus I haven't trusted Amazon with pre-orders since they screwed up my Gears of War on release day, I ended up buying it instore and sending it back to amazon [it arrived on the tuesday after the release day]

[.KICK]

N64 versus 360 XBLA Version Link (HD)

The XBLA version looks so much better (Y)

Enjoy :)

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

N64 versus 360 XBLA Version Link (HD)

The XBLA version looks so much better (Y)

Enjoy :)

Looks awesome :woot:

16:9

No blur

No jaggies

Larger draw distance

Better colours

Higher res textures

I can't wait! :drool:

Edited October 10, 2008 by DrunknMunky

[The Teej]

Oh man, that looks AWESOME. I'm not entirely sure which one I'm more excited about, honestly :laugh: I'm definitely going to preorder this now. I heard something about getting BK XBLA free if you preorder the game, does this apply to the UK too?

[.KICK]

Oh man, that looks AWESOME. I'm not entirely sure which one I'm more excited about, honestly :laugh: I'm definitely going to preorder this now. I heard something about getting BK XBLA free if you preorder the game, does this apply to the UK too?

Yes, pre-order from Game

http://www.game.co.uk/Xbox360/Action/Adven...-Bolts/?s=banjo

(Y)

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Some new videos from TGS

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 1

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 2

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 3

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 4

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 5

TGS 2008 Walkthrough part 6

Mumbo's Factory Gameplay

TGS 2008 Terrarium Trailer