Gamertell

I just read a lovely piece over at Destructoid about the absolute awesomeness of the original Banjo-Kazooie, and I just had to put my virtual 2 cents in. Writer Chad Concelmo described his trepidation over the new Xbox 360 BK, citing the perfection (yes, he goes there) of the original game, and lists the reasons why Banjo was a better overall game than Super Mario 64.

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If you missed my previous post about how Nintendo 64 classic Banjo-Kazooie is due out on Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) on November 26, you may not care much for the adventure starring a goofy bear and a sassy bird. Well, you’re crazy, because the game looks amazing - CVG reported that the already gorgeous N64 graphics have been upgraded, so the game is reportedly running beautifully in high resolution. Plus, it features a “stop n’ swap” - famous for its underutilization in the game’s sequel, Banjo-Tooie - as a means of opening secrets in the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts on the Xbox 360.

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I can not get over how cool Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts sounds and looks. Banjo and the witch Gruntilda (Grunty) have been fighting for years over Spiral Mountain, and the Lord of the Games has finally had it with both of them. So he’s set up some challenges for ownership of the mountain. If Banjo can complete the challenges, Spiral Mountain is his. If Grunty is able to keep him from completing them, then it’s hers.

The game gets good once you start looking at how challenges are completed. Each one will have a goal, but you can get there however you like. Players can create practically any vehicle they can think of to assist Banjo in his challenges. There are over 100 different contraption components which can be combined in Mumbo’s Motors workshop. If you don’t feel like thinking up custom creations, there will be completed creations available in the game. There will also be multiplayer versus and co-op options.

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