Topic: Banjo-Kazooie is back & now on XBox 360

[Flames_of_chaos]

Well after playing the demo and reading eurogamer's review (they gave it a 7/10) I'm canceling my preorder.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=283006

This isn't a platform game, then. You can eke out hidden extras on-foot in the hub world, Showdown Town, but this is a driving, flying and boating game, with almost no player death or hairy jumps to worry about. You are collecting 131 jigsaw pieces (jiggies) - in much the same framework as Mario gathering stars - but every task begins by asking you to select or build a vehicle to fit the brief. You're never let loose on foot and then given the choice, and if you were, you wouldn't enjoy it, because the vast, ornately detailed openworld level environments would take several minutes to cross, and their thick bridges, riverbeds, hills, pathways, iceflows and buildings are impractical for platforming. They're either there to absorb your rubber, or look sexy as you deliver coconuts to a supply ship, barge Mr. Patch into a cactus with a biplane, or launch yourself off a ski-jump in a homemade toboggan.

Amidst all this detail, which the game happily displays without trickery or obfuscation - even directing a nod to Crackdown's Agency tower at one point - the frame-rate will dip below the stock 30 from time to time, and some of the load-times are appalling, but the overall effect is decent recompense.

[Caliban]

That's the feeling I got from the demo. I'm still keeping my pre-order because I want to play Banjo Kazooie because I never had the chance to play it in its entirety on a console, nor emulated. If I'm really not too happy with Bolts and Nuts I will just trade it in.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Here's something hillarious that I just have to share with everybody " Load screens - of which you'll see rather a lot - include tips and messages. One suggests that if you don't like the new vehicle gameplay, perhaps you should buy Banjo-Kazooie on Xbox Live Arcade instead. Touchy! "

Now what the hell is that Rare, that's like saying to your customers if you think our design choice is shitty and killed the franchise or if you don't like our 40 dollar game because we killed the franchise's gameplay which is platforming and replaced it with vehicles, why don't you download our N64 classic for a mere 15 dollars.

That just shows you how much confidence Rare put behind this game.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

lol MS bought Rare

[Schadenfreude]

I'm trying to decide whether to keep my pre-order or not.

[Bill Aurion]

That's the feeling I got from the demo. I'm still keeping my pre-order because I want to play Banjo Kazooie because I never had the chance to play it in its entirety on a console, nor emulated. If I'm really not too happy with Bolts and Nuts I will just trade it in.

Auuuugh, just get the original then! =(

[Caliban]

I still want to play the game and get a better viewpoint on what they were trying to do.

[Bill Aurion]

Sounds like they were trying to tarnish the franchise in the worst way possible...

No platforming...at all...None...Why even use the franchise!? =(

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Because the devs knew they'd still get paid regardless of what came out the oven.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Sounds like they were trying to tarnish the franchise in the worst way possible...

No platforming...at all...None...Why even use the franchise!? =(

Maybe they wanted to beat themselves at the award for gaming franchise used for the wrong purpose. Atleast Starfox Adventures was a pretty good game despite it being boring.

[KDR_11k]

Brand recognition. At least with the B&K name attached the internet talks about it, if it was just a generic vehicle game there'd be fewer who care (especially for cartoon graphics on the 360 it seems...).

[Bill Aurion]

But I doubt many 360 owners really care about the franchise in the first place...

[Flames_of_chaos]

Lets see xbox fans mildly cared about PD Zero, Kameo did okay I think, Viva Pinata bombed, VP2 doesn't look like its doing hot. Conker flopped, Grabbed by the Ghoulies flopped badly.

[Luigi Dude]

Lets see xbox fans mildly cared about PD Zero

That's because it was a Shooting game.  Anything that's involves shooting will get the Xbox fans excited.  They were only mildly excited about it because the main character was a women.  If it had stared a bald Space Marine on steroids, then I can guarentee you it would have sold 5 times as many copies.

Hey maybe that's what Rare will do for the next Banjo-Kazooie game after this one bombs then.  In order to make the series appeal to the Xbox fanbase, Banjo will be turned into a bald marine who has a big red gun that's nicknamed the Kazooie.  Mumbo Jumbo will be his foul mouth comanding officer, and the Jinjo's will be the alien race that's trying to kill all humans.

[Bill Aurion]

Lets see xbox fans mildly cared about PD Zero, Kameo did okay I think

Launch titles tend to have skewed numbers due to a lack of quantity to choose from...

Hey maybe that's what Rare will do for the next Banjo-Kazooie game after this one bombs then.  In order to make the series appeal to the Xbox fanbase, Banjo will be turned into a bald marine who has a big red gun that's nicknamed the Kazooie.  Mumbo Jumbo will be his foul mouth comanding officer, and the Jinjo's will be the alien race that's trying to kill all humans.

If it has ANY platforming at all then it'll still be a better game than this monstrosity... =(

[KDR_11k]

But I doubt many 360 owners really care about the franchise in the first place...

Well, okay, maybe it's the shareholders that get placated by telling them that 350 million dollar company is actually using those IPs that cost so much...

[GoldenPhoenix]

Lets see xbox fans mildly cared about PD Zero, Kameo did okay I think, Viva Pinata bombed, VP2 doesn't look like its doing hot. Conker flopped, Grabbed by the Ghoulies flopped badly.

Viva Pinata did NOT bomb according to Microsoft. I've talked to an individual on the executive level and they were pleased with the sales which is why the franchise continued.

[Deguello]

Viva Pinata did bomb in two ways.

1) It didn't become the "new Pokemon" like MS wanted.

2) The majority of its sales came after a steep price cut to $20

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Vista sales are GREAT according to Microsoft.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Viva Pinata did bomb in two ways.

1) It didn't become the "new Pokemon" like MS wanted.

2) The majority of its sales came after a steep price cut to $20

I guess you would know more than me about this issue. You obviously have the inside scoop. (Funny thing is that I had this discussion before there was even a price cut). Heck I knew about the sequel before it was even confirmed along with the Party Animals game. But Deg obviously knows all.

MS's intent with the game was to slowly but surely dig into the userbase and expand it. They knew the first game would struggle and that it would take time considering the 360's userbase.

[Bill Aurion]

MS's intent with the game was to slowly but surely dig into the userbase and expand it. They knew the first game would struggle and that it would take time considering the 360's userbase.

This is questionable considering they had a bloody TV SHOW planned alongside development of the game (I have no idea if that even came out)...They clearly did have hopes for the game that didn't pull through...Of course, a profitable game is still a profitable game, regardless of whether it reaches Pokemon levels of popularity or not...And at this point, Rare's best bet it to stick to this instead of raping their other old franchises... =(

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Skip out on the pinata and resume franchise rape, k thx

[Caliban]

they had a bloody TV SHOW planned alongside development of the game (I have no idea if that even came out)

It did. It's still running I think.

[KDR_11k]

MS once tried to expand into the kids' market. Not sure that's a good idea, there's bigger markets they haven't tapped and haven't even tried to...

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Yeah, Iphone.