Ok, so this isn't going to be another lengthy Blog post from me, because I have yet to do my Winter round-up of game views and opinions. I'm happy to say that I've made my rounds through the majority - though not the entirety - of the high profile fall releases, and once we get further into the new year, I'll finally have time to reflect. For now, this crosses of Gears 2, Fallout 3, Little Big Planet, Fable II, Dead Space, and Far Cry II.
But after moving past these huge, high-profile games, I decided to pick up Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, solely on the recommendations of Brad and the rest of GB. Now that I've had a chance to finish it, I will say that it is time and money well-spent. I think the GOTY discussions on the Bombcast capture many of my sentiments in this regard: simply put, there is nothing quite like it out there. Yes, it is still indebted to the Mario 64 formula the way it always has been, but the vehicle mechanic takes an entirely new direction with the collect-a-thon. And yes, the game still is a collect-a-thon, though not in the way that some of the series' previous entries have been. Let's see, you have Jiggies, Notes, Jinjo Tokens, Mumbo Crates, and Cart Parts just to name the major items. But all this is to say that BK:NB is the closest thing we've come to digital legos.
The challenges are unique, and the engineering/creativity involved is second to none. This is primarily because you can build some truly outlandish things if you want to. I know for one mission, I had to push a bunch of blocks out of a ring. To do this I simply made an enormous vehicle that consisted of a tall cage that was literally wider than said ring, and won it almost instantly.
So from this aspect, the game truly excels. What I'm not so convinced of is the writing that Brad seems to gush over. I do think it's interesting how it is self-aware and sarcastic. But for the most part, the slight chuckle I may have had was overwhelmed by the relatively jejune nature of the dialogue. But still, Rare could have done a lot worse here, and the game (given it's low price) is certainly deserving of everyone's attention, if not their GOTY nominations.
Final verdict: listen to those GB editors, they seem to know what they're talking about.
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