Tag Archives: Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

After the break. You have to love it. The game was shown last night in the Microsoft E3 press conference, but we were having a bit of a Gears 2 heart attack at the time. Take a look. There are some new screens on X3F.

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Microsoft has put out a press release detailing all the game we can look forward to this year and next. You saw most of them this evening but there are a couple that didn’t make it. After the drop, if you please.

By Mike Bowden

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On Rare-Elite.com.

For those of you who don’t know (and we didn’t), “Klungo is Gruntilda’s ever-faithful minion. In Banjo-Kazooie he was in a few cutscenes, helping Grunty all the way. In Banjo-Tooie he is a Boss three times. When he loses, he feels so ashamed, he actually insists on getting beat up by Grunty, although his bruises heal up by the end of the game. In the end, he gets sick of Grunty and joins Banjo’s group of friends.”

Banjo Kazooie Wiki for the win.

By Mike Bowden

Rare’s released a trailer showing off differences between the first two Banjo games and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. As with all things Banjo, you must watch it, or forfeit the right to call yourself a real man. Woman. Whatever.

See.

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Rare’s just told VG247 that the Banjo motion control rumour, as Microsoft said overnight, is complete bollocks.

“There’s no truth to the Banjo motion control rumour. Banjo has been designed to be played using a gamepad from the outset,” said Rare’s George Kelion.

“People shouldn’t take rumours that gestate in comments sections so seriously. They can often turn out to be red herrings, as is the case with Banjo and motion controls.”

That’s really is that. It doesn’t get more final. Other words used in the conversation we’ve just had with Rare include “piffle” and “hogwash”. And some other stuff, but we’re a family site, don’t you know.

According to this Joystiq story, Microsoft has said outright that there is no truth in yesterday’s speculation that motion-sensing plays a part in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

“There is no truth to this speculation,” said a spokesperson. “Ken’s comment is in reference to rotating the left analog stick while hitting the X-button to move different things in the game.”

The motion-related chatter emerged after Microsoft’s Ken Lobb was heard in a developer commentary saying that, “You basically grab with the wrench and then you twist the controller around and it’ll move different things in the game.”

Microsoft’s staple line for this type of thing is, “We do not comment on rumour and speculation,” so you really can consider this dead. That’s dead. As dodos.

Well, there we are. In what appears to be a tacit admission that Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts features some form of motion sensing, Microsoft’s Ken Lobb has claimed that controller movement will allow things to be moved in the game-world in an IGN dev commentary movie.

“The primary function that Kazooie has in the game is she carries this wrench, and the wrench is used for many different things,” he said.

“One of the things that the wrench is used for is to turn these devices. So you basically grab with the wrench and then you twist the controller around and it’ll move different things in the game.”

The video’s after the break, and the game looks gorgeous. It shows the hub-world of Showdown Town, and everything’s littered with button icons for the normal 360 pad, so are we looking at some sort of add-on for motion stuff? We’ll know next Monday, no doubt.

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According to this article on its official site, Rare can now boast 100 million software sales since the company launched in 1985.

“The result of releasing more than 100 titles across systems ranging from NES to Xbox 360 does seem like something worth mentioning, even if a couple of those titles were Taboo and Sesame Street 123 (everyone has to eat, you know),” says the article.

“Recent assistance in achieving the 100 million figure has come from the likes of Perfect Dark Zero (over 1.5m units to date), Kameo: Elements of Power and Viva Piñata (approaching 1m apiece).

“With Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and two new Viva Piñata titles on Xbox 360 and DS set to launch in the coming months, plus of course all the other intriguing projects further down the line that we’re too wicked and calculating to tell you about, we don’t anticipate a dramatic sales downturn any time soon. Does that sound a bit pompous? Sorry, us Brits struggle to ‘do’ PR sometimes.

Congratulations to Rare from all of us at VG247!

You haven’t got a fiver we could borrow, have you?

By Mike Bowden

Microsoft just put out the packshot for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. After the break. Nice, isn’t it?

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Salvatore Fileccia, lead programmer of Rare’s Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, has said his game isn’t in direct competition with Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet, despite the two platformers sharing a passion for furthering the genre.

“I don’t think we’re a competitor,” he said, talking to Gamersyde. “I think, obviously, we compete in a completely different dimension; we’re 3D, they’re 2D. I mean, I don’t know the complete details of LittleBigPlanet, obviously, but I’m pretty sure the two games are going to be pretty different.

“We’re obviously going for the same aim, which is to evolve the genre, with physics as well, and with creativity – but I think you’ll find that the outcome is quite dramatically different games.”

The question of similarities between the new Banjo and LittleBigPlanet emerged as soon as the Rare game was announced. While the two titles are completely different in scope, the user-creation elements caused some to put the two projects head to head for the end of this year.

Well, Rare doesn’t think so. So there we are.

Some lovely bits of early art from Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts here, showing some of the creative process behind the new Banjo model and the “Fat Banjo” that never was. From Rare’s site:

This exclusive Nuts & Bolts concept art by Rare’s Ryan Stevenson shows us that they toyed with all sorts of ideas before settling on the design we see in the game today. As we know from the storyline, Banjo is in retirement, and completely out of practice, so there is a whole section in the concept art called Fat Banjo.

Take a look. The game’s out this year. For all our Banjo coverage so far, hit this.

Just one. Someone, somewhere, must have all these on a disc and is just dropping them out from his internet castle in the sky, or something. After the break.

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Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts dev lead Gregg Mayles reckons platform adventuring of old is over – and the new Rare game is the true evolution.

“It’s true that anyone wanting a carbon copy of the previous two games will be disappointed, so I’m not even going to make out that it is,” he said in a live chat with Rare fansites.

“What I believe it to be is an evolution of the platform adventure genre. The genre is too stale: it needed shaking up, so we’re trying something different, but within the framework of a ‘traditional’ Banjo game.

“It has a familiar structure, things to collect, characters to talk to and all the humour you would expect. I said on one forum that all we have done is to make the travelling fun. So that pretty much sums it up, we have taken the boring bit (travelling) and made it fun.”

Mayles went on to give an abolute ton of information on the upcoming game, which was announced earlier this week at the Microsoft Gamer’s Day in California. Fill your lunchtime with Rare bear.

As far as we know this Kotaku piece is the first actual playtest of Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts beyond the pre-embargo previews. Sounds as though Brian had a nice time making vehicles. There’s a very telling quote included there, right at the end: “Creating vehicles to complete the challenges is the crux of the game.”

Have a look.

We just chanced across the full PR introduction to Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts’ plot in this Amazinhiddenbanjofolder on Rare’s site. Sneaky buggers.

“Tired of the feuding between bear, bird and witch, a new player has stepped in: the mysterious Lord of Games (LOG), said to have been involved in creating every videogame ever released,” says the blurb. “He whisks the rivals away to his creative HQ in Showdown Town, and into an elaborate series of challenges held within his hand-made worlds. The winner gets the ownership deeds to Spiral Mountain, the loser an eternity of toil in LOG’s videogame factory. The game is on!

“However, things are a bit different this time around. The core gameplay mechanic – and the method by which worlds are traversed, challenges tackled and progress made – is the creation and customisation of vehicles, using components found, bought and won throughout Showdown Town. From wheels and weapons to springs and wings, all of which can be combined in any number and style, there’s a staggering level of experimentation and personalisation for those willing to dabble. If you can imagine it, you can probably build it. But any adventurer with less confidence, experience or time on their hands can still jump in and take on the game with a pre-built range of vehicles. The Lord of Games might be heavy-handed, but he’s big on equal opportunities.

“However, it’s not all change in Banjo-Kazooie country, as Banjo will still compete for Jiggies to unlock new destinations and hoard the musical notes that serve as legal tender. Familiar figures on hand to help include everyone’s favourite shaman down at Mumbo’s Motors and newly appointed tourist information officer Bottles; new faces on the block include porcine police chief Pikelet and overly competitive braggart Trophy Thomas. Outside Showdown Town you might just meet them all again, persuaded by LOG to turn thespian and act out hilarious themed roles in different worlds. You’ll also have to take on Grunty’s shiny army of mechanical Gruntbots, riding roughshod over Banjo’s efforts to save the day.”

Read the full thing after the link. We properly want this now.

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The cast list for Banjo 3: Nuts & Bolts has been revealed on a top secret Banjo site that we fell over earlier.

Aside from the obvious, the game will feature all the familiar faces: Gruntilda, Mumbo Jumbo and Bottles.

Intriguingly, there is a mysterious character called Lord of Games. Lord of Games is described as a “mysterious widescreen deity not only claims to have had a hand in every videogame ever made, he has taken it upon himself to build entire worlds to host the latest Banjo vs. Grunty showdown. The feud must end once and for all: the deeds to Spiral Mountain go to the victor!”

Check out the hush-hush Amazinghiddenbanjofolder. Don’t tell anyone though: they’ll all want to visit.

By Mike Bowden

Amazing what can materialise out of thin air when you least expect it. Hit the link for three brand new screens of Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, in lovely high resolution. Don’t say we don’t do anything for you.

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Kotaku’s just posted a new Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts trailer which we’re reliably informed gives a far better indication of what the game’s like to play than the previous footage. Take a look right now. If you’re not excited by this you’re dead inside.

Talking with OXM, Banjo Nuts & Bolts producer Shaun Read said that the team has built Star Wars and Star Trek vehicles using the game’s building blocks.

“We’ve got the full complement of Star Wars vehicles, all working,” he said.

“We’ve even built the USS Enterprise and a space shuttle with the boosters detaching. It’s amazing that you can make all these things: that’s when we knew we’d nailed it.”

Sorry, but we think that’s pretty amazing. Full interview through the link.

By Mike Bowden

Exactly what it says on the tin. Watch AceyBongos (don’t ask) and his side-kick chat to the crazy Brits at Rare HQ here.

All in HD Technicolor too!

By Mike Bowden