Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts Review

This is something I have put off for a long time but I don't think I can for any longer. So let's all take a shot of vodka, or two, and just get it over with. It's time to talk about Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts. If you are not familiar with the game series here is a bit of a flashback. The game series follows the adventures of Banjo the bear and Kazooie, his wise cracking bird that lives in his backpack...don't ask me why she lives in a backpack. 

Anyway Banjo Kazooie`s first outing was on the Nintendo 64 back in 1998. The platformer was a smash hit and in 2001 a sequel in the same vein was released, receiving a similar reception. At the end of the second game it was revealed that a third was in the pipeline. Development was on and off for several years after the games creators, Rare, were bought by Microsoft. And that's when things nosedived. 

In 2010 the long awaited third instalment was released. So you will be wondering why such a popular series bombed? Quite simply this: they turned it into a car building/racing game. This is not what people expected after ten years of development for a game series that was known for being a platform adventure. If would be like the makers of Bioshock making a new game but instead of it being a third person shooter the game took on the format of Tetris. So you can imagine why a lot of people were pissed off. 

Some of you will probably be thinking that I’m being unreasonable and that I should give this game a chance. Well, I did. I never bought into the whole car aspect but I still got the game and gave it a chance. I never finished it. It wasn’t the change in gaming style that did it for me though, it was how frustrating the game was. 

To complete different missions and thus advance in the game you have to modify your vehicle. I would not have had a problem with this but it is all the time. You spend more of your time looking at menus and switching wheels and engines with other parts than you do actually in the levels. Also you are dropped in at the deep end, it is impossible to know what works with what equipment and what doesn’t. 

The lack of variety is another major issue. The original games were as much about exploring and finding things to help you in your quest as they were about boss fights and puzzles. In Nuts and Bolts you are either racing, building a car or racing. It’s just so repetitive. I have a car in real life. I don’t mind driving but it’s not the highlight of my day. Why would I want to play a virtual version of this or spend my time in a virtual garage for that matter? This will sound hypocritical but I love Mario Kart. But the tracks on Mario Kart are interesting and you never stop.

                                           Glory days: Banjo and Kazooie on the Nintendo 64

In Nuts and Bolts the races are dull and unimaginative and there are many times you come to a sudden halt simply because your vehicle isn’t advanced enough. Guess what? Back to the garage to spend another twenty minutes randomly sticking virtual van belts and gizmos together to see if that will help. You might get strike the right combination on the twentieth go and win the race. Are we having fun yet?

It gets 2/10.