Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Rare Buy Now 

With such a saturated market in videogames it's 

no wonder people turn their heads when they see 

another "Spyro the Dragon" or "Crash Bandicoot". 

When "Donkey Kong 64" was released last year it was

one of the most hyped games for the system but fell a

bit short in terms of innovation. The game forced players

to trudge through old levels over and over again as different

characters which made the game a chore. Levels were 

obviously uninspired and it looked as if Rare just rushed

the game at last minute to get it out of the door in time for the

holidays. So now here we have the next big thing from Rare, 

"Banjo-Tooie", which at a glance looks like we've already been there.

But deeper involvement with the game and I've come away 

feeling that Rare put a lot of thought into this game because it

shows. 

Graphics

The first thing I noticed was how goddamn beautiful this game was

even though the framerate had issue's of its own. Coloring is brilliant 

and really pushes the N64 even further towards it's limits. Lighting effects

have never looks so amazing especially character shadows and color

reflections. The worlds have no pop-up at all and are vast but not to the 

point of being lost. The only issue which some might find terrible is the drop

in framerate when more than three characters are on screen at once. At 

other times I've actually seen the framerate close to 60 when I was climbing

a post and much of the background was not onscreen.  This game is even

better looking than Donkey Kong 64 and Majora's Mask.

Sound

My favorite part of BK was it's funny British humor music which gave the

game its own unique feel. The themes are very catchy and you'll find

yourself humming along to them once in a while. The real highlight of 

BT is its funny characters and Monty Python esque jokes. The game can 

be quite dark humored at times. For example when a main character named

Bottles dies Banjo and Kazooie go visit his family after and don't tell them their

father is dead but instead make sick innuendos towards it. Great stuff. 

Gameplay

Talk about tight controls! This game has so many features that I could go

on for a long time but I won't. First off B&K start with all of the moves that

they left off with from the first game plus they gain a shit load of new moves.

They can also split up and adventure separately which is an awesome 

feature for BK fans. The one part that really impressed me was how the game

increased my interest the further I fumbled into it. In each level there will come a

time when you must summon a character friend named Mumbo Jumbo who

cast special spells that help BK get even further. The BT team really did their

homework on this one.

Longevity

Let me put it this way, there is a truck load of multiplayer modes including

the perfect dark esque deathmatch mode. They are all 4-player and

a good diversion from the heroic one player adventure. Easy controls in

first person mode make it feel like you're playing Goldeneye. Tons of fun

especially if you have younger siblings who shouldn't be subjected to 

ridiculous gibbing. 

Overall: 85%

-Evil Romero

Pictures taken from Rareware.