I have a confession to make – I never owned an N64. In fact, that entire console generation seems to have passed me by, and while I did have many friends who did own one, the likes of GoldenEye, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, and the Banjo-Kazooie games weren’t good enough to persuade my parents that the costly console was worth a purchase.

So I didn’t have any expectations when I fired up this game, and I certainly can’t comment on how it compares to the original (although, to be fair, the Xbox 360 pads are miles better than the N64 controller in my eyes so I guess that’s a good start). But I can confess that I was pleasantly surprised by something which seems, on the surface, the be aimed primarily aimed at kids. I’ll go into the reasons why later, but I suppose I should start at the beginning.

Banjo-Tooie is an action 3D platformer which features Banjo and Kazooie, a bear and a bird who can work together and use their unique abilities to progress through the game’s many colourful areas and challenges. Using collected items they can use special abilites, most notably the ability to fly, and can carry out a range of attacks on the game’s many and varied enemies.

The game also features a large cast of extra characters who either endow Banjo and Kazooie with extra powers to help them overcome obstacles, or in the likes of the Shamen Mumbo Jumbo, can be controlled directly to utilise their own magic powers to solve puzzles.

The first thing that is striking about the game is the artwork and design aspect – the levels are colourful and engaging, as are the baddies that inhabit them, and the gameplay feels very open in a way which seems well ahead of its time. The characters are funny and interesting, and even the NPCs are fun to interact with and help to progress the story without resorting to simple “tacked on” narrative.

RARE’s quirky British humour also shines through, with sarcasm and wit delivered by the game’s quick-witted bird, Kazooie. The story is compelling, making the game hard to put down, and the characters are likeable and convincing – even the bad guys. The game builds up to a good ending and whets the appetite for more. Fortunately Nuts & Bolts is out now, and with the original Banjo-Kazooie also available on Xbox Live Arcade plenty more is available to be had.

One particular concern I did have was quickly put to rest – well, perhaps quickly isn’t the best word. Y’see, 1200 for a decade-old kids’ game seemed extremely steep to me. Steep, that is, until I actually played the thing, and realised that there’s a good 10 hours or so of gameplay here. OK, so the replay value isn’t particularly high, but perhaps the game’s excellent multiplayer minigames and well-thought-out achievements will keep players coming back for more for a while. The length of the game is comparable to many modern full retail games, so there’s nothing to grumble about there.

So, who would I recommend Banjo-Tooie to? Definitely younger gamers, although particularly young children may need help from time to time due to the fiddly controls. I’d also highly recommend it to anyone looking to relive the nostalgia of the N64 days, anyone who likes 3rd person open world games, people who enjoy retro gaming, people with a good sense of humour… Anyone really. My only slight reservation is that price – it’s a lot of points to part with, especially if you’ve never played any of the games in the series before.

To be honest, if you want to fully appreciate the story you probably should play Banjo-Kazooie first, which is also available on XBLA for 1200, but I didn’t and I still enjoyed the game a lot.

8/10

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