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Chad's First Banjo-Tooie Impressions
Time Played: Just under 20 hours
Yes, I know, this is supposed to be first impressions. But damnit, I've been awake for around 55 hours, playing the game in two ten-hour blocks between eating, repeatedly calling Toys R Us about Donkey Kong Country, and reflecting on where I got stuck in the game. So unless you've developed an elabourate method of traveling back in time, 20 hours of gameplay will have to suffice.
Starting off with the ten-minute (and not at all monotonous) intro movie, you can tell Banjo-Tooie has a much darker overall feel to it than B-K. Spiral Mountain has been completely trashed, and the Isle O' Hags isn't kept up very well either. Two of the major characters (Bottles, followed by King Jingaling moments later) are killed early on, making it all the more imperitave That Banjo and Kazooie triumph.
The graphics are highly improved over Banjo-Kazooie, and for that matter, Donkey Kong 64. There is slight framerate slowdown and noticable load times, but this doesn't detract from the overall experience in the least bit. A small thing I noticed that adds all the more realism to the game is that when speaking, all the characters move their mouths. And Mingella sounds like Eric Cartman when she talks.
Banjo-Kazooie had its funny points (Trunker's nuts, Loggo, etc.) but was at heart an action game. Banjo-Tooie seems to maintain platform mechanics, but is more like an adventure game. You progress through puzzle-solving and character interaction, rather than reflexes. Since there's more character interaction, there's more chances for Kazooie to shoot off her mouth, and she does so unwaveringly. EVERYTHING Kazooie says is utterly hilarious, and merits talking to as many characters as possible, repeatedly.
Of course everything is much bigger, the controls are just as flawlessly responsive, and the new spells combined with a playable Mumbo and character splitting adds a whole new dimension to the diversity of the game, all without becoming tedious. There are only a few problems I have with the game, foremost among those the abscence of connecting with Banjo-Kazooie to get the ice key and eggs. Sure, you can get them in this game, but those aren't MY key and eggs. They're imposter key and eggs which happen to work the same as the ones on my Banjo-Kazooie cartridge. Once I used the ice key in Banjo-Tooie and discovered its purpose, though, the Banjo-Kazooie connection is becoming less and less significant. I only wish Rare would have told us about the abscence. But, hey, I might be jumping to conclusions. I don't even have half the game's jiggies, and a connection of some sort is still quite feasible.
If what I've seen thus far is any indication, Banjo-Tooie is simply a masterpiece of game development. If you're debating buying this title, DO IT. And if not, buy it anyway! You will not be dissappointed. Not only that, but Kazooie yells "Military" when she jumps! Or maybe that's just an insomnia-induced hallucination.
by Chad McCanna
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