Banjo-Kazooie posts (Subscribe to this feed)

"Once we were bought up by Microsoft obviously things have changed within the top ranks and stuff. And I think over the last few years maybe the awareness of Rare has dropped." That's according to Steve McFarlane, art director for the studio responsible for such titles as, umm ... hang on, we're just checking Wikipedia here.

Won't take a moment.

Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Viva Piñata and GoldenEye, it says here. Anyway, according to an interview with OXM, Rare's counting on some revitalized recognition, courtesy of new(ish) Microsoft Games Studios Europe director, Peter Molyneux. "And the idea of Pete coming in and being this new face of Rare it's a great thing for us. It's really just to get us out there a bit more," McFarlane said. Pete's a real pal, having similarly expressed a desire to foster an improved identity for Rare just a few weeks ago.

With a hit game and solid promotion, there's no reason the spotlight can't fall back on Rare, even inside Microsoft. We're fairly confident you've all heard of standouts like Lionhead and walkouts like Bungie.

If you're in the market for a delightfully bouncy orchestral video game soundtrack, then we've got some good news for you. Sumthing Digital will be offering the official Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts soundtrack starting tomorrow. We've sampled a few tracks and can confirm that it is most definitely delightfully bouncy and orchestral. All kidding aside, it's actually a pretty decent soundtrack, and certainly better than a lot of the other game music out there.

The soundtrack will also be available from Amazon, and can currently be pre-ordered for $13.99, nearly two bucks off the $15.98 list price. As Rare states on its website, "Nobody has an overabundance of vehicular bear music in their library right now, so this deserves a shot."

Source - Sumthing Digital
Source - Amazon

The original N64 version of Banjo-Tooie was met with near-universal critical acclaim, though some were disappointed by the cancellation of one of the title's most lauded additions -- a feature known as "Stop 'n' Swop," where special eggs located in Banjo-Kazooie could be imported into Tooie to exchange for various prizes.

Now, nearly a decade later, the feature has found its way into the XBLA re-release of Banjo-Tooie -- but this time around, the rewards are a tad more tangible. As seen in the video after the jump, an achievement, gamer pic and a Banjo-Kazooie NXE theme (as well as a few in-game cheats and items) are all up for grabs if you've got the mettle to go egg hunting in Banjo the First. And by "the mettle," we of course mean "the GameFAQs guide."

The release of Banjo-Tooie is quickly drawing near, and to keep the hype up, Rare has presented a new trailer for the game. Featuring FPB gameplay (first-person birding), you'll be able to scope out some boss fights and oh man that's a freaking playable washing machine and it shoots underwear. Now that's charm you can't put a price on.

Well, actually, you can. Banjo-Tooie is scheduled for release on April 29 for 1200 ($15). Who's ready to Stop 'N Swop?

As an early Easter present, Rare has compiled the video you see above and released it onto Xbox Live. Like the good bloggers we are, we traversed the virtual landscape of Xbox Live to retrieve it for you. In fact, many Bothans ... ah, nevermind.

The video shows off the Stop 'N Swop feature in Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, which unlocks content for one of the games granted you achieved a certain goal in the other title, and was promised in the original N64 games, yet never fully implemented. Now, with Banjo-Tooie on its way to Xbox Live Arcade, Rare has had ample time to get the feature into the games, and offers the above video as a teaser on what to expect.

The above image (used to promote the Banjo-Tooie premium theme for Xbox 360) was revealed via the Banjo-Kazooie forums. Notice anything? No, not the huge, red arrow. Look at what it's pointing at. What could that be?

Forum users are saying it's an icon for Perfect Dark on XBLA, though it could be anything, really. We should also mention that Rare does like messing with fans. Remember that Christmas card debacle? This could be another tease that goes ... nowhere. Also, how do we know that Rare isn't developing a game called "Person Stuck in White Room"? Hey, it could happen!

Regardless, we contacted Microsoft about the possibility of Perfect Dark on XBLA. The company's response: "We have nothing to announce at this time."

[Via Xbox360Achievements]

We really hope the new Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts DLC, "L.O.G.s Lost Challenges," sells a lot of units. No, we don't have any financial stake in Rare or Microsoft, we just hope they can afford a better trailer than the one we've embedded just above.

Honestly, with that font and those production values, it looks more like an Olive Garden training video on making the perfect pasta than an advertisement for a game published by the world's largest company.

So, on April 7th, won't you please spend 400 MS points for 250 achievement points, 12 new challenges, 7 new multiplayer games and the satisfaction of knowing an up-and-coming studio won't have to post such a depressing trailer ever again? We think it's well worth it.

Gallery: Banjo-Kazooie: L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges

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At the beginning of this month, a posting on the forums of Banjo-Kazooie developer Rare lead us to believe that we'd be seeing more content for the game a lot sooner than today. Whether we were mislead or simply employing the jumping to conclusions mat too liberally remains to be seen, but today the list of achievements for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on Xbox.com has been amended with 250 extra points, hinting pretty heavily at directly confirming the upcoming DLC and laying out details for some of it.

One such achievement, titled "L.O.G. Master" tasks the player with winning "all of the new multiplayer games" (emphasis on "new") while another, titled "Halfway Home," confirms the inclusion of "L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges" in the as-yet-unannounced content. While this achievement list certainly solidifies the future release of more Banjo-Kazooie content, we would certainly appreciate some more detail. So we reached out to Microsoft for comment and got this in return:

"Yes, these Achievements are connected to my upcoming add-on pack for Nuts & Bolts, but don't go thinking that this is all I have in store for you. Oh no, I have a few other tricks up my sleeve ... but looks like you eager gamers will just have to wait until the Day of Fools to learn more."

Looks like we're waiting 'til April 1st for all the hard facts. While this is a better response than "No Comment," is a straight answer too much to ask?

[Via CVG]

In its own coy way, Rare is teasing that Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts DLC is in the works and that we'll actually receive details next week.

According to a post by the Lord of Games (L.O.G.) on Rare's official website, we're told that Nuts & Bolts "news on potential lifespan-lengthening activities will be incoming very soon" and are given a "LOG's Lost Challenges" image. We ain't no smarty-pants geniuses, but if we had to take a guess at what L.O.G. is talking about, we'd go with DLC that boasts new vehicle building and task-based challenges.

Now that we think about it, the Banjo-Kazooie Contraption Contest Rare held back in December may have something to do with this content. We wouldn't be too surprised to see the winner's creation as a part of next week's announcement.

Today's Amazon.com video game Deal of the Day is none other than Rare's Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, which has been reduced to $19.98.

While some may see the reduction in price as a sign that Amazon.com wants to unload its unwanted Nuts and Bolts inventory, we're optimists in this situation. We predict the game has been such a success that most every 360 owner already has the title, so (to secure a few more game purchases) Rare partnered with Amazon to sell Banjo's latest adventure at a 50% discount.

Hey, we never said we were logical optimists.

[Via Aeropause]

The economy's cold shadow has begun to loom over Rare, with the Banjo Kazooie developer telling GI.biz that it is undergoing restructuring that could leave a "small number" of employees cleaning out their desks. The effort is part of a broader move by studio-owner Microsoft to tighten its financial belt, an effort that has already left a number of key employees on the unemployment line so far.

According to studio manager Mark Betteridge, this retooling is needed in order to "speed development and better manage the scale required to create high quality games." Betteridge further notes that Rare has four separate unspecified titles "recently underway," though we wonder how many of these projects will be able to make it through the studio's newly-constricted pipeline.

A recent patch

lets you make the

text bigger in

Banjo-Kazooie:

Nuts & Bolts.

The Nuts & Bolts Contraption Contest is relatively simple. From now through January 4th, create the most impressive Nuts & Bolts vehicle possible. Then, once complete, upload a picture of the vehicle to the Showroom. When all entries are in, Rare will look through all submissions and pick the top seven. These seven l33t contraptors will be awarded a mystery prize that'll be something along the lines of "in-game immortalization" that "could earn you a genuine place in Banjo history." Sounds bragalicious.

Rare sent over this Christmas card wishing the staff a happy holidays. Unlike last time, there's no Killer Instinct hint to be found. What gives, Rare? No Glacius The Snowkiller? Oh, wait, what's this ...