Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Immersive"

As someone who used to play Banjo Kazooie on the Nintendo 64 for hours on end, I was eagerly anticipating their inevitable debut on the 360. Nuts and Bolts continues the wacky adventures of the bear-bird duo, and takes it along a surprising gameplay path that introduces a new way of playing it. Or should I say....building it.

The platforming of the previous games is still there, more or less, but the game emphasizes heavily on vehicular experimentation and challenges in different "game worlds". In other words, you are required to build machines that best suit the specific challenges that are asked of you. Our heroes begin their journey in Showdown Town--the game's central hub of operations. From there, you can collect musical notes that are used as currency, find crates that contain various parts for vehicle building, and unravel some interesting secrets. To get Jigsaw Puzzles, or Jiggies, you earn them by completing vehicular challenges within a pre-determined time limit, return to Showdown Town, dispense your Jiggy earnings from a machine, and toss them in the depository located in the Town Square. The more of these you earn, the more stuff you will unlock--like new worlds and new upgrades to your in-town Trolley that allow you to bypass specific obstacles so that you may explore even more of what the city has to offer.

Building vehicles may take a little getting used to, but it can be quite fun. It's more or less trial-and-error, but at the very least, you can testrun your creations in Mumbo's Test-o-Track to determine whether or not it needs more tweaking. Plus, vehicle possibilities are almost endless. You're only limited to your imagination, but keep in mind that certain components are needed to get the thing running and functional and, depending on the size of your machines, you will have to consider some necessary adjustments. For example, if you build a huge tank, you'd have to include more fuel tanks and a bigger engine. For airplanes, you need a propeller and a pair of wings, and so forth. But this isn't anything you can't handle. Once you get the hang of the science as a whole, you'll get the gist of it in no time split. You can even share blueprints and pit your creations against other people online through XBox Live through competitions or cooperative tasks.

And, even if you're not into the whole vehicular building thing and don't want to bother with the process, you can find blueprints for existing designs which can be bought by Mumba Wumba in the Town Square or earned by satisfying specific objectives. Either way, the game doesn't discriminate between those who like to build things and those who just want to play the game as is.

The graphics have come a long way since their Nintendo 64 days. As you'd expect from a next-gen system like the XBox 360, the environments are absolutely gorgeous. The lighting is dead on, and Showdown Town is beautifully constructed--and quite large, too. Even though it's merely a town, it can be mistaken for a game world. And rightly so, too--for there are musical notes and parts crates to locate and find. At any rate, Banjo and everyone else are rendered quite nicely. Although the bear and the bird have undergone a dramatic facelift from their N64 days, they still look just as charming as they did when they were on a cartridge.

My only complaint with Nuts and Bolts is the fact that the traditional gameplay that I enjoyed throughout the Banjo Kazooie franchise is somewhat eschewed by the emphasis on the vehicles. I don't have a problem with the vehicular challenges--I think they're wonderful. But one of the main reasons why I loved Banjo Kazooie was the traditional platforming elements. You still have it to some degree here in Nuts and Bolts, but the game worlds seemed designed specifically to cater to vehicles. Which is fine, of course--it's fun to drive around in those worlds. It might have been nice if some levels catered specifically to Banjo on foot rather than Banjo in a car or a tank, but that's just me. Still, this minor complaint does not deter me from complete enjoyment.

Overall, this is a very fun and rewarding game. It's somewhat different from the previous entries, but the charm is still there. Whether you're a Banjo fan, or someone looking for a good gaming experience, Nuts and Bolts is a wonderful addition to your 360 library.