Banjo Threeie
- Thread starter LunchBox
- Start date
I had no idea what the demo was about and why all the chars grunted, but I let my kids jump around, swim and drive. The game is pretty in a technical sense, but the art direction is too generic to make a lasting impression. The frame rate and IQ is good, but it has aggressive LOD and lots of pop-in.
If the reviews are decent I'll pick it up after the holidays, $40 is a deal.
If the reviews are decent I'll pick it up after the holidays, $40 is a deal.
Pre order it now on Amazon for $36.99 and get Banjo Kazooie Live Arcade free 2 weeks before anybody else.
http://www.amazon.com/Banjo-Kazooie..._1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1225605534&sr=8-1
Tommy McClain
http://www.amazon.com/Banjo-Kazooie..._1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1225605534&sr=8-1
Tommy McClain
I agree with this mostly though with different nuances. For me the LOD and pop-in was fine actually, barely noticed it in the demo, but the frame-rate gave me a headache. It's probably 30 most of the time, but definitely not all the time, and it feels really slow. Technically the game is impressive nonetheless, but the art completely fails to make a decent use of that - I think the game's art looks hideous and inconsistent. May be a matter of taste, and kids may like it, but I sure don't. Also I really don't like the gameplay, but again, I kids may. It does seem pretty big and very varied.
I was fairly positively surprised by how much physics there is in the game, though there too, everything is very slow moving. And I feel they could have made better use of it too, like where you have the minigame where you punch a ball-creature to roll at least 250 yards or whatever, had some of the environment been tuned a little that could have been a lot more fun.
I don't know, this game seems too all-over-the-place, designed by technically proficient people who don't really know how to design games for kids. Then again, I don't have kids old enough to play this so I don't know if I'm right about that. Also, there's a good chance that kids will have enough fun playing the demo, if they do like it, because it seems sizeable enough (couldn't finished it due to getting motion sickness).
went back and played this some more after reading some rendering complaints here and I saw NO pop in and no screen tearing.
I am suspecting that those noticing it may have a DVD drive that is starting to go out on them. My old Premium started doing the same thing and when I got my new elite.. games with slowdown and pop in suddenly ran like butter.
Still not sold on the game play.
I am suspecting that those noticing it may have a DVD drive that is starting to go out on them. My old Premium started doing the same thing and when I got my new elite.. games with slowdown and pop in suddenly ran like butter.
Still not sold on the game play.
Thanks for your input. I guess you confirmed my first impressions. It's a shame, and perhaps part of the reason why it's being offered at a good price, which will probably save the sales if not the critical reception. I'll be interested to see where Rare will go from here. Either they go forward and take aboard some good people, or they focus on games adults can safely play with their children looking ... (one of the big plusses John Davison recognised in Viva Pinata on the 1up Yours show
).It's got to be something with the machine because it's the first report I've seen of someone getting sick due to framerate drops. Infact, it's the first report I've seen knocking the graphics and over exaggerating the framerate but hey....
Really? The pop-in was obvious is the first minute of gameplay when in town. All you had to do is turn around and watch objects and stuff pop up, I suspect they have an aggressive LOD system to compensate for the draw distance.
I tried that many times and saw none at all, really. completely rendered at all times.
maybe the HDD is messed up , try clearing your cache. I really wish they let you defrag the HDD.
I enjoyed the demo, by far the best 360 demo since Bioshock or BF:BC, very long takes about 2 hours to do everything, ie collecting all the notes in showdon town and Banjo land etc.
Looks great as well, very impressive technically, it has the least amount of pop in i've seen in a game with such large environments, looks very sharp as well, i think it runs in 720p with 2X maybe 4x AA (Quaz hasn't added it to his game resolutions thread yet).
Also it loads extremely fast, ie the 1 sec load between building a vehicle in a workshop and the test track, when I test cars in Forza 2 it takes like 20 secs.
The handling is a bit twitchy, and like VP I think it's going to a hard game for 10 year olds to play, despite it's appearances. But the vehicle physics are excellent, and I wasn't expecting such depth in the vehicle creator ( like how you can choose if a wheel is driven, freewheeling, etc).
the only other gripe is with the dialogue, while a throwback to the N64 days, I prefer actual voices rather than text, as it is a bit incongruous these days to have a game with subtitled dialogue, its also hard to read and watch cutscenes at the same time, Rare should have included optional voices for those who prefer it.
But other than that it is a fantastic, innovative game, a bit like LBP, but more fun.
I wonder what the devs here think of it technically, is it as good as GOW2 in a technical sense? I would like to see Rare push their engine by using a more realistic art style ie a PD2 or a new shooter IP, would be great.
A question for you guys, does local multiplayer support 4 players splitscreen or just 2? I have only 2 controllers so I dont know and I have a feeling that this game would be an absolute riot 4 player.
Looks great as well, very impressive technically, it has the least amount of pop in i've seen in a game with such large environments, looks very sharp as well, i think it runs in 720p with 2X maybe 4x AA (Quaz hasn't added it to his game resolutions thread yet).
Also it loads extremely fast, ie the 1 sec load between building a vehicle in a workshop and the test track, when I test cars in Forza 2 it takes like 20 secs.
The handling is a bit twitchy, and like VP I think it's going to a hard game for 10 year olds to play, despite it's appearances. But the vehicle physics are excellent, and I wasn't expecting such depth in the vehicle creator ( like how you can choose if a wheel is driven, freewheeling, etc).
the only other gripe is with the dialogue, while a throwback to the N64 days, I prefer actual voices rather than text, as it is a bit incongruous these days to have a game with subtitled dialogue, its also hard to read and watch cutscenes at the same time, Rare should have included optional voices for those who prefer it.
But other than that it is a fantastic, innovative game, a bit like LBP, but more fun.
I wonder what the devs here think of it technically, is it as good as GOW2 in a technical sense? I would like to see Rare push their engine by using a more realistic art style ie a PD2 or a new shooter IP, would be great.
A question for you guys, does local multiplayer support 4 players splitscreen or just 2? I have only 2 controllers so I dont know and I have a feeling that this game would be an absolute riot 4 player.
I tried the demo and thought the game was visually quite stunning. The only thing I noticed that stood out was some dithered shadowing on Kazooie, not dissimilar to that in Viva Pinata or GTAIV (two completely comparable games ). I honestly struggle to imagine what sort of technical problems people would have with this title, since I'd put it up there with the nicest on the system, given the scope present. It's so refreshing to see crisp edges in games I'm playing on my console. Oh, and I didn't have any of the issues raised here by others. Pop-in worked in the same way it works on pretty much every game this gen - i.e. it's there if you look for it, but it's not something that hinders if you don't. If that's an issue for you, you may like to sit out gaming for the next six or seven generations.
As for the game, I was utterly confused by the vehicle building. I jumped straight to my workshop and could build a vehicle and take it to the track, but I must have had a blonde moment, but the custom creation I had wouldn't leave the shop and into the game. For a game I was hoping to be a "chilled out" experience, it was a little bit of a struggle. I'm still going to pick it up, since the value prop here is unbelievable, and I'm entirely convinced I was at fault
One final note.. the text on SD screens is a bit disappointing, but something that's come up a lot this gen on 360. The scaler can make devs a bit lazy, and I am guessing testing on "normal" sized SD sets doesn't feature too much on the radar as all the other bits and pieces. I completely agree however with not voicing Banjo, since it would kill the goofiness I have in my head of the characters. It's like voicing a Final Fantasy game... really detaches me from the characters. Imagine FFVII with Cloud having a 17-year old voice. Ugh.
). I honestly struggle to imagine what sort of technical problems people would have with this title, since I'd put it up there with the nicest on the system, given the scope present. It's so refreshing to see crisp edges in games I'm playing on my console. Oh, and I didn't have any of the issues raised here by others. Pop-in worked in the same way it works on pretty much every game this gen - i.e. it's there if you look for it, but it's not something that hinders if you don't. If that's an issue for you, you may like to sit out gaming for the next six or seven generations.As for the game, I was utterly confused by the vehicle building. I jumped straight to my workshop and could build a vehicle and take it to the track, but I must have had a blonde moment, but the custom creation I had wouldn't leave the shop and into the game. For a game I was hoping to be a "chilled out" experience, it was a little bit of a struggle. I'm still going to pick it up, since the value prop here is unbelievable, and I'm entirely convinced I was at fault
One final note.. the text on SD screens is a bit disappointing, but something that's come up a lot this gen on 360. The scaler can make devs a bit lazy, and I am guessing testing on "normal" sized SD sets doesn't feature too much on the radar as all the other bits and pieces. I completely agree however with not voicing Banjo, since it would kill the goofiness I have in my head of the characters. It's like voicing a Final Fantasy game... really detaches me from the characters. Imagine FFVII with Cloud having a 17-year old voice. Ugh.
Eurogamer review up:
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=283006 7/10
It seems they have similar qualms as have been voiced by others. Seems to be a good review, though without the kid angle.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=283006 7/10
It seems they have similar qualms as have been voiced by others. Seems to be a good review, though without the kid angle.
Eurogamer review up:
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=283006 7/10
It seems they have similar qualms as have been voiced by others. Seems to be a good review, though without the kid angle.
Wow, it's read like less than a 7. I wonder if they consider the price, is the score normalized by the fact it is only $40?
If it is kid friendly then I will pick it up, my kids liked the demo but I wonder if they are too young to really play the game. My oldest is only five.
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3171140&p=4 A- from one up.
"Custom vehicles really come into their own on the myriad multiplayer maps, though. While the host can force everyone to use the same preset vehicle, it's absurdly more fun when you get a few moments to craft a custom vehicle before battling it out with your opponents. One minigame -- which finds players knocking each other out of a ring -- employs a truly spectacular range of vehicles; from hulking tanks to tiny flying helicopters loaded with guns, it's really cool to see the variety of ways in which different players tackle the same problem.
The combination of a surprisingly lengthy single-player game and a robust multiplayer mode make this one game that just about anyone can enjoy. While the challenges get a little repetitive, the ability to create and operate custom vehicles -- both online and off -- make Nuts & Bolts a unique, entertaining spin on the everyday platformer."
"Custom vehicles really come into their own on the myriad multiplayer maps, though. While the host can force everyone to use the same preset vehicle, it's absurdly more fun when you get a few moments to craft a custom vehicle before battling it out with your opponents. One minigame -- which finds players knocking each other out of a ring -- employs a truly spectacular range of vehicles; from hulking tanks to tiny flying helicopters loaded with guns, it's really cool to see the variety of ways in which different players tackle the same problem.
The combination of a surprisingly lengthy single-player game and a robust multiplayer mode make this one game that just about anyone can enjoy. While the challenges get a little repetitive, the ability to create and operate custom vehicles -- both online and off -- make Nuts & Bolts a unique, entertaining spin on the everyday platformer."
That's a great review from 1Up... surprising giving their slew of mediocre scores given out lately.
The Eurogamer review is interesting... not wholly surprising given their active use of the 1-10 scale much more so than other sites except maybe Edge. If it's as enjoyable as some of their other recent 7's (say, Assassin's Creed or Dead Space) then I'm still a happy camper. The only thing that concerns me is it reads like a view on "I want a platformer, and you gave me this??" rather than an analysis of the game they were given.
The fact that you get the full original game when pre-ordering this already discounted game makes it a crazy steal... it makes me chuckle to think of that when reading the EG review. How are Euro's faring on pricing of N+B? In Australia it's "only" $10 off most retail releases at non-EB's ($68 vs $79)... although EB's sell most other new releases for $99.95, so it's a big discount for those that don't shop around. Poor sods.
The Eurogamer review is interesting... not wholly surprising given their active use of the 1-10 scale much more so than other sites except maybe Edge. If it's as enjoyable as some of their other recent 7's (say, Assassin's Creed or Dead Space) then I'm still a happy camper. The only thing that concerns me is it reads like a view on "I want a platformer, and you gave me this??" rather than an analysis of the game they were given.
The fact that you get the full original game when pre-ordering this already discounted game makes it a crazy steal... it makes me chuckle to think of that when reading the EG review. How are Euro's faring on pricing of N+B? In Australia it's "only" $10 off most retail releases at non-EB's ($68 vs $79)... although EB's sell most other new releases for $99.95, so it's a big discount for those that don't shop around. Poor sods.
