Lots of games and television make Hoodeh something something…

And another thing…

In fact I wrote this up immediately after the dentist thing, but I thought I’d save it for a day that would otherwise be postless. Actually my opinion on said topic changed drastically following prolonged exposure to focus of topic, which really exposes previous response for the pathetic purist knee-jerk reaction it was. Put simply, it’s better this way. And now the post will be longer with more reviews of various. Anywho. I admit I’m a little addicted to spilling my guts. Not that anyone is interested in me moping. Fundamentals state that no one pays any attention to whingeing as everyone else to too busy doing same. I believe I’ve said that before. Anywho mk II.
Platforming has come a long way in the past few years. I’ve never seen such a sharp decline. And the sparse few trickling from the teat of gaming are so pathetic I’d rather set myself the galling task of beating Battletoads. I’m sure many can see where this is headed. Oh yes. That’s right. The bear and the bird are back, and I’m a fanboy.
Being something of a gaming purist it takes me some time to accept change, even when it sounds fantastically fun and wonderful. Far be it for me to fork out on a console to play one blasted game, I got my brother to pay for it. And of course got some other good games, shooters and fantastic RPGs. The art overhaul in Banjo was quite confronting, but in game the camera is so far back you can hardly tell they’ve done anything but add polygons and use actual textures so I’m cool with that.

Vehicles are fun and necessary to traverse the absolutely MASSIVE levels. In fact, it could very easily have been made into a fantastic, enormous platform in the vein of the greats it’s predecessors were on such a grand scale reviewers would have no choice but to shower it with perfect 10s. Needless to say they didn’t, and it isn’t. At its core, it’s a sandbox vehicle builder. Not Banjo. It has aesthetic and slight atmospheric similarities to a Banjo game, but change its face to a new franchise and no-one would say “Hey! This is like a rip off of a Banjo game!”

Begin edit.

In fact, now I’m cool with most of the game. The “Acts” for the levels are unnecessary, but bearable (see what I did thar?). The challenges are all timed, evidently what had to replace the lack of platforming, although it’s not so much about the immediate time limit, but the T.T. times you have to get in order to collect every Jiggy in the game. Actually it strikes me as a reference to Diddy King Racing; “T.T.”.

The challenges would be very derivative and generic and tedious and dare I say, and I do, boring, if it weren’t for the games mechanics. You will be faced with an enormous number of fetch quests and races. Of course the ability to play the game by your rules, with your own user created content, makes it very enjoyable. Classic platforming does make a small appearance now and then, most notably in the HUB world, Showdown Town.

Collecting vehicle parts feels very rewarding, and enabling, and platform-y. Rather than everything be handed to you as you complete things, it provides what you provide. I’d like to liken it to RPGs where player stats increase as the player utilises the skills they correspond to, ala Elder Scrolls. The classic Rare humor is still there, and the breaking of the fourth wall is a refreshing addition, though it does make some of the jokes aimed at pop culture and Rare itself a little less…special. Anyway, I could go on, but there’s other subjects to cover and really long posts make people switch off so I’ll wrap up. Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts is fun, but like Super Mario 64 and Mario Tennis, well, you get the idea. I’d be happy to see life breathed into a dying genre, so heres hoping Banjo Fourie will be a playforming title. Onto the next bit! (Oh yeah, seamless.

A little more gaming, then we can move on to TV. You can tell I’ve had a productive holiday can’t you? A quick word about Oblivion. Elder Scrolls IV is huge in ever possible aspect. This means the following. More walking. More getting lost. More stuff. It’s tutorial was way too long, and had me wanting to power down. The first city I went into, I got lost within seconds. The city is massive and corridor like, and all the walls reach high up than I can see. It’s a maze, and everywhere looked the same. Mind you, it is a BEAUTIFUL game. I only played for a few minutes, but I think I’d have more fun replaying Morrowind. Time will tell.

Okay, those of you who know of my Life on Mars obsession, will not be surprised by my seeking out Ashes to Ashes, it’s spin off. Spin offs seem to be popular in the BBC these days. *Looks pointedly at Dr. Who* It was a little less charming, and the actor that portrays Drake is just not as good as John Simm. I don’t care about her character, and the mother daughter thing is tired. It also reuses the same themes, and I’ve seen it before. Only this time it feels like a knock off. Okay, I was going to write more but I’m getting sleepy and have things to do tomorrow so if you don’t mind, I’ll be off. Later.