The Rare crew just sent us information regarding the Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts pre-order program where you can score a free copy of the XBLA title Banjo-Kazooie. We guess there was some confusion among eager pre-orderers who weren't exactly sure which retailers were offering Banjo-Kazooie redemption codes with Nuts & Bolts pre-orders. Well, Rare came to the rescue and created a handy list of participating retailers for every country. That list is below. Happy pre-ordering.
UK: Amazon, Play.com, Game and Gamestation
USA: Amazon, EBGames, GameStop and GameCrazy
FRANCE: Micromania and Game
SPAIN: Game
ITALY: GameStop
SCANDINAVIA: Game and GameStop
CANADA, JAPAN, IRELAND, GERMANY, AUSTRIA, BENELUX, SWITZERLAND, AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND are participating, but participating retailers have yet to be confirmed.
Earlier this morning, Microsoft officially confirmed that the N64 remade Banjo-Kazooie will release to the Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday, November 26th for 1200 Microsoft points. But remember, those who pre-order Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts can download the XBLA version earlier and for free. If you're willing to plop down Nuts & Bolts pre-order cash, you'll receive a redemption code to download Banjo-Kazooie XBLA two weeks prior to its official XBLA release, which would be on or around November 12th.
Also, tucked in towards the end of today's Banjo press release, is news that Banjo-Tooie will be releasing to the Arcade sometime in early 2009. Huzzah!
Fresh from a visit to Rare HQ for some hands-on with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, the Xbox 360 Online Center folks came back with a supposed list of Nuts & Bolts achievements. Though, they came back without any of the pretty achievement artwork. Boo! You can view the "rumored" list of achievements after the jump and even though there aren't any achievements quite as good as Gears 2's "Beat the Meatflag", Nuts & Bolts' "BBQ Beef" achievement is pretty yummy. Or maybe we're just hungry.
Talking with Eurogamer, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts lead designer Salvatore Fileccia confirmed their plans to release a Banjo demo to the Xbox Live Marketplace prior to the game's release. "We've got various different ideas" Fileccia explained, saying that the demo will most likely include the four challenges as seen in the E3 demo as well as an editor "because that's a whole different part of the game - building things and seeing how they perform, and taking part in challenges."
So, there you have it. You can expect colorful Banjo-Kazooie demo goodness prior to the game's release this November. Huzzah!
Here at X3F, we're party animals. No, no, no, scratch that, we're PAAARRRTAY ANIMALS! That's just how we roll and that's why we traveled back into Los Angeles last night to attend Microsoft's Fable 2 and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts reception. So, as part of the umbrella of news coverage we're churning out of E3, we thought we'd offer up all the pictures we took from the event similar to our Gears 2 reception pics. Which, coincidentally, was in the same venue. Enjoy the picture show and make your way to the break for a short (super short) off screen video of one of the Fable 2 Pub Game's "Wizard's Tower".
Gallery: E308: Fable 2 and Banjo-Kazooie Reception
During a special reception last night -- held at the same venue as the Gears of War 2 reception -- Microsoft allowed the press to get their grubby mitts on Rare's upcoming Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. The game has already been the center of some criticism from gamers, especially fans of the Banjo Kazooie series. Most of the coverage of the game thus far has dealt with the game's unique vehicle creation system, which allows players to build vehicles from dozens of mix and match parts, LEGO style. For those hoping this article contains a revelation regarding the platforming in Nuts & Bolts, we regret to inform you that the game's hub world -- where most of the platforming takes place -- was not available for play at the event. Here's the good news though, the vehicle creation is really, really fun.
More Spring Showcase goodness as we continue to dig through the assets provided by Microsoft. Perusing the Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts fact sheet, we've uncovered a few tasty bits of info. First and foremost, the game will feature multiplayer modes. Said modes will be available online, though the fact sheet is unclear if they will be offline capable as well. Given that Rare's other big game for 2008, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, features offline multiplayer, we'd say it will probably be available in Nuts and Bolts as well. Cooperative multiplayer is listed as well, though the label "cooperative challenges" makes us think that co-op through the single-player campaign is probably out.
Oh, and in case you'd rather not futz with the do-it-yourself vehicle creation (you old fuddy-duddy, you), the fact sheet assures gamers that many pre-built vehicles are available. The fact sheet also refers to the vehicle creation as user created content. Could this mean that players will be able to trade their vehicle designs? Guess we'll have to wait and see.
With so many leaks already reported, the first official Microsoft Gamers Day news is starting to drop. One of the first, and perhaps most anticipated, bit is the debut trailer for Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. The video focuses primarily on the game's vehicle creation tool. Several vehicles are shown, from massive land vehicles to missile-firing air vehicles, all of which appear to be made of mix-and-match parts. Some platforming is also shown, but vehicles definitely seem to be the star of the show. Oh, and the end of the video is more or less an outright declaration of superiority over Nintendo's Mario. Watch it. Now.
Update: GameVideos edited the Mario headshot. We've replaced the video with the unedited version from YouTube.
The Rare crew just sent us information regarding the Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts pre-order program where you can score a free copy of the XBLA title Banjo-Kazooie. We guess there was some confusion among eager pre-orderers who weren't exactly sure which retailers were offering Banjo-Kazooie redemption codes with Nuts & Bolts pre-orders. Well, Rare came to the rescue and created a handy list of participating retailers for every country. That list is below. Happy pre-ordering.
Earlier this morning, Microsoft officially confirmed that the N64 remade 
Fresh from a visit to Rare HQ for some hands-on with 
