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The sound in BT, much like the rest of the game, is incredible. The tunes range from cartoonish boops and bops to eerie organ solos. What's even cooler about the music is that Rare is able to blend each tune with whatever is going on onscreen. For instance let's say you're at the top of a mountain level and you're sliding down the side, as you progress into another area the tunes of both areas will mix with each other until you've fully entered the new area. This little bit of programming really adds to the overall polish of the game. The characters "voices" will also bring a smile to your face. Each character has it's own distinct "voice" that's brought to life some hilarious sound bytes and onscreen text. Banjo Tooie is an example of what is really possible in the sound department on the N64. Great stuff.
Anyone who played Banjo Kazooie knows that the game had brilliant design and execution and I don't exaggerate when I say that Rare managed to outdo themselves this time around. In the first game you started off as the duo not knowing any moves or having any special abilities and as the game went on you could learn new moves and techniques to help you progress through the levels. Sometimes you'd have to go back through a level when you learned a new ability to fully complete it. The stages were huge and you could literally spend hours on a level just exploring and collecting all the items you needed. It was an almost standard way of doing things in a platform game except that the levels were connected so well that you never felt like you had left one world to go to another. In Banjo Tooie you start the game with all of the moves that the duo learned in the first game which would make you think that there couldn't possibly be much more to learn but you'd be wrong. There are over 25 new moves in this game in addition to what they start with. As far as the levels go, I wouldn't actually call them levels, mainly because in BT the world is a complete whole. Each world is connected to at least one or two others. This is done for two reasons, one is that it allows you to quickly move around from one place to another and the other is that they've vastly increased the need to accomplish multiple tasks at the same time. Since the entire game is connected there are things you'll have to go back and forth for between two or three levels at a time. It gives the game a real sense of being whole. When you first begin the game you'll discover that Mumbo isn't the only shaman in town. Humba Wumba is an indian girl who takes over what mumbo used to do by transforming you into various creatures to accomplish tasks within a level. Now you ask "What about Mumbo?", well I doubt you asked cause you knew I'd tell you. Mumbo is now a playable character that you'll have to use in order to perform feats of magic and trickery. The catch is that Mumbo and Humba don't like each other very much so you'll have to do some pretty nifty planning in some cases to use both of their abilities together. I don't want to spoil any surprises in the game but I'll just say that with some of the new abilities you'll learn it opens up a world of possibilities and those devious little minds at Rare didn't hesitate to put you through the ringer. You'll have so much to do at times that you'll actually have to sit and think about what needs to be done, for some people that may be a turn off but I think it's a great change of pace from "search and destroy" type of puzzles that just require you to do things within a certain time limit. This time around the team has over a dozen mini-games that can be played in-game as well as multiplayer. What's really cool is that several of the mini-games are first person shooter style affairs that, while not as polished as Goldeneye or Perfect Dark, will remind you that you're playing a Rare game. BT is just rich with extras. Highs: You name it and it's a high point. Great level design, characters, and music. The total package. Lows: The occasional framerate problems on larger levels. Final Verdict: What more is there to say really? There are really no issues with the game except an occasional framerate dip in the more massive areas. If you're a platform fan there's really not much reason not to buy this game. It's polished, deep, lengthy, and challenging but most of all it's just fun. It's the kind of game that years from now you can talk about it as an example of what videogames are all about. Overall Score: 9.5
Movie, Desktop Wallpaper and MP3 Downloads available on Rare's website.
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