April 30th, 2009 by hylian1

Banjo-Tooie has finally arrived to the Xbox Live Arcade with full high definition graphics and implemented Stop N Swop features. A word from Rare….

This second outing takes place a couple of years after Banjo-Kazooie and several years before Nuts & Bolts, so it’s after Grunty got squished but before she got decapitated. Wait, that makes it sound like some kind of mental horror franchise. It’s not, honest. It’s a prime slice of fondly remembered large-scale 3D platforming, like Banjo-Kazooie but with more of everything. And optional Gamerpics.

We hope that those of you with knee-jerk reactions to the price point will pause for a moment to note what a vast and all-encompassing game it is, packed with epic levels and towering bosses and unusual split-screen multiplayer diversions, then maybe go a bit misty-eyed and relent in your grudging internet way. Especially as the game has been polished in areas ranging from a framerate boost to the inclusion of Stop ‘N’ Swop features linking Kazooie, Tooie and Nuts & Bolts together in mad unlockable harmony.

Hard to say no to that, isn’t it?