Comments on: WHY RARE?!?! WHYYY! A Fanboy’s Rant

By: Mech_Master

Mech_Master — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:46:58 +0000

I wouldn’t have minded the new Banjo to be a traditional platformer, but so many fans want a copy and pasted formula from the N64 games. I don’t want a platformer in 2009 to play like one from 1998.

I would have no problem if N&B had been a traditional platformer, but made relevant in today’s world of gaming, like SMG as you pointed out.

By: Perfect Dark 0

Perfect Dark 0 — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:09:55 +0000

Rare’s greatest titles have always been evolutionary in design. Meaning that they took existing gameplay formula’s and added their own innovative touch to it which made their titles great.

With a title like N&B they tried to be revolutionary, at best, but failed miserably. The concept was interesting but extremely hard to pull of and even then it won’t really appeal to anyone except those that consider themselves “alternative gamers” that find the concept “intriguing” or just plain hardcore Rare fans.

To respond on the comment before mine. I disagree. I believe making the latest Banjo just a plain platformer with new elements would have been the right thing to do. A game like Super Mario Galaxy has proven that a few new gameplay elements are more than capable of making a traditional platformer fresh, fun and intuitive.

if they just absolutely had to make the N&B concept a reality, why didn’t they just put it in an entirely new franchise instead of raping (excuse me) a beloved old one.

And I do think a franchises like Perfect Dark and Conker should not be left untouched in place of new franchises.

If anything, the recent titles Rare has released since their switch to MGS have shown that the studio still has the talent, but their titles lack fun-factor and soul of the good old days.

Rare really needs to get their sh*t together!

By: Mech_Master

Mech_Master — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:21:14 +0000

I think there’s several factors that have contributed to Rare’s more recent games not doing as well. Just take Kameo for example. Originally shown back in 2000 or 2001, it didn’t release until another console cycle later. It wasn’t as an impressive “next gen” experience as it was a “current gen” one, because at that point it had become a bit dated, taking so long in development.

And I actually take Rare’s side on Nuts and Bolts. I would have been very displeased if they threw together a sequel using the same formula on the N64 games. They need to move their series’ forward and keep their gameplay up to date rather than recycling 10 year old material. But at the same time am I happy with how N&B turned out? Eh, it could have been better.

Even if the company hasn’t had any epic masterpieces like back in the day, all of the games have been great (generally speaking), so I can’t complain too much.