"New Banjo Kazooie was originally a platformer" WTF!!???

[Dodece]

The traditional incarnation of platforming titles has truly become stale. I am sure Rare could have pulled a Nintendo and ripped off the previous games in their series. They could have just upped the visuals, created some new levels, and added in a couple more zany moves. With no detrimental effects the title could easily sell a million copies in its lifetime.

However I think that is the point that he was making. The genre has been done to death. Without innovation there is only stagnation. Further more the genre is weakest in what consumers want the most. They want character building, online play, replay, and creativity. None of which has been a strong suit of the genre.

This genre is about as retro as you can get harking back to days when perfect timing was the key to gaming rather then any inherent strategy or creativity. You will run a platforming level till the repetition forges muscle memory. Then once you have done that to all the levels available, and win the game you have absolutely no reason to return. You can never recapture the game. Which is unfortunate, because these games are not known for even being decent time sinks.

This time around Rare looks to be bringing the important elements found in other genres into the platforming genre. The vehicle creation is character building. The online modes are about community. The creativity enhances replay, because it gives players freedom to do the same things in radically different ways. Which is what players really love to do once they have played through a game. They want to see what happens if they try something else.

I think people are going to be surprised and humbled by this title. I am waiting to see what the online modes look like before I make any commitments for myself. Give me a battle mode where I get to create my vehicle and duke it out with seven of fifteen other players online in an arena. Oh you can bet I will be all over that shit.