|
Pysis's Banjo-Kazooie (N64)
|
| [August 24, 2009 07:34:42 AM]
|
GAMEPLAY
I went more through the game and the gameplay changed as expected. There were about 10 levels so the game wasn't too long. Each level had its own theme which meant each had a nicely painted environment. And also each had some unique and recurring characters. I liked the exploring nature of the game because the levels were easy to traverse and recognize. The boss level is certainly unique as it is nearly the only one and had its own set of logic to play against. At the end the story unfolds to a cliffhanger and as he credits roll you are sometimes rewarded with something extra if you collected all the items in the game.
DESIGN
This game had a simple design, to create a 3D environment to explore with your character, as what the limited potential of the Nintendo 64 could provide. They did so by giving you a character that was slightly agile, along with the moves, so they could build terrain that was not only pathway, but also caused you to see what skills you had earned to open that pathway. I think that may have been the only innovative element was the puzzles they created out of a seemingly docile environment. It does get a little more complex as you must remember from you growing moveset what to use, and also how to identify a potential pathway based on what you can do. You also change charactes in certain levels and now have a new, small, but completely different list of abilities used to go farther. The only part that would be frustrating would be when a pathway was identified leading you to a goal, sometimes this pathway is longer than average and contains some inherent risks that take some of the gamer's skill to overcome, which is something some gamer's might not have without practice. This game uses this logic to build up, it does have a good amount of moves, which the sequel expands on some, but could be greater to enrich the playing experience. It's posible this is one of the things that keep players through the whole game, creating more worlds almost entirely different from the previous so the player could have new experinces. It adds to the exploring nature by making the world very spacious and some goals easier than others, which is what you can start out with when getting used to the level's theme.
The game had few cutscenes, used mainly to describe big portions of the game's plot at each end of the game. Mixed inside the gameplay was random comments from the game's antagonist reclarifying the fact of why you are trying to defeat her. They didn't help a great deal as the plot is again almost removed from gameplay until the end. But the tones or messages of the game create a sense of completion that helps player want to go through, collect the required items, and beat the game. This is done so also by one gamer, there is no multipllayer yet. It does though have mock examples of social interactions when the character talks to other non-playable characters and receives sometimes vital information or other help. This builds a message that other will help you if you ask them, and you can also help them. This creates a nice playing environment with some goals that kept me playing, and while simple, is still fun to play.
add a comment 
|
| [August 22, 2009 10:18:26 AM]
|
SUMMARY
In this game you control a bear named Banjo with his bird partner Kazooie that team up against the evil witch Gruntilda to rescue Banjo's sister Tootie back. In a 3D environment, you walk around collecting items that help you progress through the game in different ways. These items are found in each of the many of the levels of the game. You also start with a basic set of moves to help you traverse the terrain in each level, and as you progress, learn new moves that allow you to go farther. The game's main objective is collecting enough items to reach the end of the game and beat the boss, but also doesn't require every item as the added challange is collecting the remainder and more hidden items.
GAMEPLAY
The game has a light feel to it, you can play at your own pace. What also adds to it is the simple cartoonish characters it uses by personifying animals and starts to create a world of it's own. The scenery isn't cluttered and uses almost everyday objects and the difficulty at most points is easy enough. I liked the feel of this game being fun without having intense gore or language, a funny fact as the words are printed on the screen but said in repetitve animal sounds unique to each character. The objective is easy to catch when playing as it is similar in each level, noticing how they place these items on pathways or another type of item in more obscure places. The control is fun because your just walking, nothing fast-paced, and the set of moves you have and learn add to the ease of movement. The game is interesting enough to play until you get to the point I have and have learned almost all the positions of the items and achieved fluid movement. This means it has great replay value, especially if you missed anything on the first playthrough. The story was ok, but it only progressed at the beginning and end of the game, almost absent in the levels, but the levels have little anecdotes of their own you have to solve. Playing this game I was pretty content and relaxed, some maneuvers took skill but it's nice to have a game that's doesn't get you tense all the time or frustrated about getting a game over.
add a comment
|
|
|
 |
Pysis's Banjo-Kazooie (N64)
|
|
Current Status: Stopped playing - Got frustrated
GameLog started on: Tuesday 18 August, 2009
GameLog closed on: Saturday 3 October, 2009 |
|
