How often do gamers commend the bravery of the people who make games for them to play? A gamer might respond: How often do the games they play give them reason to?

How often, though, do gamers, myself included, have trouble distinguishing bravery from stupidity, innovation from mistake?

Bravery is a value developers seldom promote. Bigger, we hear. Better, we're told. More badass, it's hyped.

Bravery? That commodity goes unsold. Yet last year I found bravery through another B-word: Banjo. I found it in a game that I mistook for stupid, for which I was stupidly mistaken. This was Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, a sequel from Microsoft-owned Rare studios, a game no one thought was slavishly copying its predecessors or other games, but a game that was possibly an evolutionary error. Again, my mistake.

The early Banjo Kazooie games, made in the 90s in the shadow of Super Mario 64, were character-based platforming games. You controlled Banjo the bear, who ran around in yellow shorts and a blue backpack that contained his bird-friend, Kazooie. You jumped. You squashed enemies. You collected shiny gold things. And while that all made the game a lot like Mario, it wasn't until Banjo's fourth game, the 2008 Nuts & Bolts, a game I played in 2009, that I realized how those early Banjos weren't just similar to Mario but similar to just about every other game. To put it another way, when I played Nuts & Bolts, I realized how different this new one was from just about every other game I'd ever played.

The difference between Banjo new and Banjo old wasn't what you'd think it was, had you tried the game early like I did or seen an ad or read a preview. The new game was bigger and — here's a nice b-word — beautiful, offering players some of the most vast and gorgeously designed cartoon 3D worlds ever rendered in a video game. Vast as the game world was, it wouldn't make sense to force the player to run through Banjo's world. While the game would require the player to squash enemies and collect shiny gold things, the player would be abetted in that adventure with vehicles: Cars, planes, tanks. Just as the railroad, the automobile and the passenger plane made our great Earth small enough so that we could traverse it like 17th-century settlers in a village, Banjo's vehicles would make his great world down to the scale of his earlier ones.

Nuts & Bolts would be a platformer with vehicles — that was the innovation, yes? Or, to some, that was the ruin. Change our games for sequels, gamers chant, but the backlash sometimes betrays them: Don't change them too much. Banjo needs a floating platform on which to jump to, right? Cars don't jump onto floating platforms, not well.

Rare pitched another innovation with the new Banjo, one that easily aroused suspicion. This new game, they showed, would let gamers create their own vehicles, opening access to a garage of collectible fenders and engines and wings and egg-shooting guns. Wheels, tired, fuel tanks, springs, armor, chairs, trays, rear-view mirrors and rocket engines. Plug them all together and don't think too much about how user manipulation of content might interfere with tight, careful level design. For those of us who liked being led through a Banjo Kazooie obstacle course of a level, it now seemed we'd have to do more of the work ourselves, not only going through the course, but constructing our means to do so.

Rare conceded one cheat: They'd make some vehicles for the player, make it easy. You don't need to build your own, they said. You don't need to customize your cars, trick out your rims, pretend you're playing LittleBigPlanet or do your own mash-ups. Just play with what we give you, if you must. That's how I decided to play.

So early last year, I put Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts in my Xbox 360 and started to play and started to get disappointed yet again. This was not the Banjo of old, the one I knew I liked and had recognized it wouldn't be. But it was also something that didn't feel like a good change. First impressions, thankfully, can be wrong.

I played with custom vehicles, driving my Banjo car or flying my Banjo plane across a field or through some giant innards of a computer, collecting shiny things and hauling stuff. I found some racing levels, and frowned. Rare had said that we shouldn't worry that Nuts & Bolts was a racing game, despite the addition of racing levels. But, oh, here was racing.

Then, a turn happened, both in the game and in my attitude. And it happened on a racing track. The old way you play games — the way I first attempted to play Nuts & Bolts for a few hours — is that you try a level or a mission and, if you fail, you try it again. Maybe you gain experience points, your character levels up and it gets easier. Maybe, more often, you just try it and try it and get better, learn the intricacies of the mission or level, and finally you get it. That's how it normally works. That's how I've approached Mario games. That's how I've approached Banjo games. That's how I've approached racing games.

In Nuts & Bolts, however, in one mission, I kept failing. I couldn't win a race. The other racers passed me every time. I messed up the same turns. And I probably could have overcome all that by trying and trying and trying again. But the lightbulb went on. I went into the Nuts & Bolts garage. I started rebuilding my vehicle. You construct these vehicles as if you're making Lego builds, bolting on cubes and cones, latching one part to the next. I was having trouble making a turn? I'd reshape the fender. A guy was passing me on the sides? I'd add a gun on the side to shoot him away. I was falling behind? I added an extra engine, some extra fuel and then lightened the chassis so I was still swift enough.

I didn't get better at the game. I made myself better at the game — by making something better for myself.

And I didn't only have to do it in racing levels. I could do it in collection levels. I did it in aerial dogfight levels. I made planes when I think they thought I'd make helicopters. I made an absurd transforming boat when I think they thought I'd use a car. I mad a vehicle that could bounce over my enemies instead of fighting them. I took glee and breaking things apart and solving problems my way.

That's how I discovered the bravery. This wasn't a game designed for me to sit back and play it, nor was it a game that allowed me to make some simple tweaks. This was a game that presented some problems and, in a manner of speaking, gave me the ability to break it, to hack it, to re-set the rules by re-setting what my character could do. It would be like allowing a player to give Mario a gun or offer Lara Croft a jetpack. Or, it would be like allowing Master Chief to suddenly be a foot shorter if there was a level in Halo where he needed to be harder to hit or if, in Madden, I could change the shape of the football to match my technique and get the bounce I wanted.

My Banjo discovery changed the way I played the game. It also changed my view of the kinds of problems we face in games and the ways with which we might be given the opportunity to address them.

What I thought was a mistake of design revealed itself to me as bravery, as a developer willing to concede control to its player, willing to let its player mess with its game. This wasn't classic Banjo. This wasn't classing anything. This was new. This was bold. This was brave and maybe the best thing about 2008 gaming I experienced in 2009 or any other year, a breakthrough I couldn't appreciate in an hour of playing time, but that I found at long last.

Pricing for me, in these here United States, is $19.99 USD and the downloadable version of Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts necessitates 6 GB worth of bear and bird storage. Me? I already have a copy (or two) and don't feel the need for another, despite liking the game enough to not outright dislike it.

You? Are you on board with these Games on Demand releases? Or would you rather have a disc, a toxic green case and a manual to never read?

Games on Demand: Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts [Xbox Live Marketplace]

L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges hits the Xbox Live Marketplace on April 7th, giving the fans who still refer to themselves as such gobs of new content to play around with. The Lord of Games has crafted 12 new challenges and 7 new multiplayer modes to test players and their distinctive vehicle creations. A new version of Klungo's arcade game and 250 points worth of new achievements awaits those skilled enough to rise to the challenge.

The downloadable content also includes seven sets of blueprints from the winners of Rare's Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts fan vehicle design contest, which can also be unlocked by completing the Stop N Swop feature from the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade release of Banjo-Tooie.

L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges will be available next Wednesday for 400 Microsoft points. Until then, let the following trailer and screens satiate the poor, battered Banjo-Kazooie fan inside of you.

That last part probably isn't all that exciting, except to sales and marketing types, but Rare's Lord of Games, the fictional creator of Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts's game worlds, has something up his sleeve(s). The only hint LOG gives is that something new will be arriving due to "popular demand."

We don't believe Rare is simply referring to the upcoming release of Banjo-Tooie, slated to hit Xbox Live Arcade next month, but something for Nuts & Bolts.

I just put my next paycheck on Rare finally announcing new game worlds based on Killer Instinct, Jet Force Gemini, Battletoads and Grabbed By The Ghoulies. As promised.

Any better guesses?

Rare News [Rare - thanks, Sheldon!]

The Rare-developed vehicular platformer—which we thought was decent if a bit dull—is Amazon's video game Deal of the Day, a measly $19.99. Not bad for a game that's a mere fourth months old. Good thing the holiday season has passed and all those games that were overlooked last quarter are collecting dust, eh?

If Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, EA's finally knocking down prices on its fourth-quarter slate.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts [Amazon]

This had caused problems because there's no voice acting in the game, and certain underpowered rigs made it difficult to read the dialogue which, in addition to being clever, contains clues and instructions and such. Originally Rare wasn't gonna fix it, but then someone cracked the whip and they got it out, albeit a month and a half later. Enjoy.

Rare Releases Text Enlarging Buts & Bolts Update [Xbox 360 Fanboy, thanks Krumm]

Rare Drop a Massive Bombshell Hidden in Banjo Kazooie! [Cranky Gamers UK, thanks Jordan, Maze, and many others]

With a driving, flying and boating replacing hopping and bouncing, with almost everything else that made the series seemingly in tact, does Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts sink or swim?

Loved
Deep But Simple Vehicle Customization: Given that Nuts & Bolts' relies so heavily on a wide range of customized vehicles, the construction in Mumbo's workshop had better damn well work. It does, thankfully, with bespoke vehicles Duplo block-simple to throw together in 3D. Vehicles provided stock by the Lord of Games or via blueprint generally work well enough to get by, but you can always do a little bit better. Whether it's as simple as trimming some excess weight and slapping on a beefier engine, or something more creative, like tossing on some balloons and springy wheels for better hang-time, there's plenty to fiddle with here.

Superior Visuals: Rare knows how to deliver fuzzy caricature, but it's also expert at making the inhabitants of its games feel alive. Showdown Town is visually awesome to behold, rife with careful detail and dripping with cool visual tricks. The visual integrity of the various game worlds may be inconsistent, as can the frame rate — it can seriously chug — but it's a pretty little package.

Value: Like Rare's other 2008 release, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Nuts & Bolts comes budget priced. (Banjo Kazooie is definitely the better value of the two.) The game is packed with things to do and collect, worlds, challenges and vehicle parts to unlock, ensuring that even after you've burned through the 12- to 15-hour single-player portion, you'll have plenty left to do. Multiplayer is a nice addition, but generally feels like a series recycled single-player experiences, not something that will likely replace your current online gaming obsession.

Sense of Humor: Rare offers a massive dose of self-referential humor, poking fun at its commercial failures, its reputation for widget and doodad collecting marathons, and past Banjo Kazooie games. Stabs at the Xbox 360 console, the Frag Dolls and even Mario are peppered throughout, offering some genuine laugh out loud moments.

Hated
Horrible Vehicle Handling: While the challenges offered to Banjo and Kazooie in exchange for collectible Jiggies are typically straightforward and simplistic, actually completing those challenges can be maddeningly difficult due to the game's awkward vehicle physics. You'll spin out while racing, get hitched up on corners while cruising around Showdown Town and slip off platform edges more often than might keep you sane. Nothing's hard, necessarily, just too much repeated effort to get the job done.

Escort Services: Nowhere is the game's unforgiving physics model more frustrating than in protection and escorting missions. Trying to protect multiple battlefronts while manipulating tanks or choppers seems wildly out of whack difficulty-wise with the rest of the game's challenges. Since on-foot travel is so slow, you'll have to stay in your vehicle for almost all missions. When those missions involve firing upon or ramming into multiple foes with a slippery ride, you may dread completing your Jiggie count. Also, having to deposit Jiggies in the bank after winning them, as well as carting vehicle parts back to the center of town to unlock them adds an extra layer of escorting anti-fun.

It's A Collect-a-thon Too: Inasmuch as Rare comically turns the lens upon itself over its obsessive item collecting gameplay mechanics, it doesn't appear that criticism has been taken to heart in Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. You're still hoarding a ton of stuff: parts, notes, Jiggies, trophies, Jinjo challenges. Perfect for the maniacal completist, but tired for those of us who had enough "thing" warehousing last decade.

Highly Polished Dullness: Many of the game's challenges simply aren't any fun — driving around in a circle for two minutes, for example. For as much stuff as there is packed into Nuts & Bolts, there isn't a ton of substance. The core gameplay feels distinctly hollow, with the real appeal seemingly for those who prefer to beat the clock, optimize their creations and see 100% of each widget and doodad in their inventories.

Banjo Kazooie enthusiasts may bemoan the lack of platforming, whatever that really means anymore, in Nuts & Bolts, but the game is actually quite enjoyable as a unique take on the action-adventure genre. It almost feels like Rare — and the Banjo Kazooie fan, for that matter — would have been better served offering a compromise of gameplay styles — things that can be completed with and without the use of the game's near infinite customized vehicle choices. In the end, Nuts & Bolts feels more like a googly-eyed version of a Grand Theft Auto game, one filled with simplistic driving missions piecing together a micron thin storyline.

Even if you despise the new direction that Rare has taken with the series, given the financial investment required, we'd advise cautious fans giving Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts a spin. The urge to see and do everything may peter out, once you've had your fill of scratching your collection itch or suffered through some of the game's deplorable vehicle handling, but there are still moments of fun buried within.

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was developed by Rare, published by Microsoft Game Studios and released in North America on Nov. 11 for Xbox 360. Retails for $39.99 USD. Completed single-player campaign, tested online multiplayer.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Comes now George to pass word from Microsoft PR that the text issue will in fact be patched. Here is the statement, posted on the Banjo Blog.

“It has come to our attention that people are experiencing subtitle [dialogue text] readability issues with Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on Standard Definition TVs. We would like to assure you that contrary to earlier reports, we are aware of the issue and currently working on a title update to be released within the next 30 days that will fix it for those with Standard Definition TVs. We’re committed to ensuring all fans of the franchise are able to have the best experience possible with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.”

No word on when the patch is available, but it sounds like it's a priority if Microsoft PR is taking charge.

GOOD NEWS: Fix for Small Text on SD TVs Issue in the Works! [Banjo Blog via RareWitchProject and thanks to gamer4250 for the tip]

If anything, we're now guilty of giving too much direction on justifying one's game. Rare's Neill Harrison took advantage of our goodwill, which is letting developers and producers prep ahead of time for Justify Your Game, resulting in carefully planned elevator pitches. For Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Harrison pretty much nails it following a minutes long mental practice. If it weren't for the last second awkwardness, this one would've been left on the cutting room floor. Thank the video gods for performance anxiety!

Nope. It was none of them. Believe it or not, the video presentation that was showing at the time was for Rare's Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Really. And every other time I saw it shown, people stopped, turned, and watched, where for most other titles (Star Ocean 4's STUNNING cinematics aside) they'd just keep on walking.

Guess it's not being marketed that heavily here, and looks, I don't know, different. Unique to Japanese eyes, maybe. Who knows! If you guessed wrong, chin up. There are more important things in life. If you guessed right, remember, internet bragging rights are yours for a day.

Sure, it's still a grind of a collect-a-thon and the eyes are still as googly as the fur is furry, but Nuts & Bolts' repeatable missions and vehicular combat made us realize that Rare has something rather unique on their hands — a wide-open world without the ultra-violence.

While we knew all about the vehicle customization and creative puzzle solving, we didn't know that acquiring a "jiggy" following a successful challenge would turn into a high speed police chase. Turns out the cops are corrupt in Showdown Town, that hauling your bird and bear asses back to your safe house from the Jiggoseum was such an important part of the game.

Sure, it may have more hugs than hookers, more furry woodland creatures in overalls than drug dealers, but GTA-style game design looks to have had an influence on Rare. (Who says their skills aren't applicable today?) That players can carjack each other's rides via Xbox Live — you can lock your vehicles to prevent such a thing — makes us wonder if Rare will be the ones actually corrupting our youth.

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts also has plenty of the Metroid-style backtracking and unlockable areas courtesy of new upgrades. But watching Rare's demo of the game today made us immediately compare it to Rockstar's most popular efforts, not so much classic Nintendo fare.

We'll see if the open world sandbox gameplay finds an audience. Nuts & Bolts, with its LEGO block-esque vehicle customization and cuddly free-roaming adventuring sounds like a winning combination (and the budget price doesn't hurt). We wonder if it will be a worthwhile pacifier for the underage crowd who want to go hog wild in a virtual sandbox.

There was also a bit of news shaking loose before the show officially kicked off. Here's the run down:

Microsoft Has Over 140 Demo Kiosks, Buddies With Square Enix
Patapon 2 Helps You Keep Your Groove
Xbox Japan Booth Babes Adore New Booth Babe Outfit
Sorry, But Ninja Blade Is *Not* Otogi 3
Banjo Kazooie's Japan Inspired Backpack
LocoRoco 2: Afros, Home, Luft Balloons and Water
Loads Of LocoRoco 2 Screenshots
LocoRoco 2's Number One Fan
Let's Patapon 2 Multiplayer

• United States: Amazon, EBGames, GameStop and GameCrazy
• UK: Amazon, Play.com, Game and Gamestation
• France: Micromania and Game
• Spain: Game
• Italy: GameStop
• Scandinavia: Game and GameStop

Canada, Japan, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Benelux, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand are participating, but retailers there have yet to be confirmed, says Rare.

Nuts & Bolts Retailer Pre-Order Info for Free Banjo [Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Rare's follow up to Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, is also slated to make an XBLA appearance in early 2009. Soon the Xbox 360 will encompass the entire bear / bird trilogy! How can it possibly contain so much awesome?

Banjo-Kazooie remake appearing on XBLA November 26th [Strategy Informer]

[Nuts & Bolts] is like an introduction to what we could do. If we went on and did some more then we could push it. If it was accepted and people enjoyed it then we could definitely push it in a much bigger direction. This is like an opening to a new type of gaming I guess.

Sounds good to me. Hell, even if Nuts & Bolt doesn't work, no harm in pushing the originality envelope a little further.

Next Banjo will "expand" N&B concept [CVG]

Better still, that code gives you access to the Live Arcade game two weeks before it hits the Arcade for everyone else. The XBLA title will include something called Stop N' Swop, which rewards players' accomplishments in the new game with extra content and features in the Live arcade game.

Microsoft also sent over some pics from Nuts & Bolts' game world, named Jiggoseum.

The newly revealed game world Jiggoseum (formerly dubbed World of Sports) will have you taking on a series of Olympic-inspired events for the jiggy gold!

This giant stadium evokes themes of ancient Rome and Greece with modern day sports activities. The Jiggoseum, common stomping ground for Mr. Fit and Trophy Thomas, will include 17 challenges to test Banjo’s (and his contraptions’) athletic abilities. In order to successfully complete his adventure in this world, Banjo must transport the Olympic Torch across a large body of water to help Captain Blubber light the Olympic Cauldron. A boat may seem like the vehicle of choice for the job… but with tons of options, it’s up to the player to decide.

When will we find out? According to Burton, "soon enough." If that means Leipzig Games Convention, we'll be surprised, and expect that we'll hear real details after the release of Rare's already in development Xbox 360 titles.

Rare: Half the studio working on secret projects [Videogamer]

The thing that appealed to me most was the game's Leaderboards implementation. It essentially lets players download replays of the game's challenges, letting other players improve upon, for example, the ideal way of moving a giant ice cube man up a slippery slope. That feature reminded me of my obsessive Diddy Kong Racing days, in which I was racing against ghost data and fighting the Nintendo 64 analog controller to shave seconds off my time.

That kind of community driven perfection, letting others watch your best time at scoring goals on an oversized soccer pitch, with the most creative vehicle implementation possible, may be Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolt's most appealing feature.

Lobb and Bettridge recounted some of the more creative vehicle builds, including creations that mimicked aircraft carriers and space shuttles, the kind of things that lead to ingenious overcoming of obstacles. That someone built a Godzilla clone out of parts at Mumbo's workshop should excite user generated content fanatics.

In one challenge to score some Jiggies, the in-game currency, Banjo was tasked with getting some soccer balls into a goal. One vehicle used a V-shaped scoop with a spring loaded boot to carry the ball then kick it in. A simpler vehicle was essentially a giant basket, capable of transporting four balls at a time. There are many more options, like sticky balls, air hoses, and vacuums that can get the job done, making for some insane replayability.

The new Banjo Kazooie looks sharp too. It's as bright and busy as Rare's Kameo: Elements of Power and Viva Pinata, but far easier on the eyes. It's dripping with impressive reflections and water effects, giving Banjo and Kazooie a hell of a visual upgrade since their last appearance.

Finally getting my hands on the game, however, is where the shine started to wear off. While Banjo controls well, and Kazooie's magic wrench is easy to come to grips with, vehicle control was amazingly challenging. Watching the vets at Rare play, the game looked more fun than a box full of puppies. Actually trying to complete the game's challenges, whether it was with a pre-built beginner vehicle or an expert level one, was just short of maddening.

My rides wound up in the drink far more than I had expected after overturning and losing control. This sort of thing can probably be prevented when one comes to grip with the Xbox 360 control scheme and gets a better handle on the intricacies of the tractor beam-like magic wrench, but for the first 20 minutes or so, I was cursing the game's physics.

We look forward to more time with Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and its rich vehicle editor. We didn't get to tackle any of the more traditional on-foot platforming sections of the game at E3, so we don't feel like we've had a complete experience yet.

We're hoping that the floaty nature of the vehicles is due to little time spent hands-on — and that the camera becomes more usable closer to release — but have become optimistically cautious, instead of cautiously optimistic, about tackling the final release.

“There is no truth to this speculation," reads an official statement that comments on rumor and speculation. "Ken’s comment is in reference to rotating the left analog stick while hitting the X-button to move different things in the game.”

Aw, you're no fun, official statement. Why'd you have to come in to our post and spoil the speculative fun? Regardless of this denial, we're still sticking to our multiple E3 predictions based on an X-waggle reveal. Bring on the accelerometer! [Edit: I mean X-elerometer!]