Banjo-Tooie

Banjo-Tooie is the sequel to Banjo-Kazooie, which was a tremendous game. Unlike most sequels, Banjo-Tooie manages to meet and exceed the standards imposed by the original.

The story takes up where the first left off, with Gruntilda trapped under a rock. Her sisters free her and she immediately heads for Banjo's house breathing revenge. Banjo, Bottles and Kazooie are playing cards when she arrives and scatter, but poor Bottles the mole can't get away in time. Grunty smokes him. Defeating Grunty and raising Bottles from the dead then becomes the mission of the game.

All Banjo's moves from the first game are here, plus plenty of new moves! Banjo and Kazooie can now separate and learn these moves on their own, which is a welcome addition. There's also a new shaman in town, who can transform Banjo and Kazooie into forms only dreamed of before, such as a T-Rex, a groovy van, a washing machine, submarine, a statue and many others. The worlds are huge and backtracking is inevitable many times, but not enough to bore.

Because the game assumes players have played the first one, the moves from the first game are not taught. Be sure to practice your existing moves around Banjo's house by going to the top of all the mounds before moving on! Banjo-Tooie is much more puzzle oriented than before, many of which may require a move or knowledge you don't have yet, so if unsolvable, just move on. Item collecting is here, but of much less importance than is usual with platformers.

One note for parents: the humor is decidedly risqué in many places, despite the E for Everyone rating it received. However, most of the jokes will be over the heads of young children. Parents of younger kids may want to rent the game for several days prior to purchase.

This is such a fun game! The moves, visuals, music, gameplay and humor all combine into an extremely satisfying experience. The only negative thing we could find was the occasional slowdown and choppiness of some areas, but this was a minor annoyance. An excellent choice for your game library, probably better for older children due to the difficulty of moves at the beginning and some of the humor.