My review of BK:GR -- comments?

[estep16]

Here it is. (http://rr.pocket.ign.com/rr/000/000254.html)

And no, I don't write for IGN, in case you had been wondering. That's the new reader review feature that they have, which I'm pretty impressed with.

Comments, anyone?

[Grey Jinjo]

Graphics
Very colorful, detailed characters and landscapes. Animation is very fluid. However, there are no animations used for the death of enemies and height is difficult to tell for some platforms.

You forgot to mention that some scenes like openning doors only used 4 frames when it could've had much smoother conversions with 15 or so...

Gameplay
As complex as Banjo-Kazooie, which is very impressive for a handheld game. Includes much of the well thought-out challenges that series is known for.

I must have played a different Banjo Kazooie or a different Banjo Kazooie Grunty's Revenge...

Lasting Appeal
The game, unfortunately, is very short, with only a few replayable minigames. However, replaying the adventure all the way through again to get a better time or rating is still fun.

Mmmm...Playing for a better time. Thats what I'm doing right now...

The most noticeable error though was...

OVERALL: 8.5

Although thats ok, I understand it was meant to be a 5.8...;)

[estep16]

Ummm... OK.

[cyberen]

I also was confused about the height of some platforms, and the story being told in such a non-dramatic way.

You've got to realize that the puffs of smoke and the limited frames is because they were trying to cram every last bit out of a 32 bit cartridge.

[Grey Jinjo]

Final Fantasy Tactics proves that BK: GR had room to spare...They just didn't care enough about the project.

[R Hunter]

yep rare rushed another game out

[Icy Guy]

Actually, GR is a 64 MBit cart, not 32. And I'm not entirely sure how much room they had to spare on it, but it wasn't a lot. Supposedly, Pokemon R/S has a crapload of 00's in it, which I only recall seeing in one section of GR's ROM.

[estep16]

There shall be no discussion of ROMs on this forum!!! :D ;)

[Moggo]

Gold Jinjo, you have a very cynical view on Rare, one that has gone a little too far.

I dont think you're in the position to state whether or not Rare rushed BKGR. You pass it off as though the game was completed with the minimal work possible, and sadly, it seems you do not udnerstand the work that goes into developing a game that will please the entire public.

It may not satisfy you, but the general feeling around the barracks is that BKGR is an above average title that would have succeded in gaining excellent reviews had it not been so short.

Next time, take the time to think of what you say, because as a moderator of a quality site such as RWP, your opinion is valued.

Tim Schaefer

[estep16]

That's Grey Jinjo you're talking about, but yes, I agree with you.

[Nick98]

It was an okay review, though I still don't think the game deserves anymore than a 6.5 rating. The game was good and all... but to me it seemed like it lacked in way to many different ways. Not that I'm trying to imply that they did an entirely bad job on the game, it just could of been SOOOO much better than it was, even if it is just a GBA game. ;)

[estep16]

Well, I thought it was a pretty good game, and the new moves kept it varied and unrepetitive. However, the game was so short that there wasn't much time in between learning one move and then another. This is why the length is the biggest flaw in the game. Other than the length, though, I don't find the game to be majorly flawed, so that's why I gave it an 8.5.

[Grey Jinjo]

I'm not saying it was entirely Rare's fault, I mean the developement stages were definitely rocky. First Rare starts making the game and they are with Nintendo, but then Nintendo sells them to X-box, so everything is moved and delayed and put on hold. They go through negotiations and find that they CAN make GBA games and need a publisher...

So now they restart production of BK: GR. But who is to say they have all the same files or same people working on it? Now if they don't, they need to get their new workers a working concept of the game. Unless they took ample time to do this, the new programmers and or workers would get blotchy when it comes to keeping everything repeating nicely and accurately.

Then they need a publisher, and while I don't know what all a publisher has to say about the game I'm sure that THQ had some hand in the end product of the game. Perhaps they had a set release date, and Rareware needed more time, but unlike flexible Nintendo THQ wouldn't budge the date, or Rareware just wasn't supplied funding for addition time.

Either way the game was very average. The gameplay itself was NOT above Spyro in any way, and many consider the Spyro GBA games an average platformer...especially in comparison to the rest of the market.

I'm not blaming Rareware for the outcome of the quality of the game, I'm just stating and suggesting on what I hope is improved on with the next installment in the series especially now that they are settled in with MicroSoft and THQ.

[Moggo]

While I see what you're getting at, I must point out that your argument in the 1st post has nothing do to with your argument in the 2nd, and both actually contradict each other.

You first stated Rare didnt care enough about the title, now you're saying Rare never had the chance.

Make up your mind. :p

[Grey Jinjo]

Well I was going to extremitys in the first post, and not in the latter. Either way you look at it I'm sure they had enough time to add 5 frames to the door :p. See, my first post was closer to the initial time of disappointment. Overtime I got less mad and instead of saying "Rare didn't care at all" and meaning "Rare didn't have enough time" I actually said "Rare didn't have enough time".

Human error =P.

[estep16]

Moggo, are you from Rare Extreme? Your site's review is OK, but I could see that you copied off IGN's a lot. First of all, you reused their thing saying that the final battle will put you to the test. You wrote this as in "all your skills will be put to the test." Not only is that not true (all you really had to do is walk and roll), but that's not what IGN meant. Notice how afterwards they said "anyone who's played the N64 games will know what I mean."? Basically what they're talking about is the quiz show/test-type thing.

[Moggo]

Wozza may see this, but screw it.

I wasnt at all happy with the review, and thought it was pretty poor in actual fact.

But it's all Wozza could scramble...

You have a very good point though, and I wouldbt surprised if the reviewer had IGN open in another window as he wrote it.

Not much I can do though. It'll be different for GBTG, trust me. ;)

[estep16]

hehehe... I wasn't sure who wrote it, but I just thought I would bring it up anyway...