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[Dega]

Front Pgae has the News, I had to continue on my post a few below the OP because I cant edit the OP anymore :S

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

I'm glad that Rare are trying something different with Banjo, I admire their guts. Viva Pinata was good and very original and I don't think I would want a direct sequel made after most of the original staff have left.

Much better to see Banjo taken in a new direction, then pushed into a similar sequel that doesn't live up to the greatness of the originals.

 

[clashfan]

I wonder if you can do custom paint jobs in Banjo like you can in Forza?

 

[TheGrayGhost]

A platformer isn't jumping, it's problem solving.

...

...Hmm.

 

[TheGrayGhost]

edited: double-post

 

[Rocksteady33]

In one swoop you just made you own post obsolete.

Wow. Trying reading past the first sentence.

 

[batbeg]

(Plus I clearly stated that in the following sentence in my original post which you very nicely cut out.)

But the point is they're still pushing it. Microsoft are not making everything fit into a specific demographic - hell, you just mentioned Scene It, another casual game they're trying to push out there. There is nothing that looks particularly forced about the style this is going in, and I'm pretty sure the lego aspect of it is one of the things that will make people feel most reminiscent of childhood, and engage their imaginations.

But look at the colors, the landscape, the entire stitched textures. Do you honestly think this is Microsoft forcing the game into a FPS demographic?

 

[ThatGuy]

How it seems the Microsoft Games Showcase is not only today but also the next two days, with stuff that will not be unveiled before E3 (also 2009 stuff) (NDA'ed) for some choosen people (print magazines,..). So maybe they will show Lips and Ninja Blade there.

 

[NeXuSDK]

I was talking about...... Mario 64. ^^;

I know, but you called Banjo an adventure game, not a platform game... and I argumented why I think you're wrong. Come on...

 

[Francias Castiglione]

I haven't really tracked dr's posts, so let's ignore his own personal rep for a sec; his point still stands- why is positive criticism of a game automatically accepted beforehand while negative criticism is discounted immediately as "raining on parades?" I mean, don't people complain about the overwhelming "This is gonna turn out GREAT!" sentiment in journo previews all the time? Why not hold the same standards to ourselves?

If it were consistent across the board it would be fine, but it isn't. There are definitely sacred cows on here.

 

[witness]

It's a pretty ballsy thing to do coming from a studio that hasn't made anything relevant in over 8 years. :lol

There so cool and such hip rock stars to behead a giant mario in their trailer! Of course some "tester" made that giant mario, no one from the team of course thought of that and created it. Of course they thought so much of the tester's creation that they threw it in the trailer, it was never planned at all for their game play debut trailer......

 

[Beer Monkey]

GAF loves to talk about developer freedom being good but apparently we wish Microsoft had forced Rare to do the same old thing in high def.

 

[65536]

I'm done with the press kit. Ninja Gaiden 2 images, I think some are new?
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_6469_en.html

From the new trailer:

:lol

 

[schuelma]

No Alan Wake? Moved to 2009?

Maybe they're saving it for E3....you know, so it isn't completely obsolete :lol :lol

 

[Opus Angelorum]

That's too bad, the facts of life are tiring sometimes, get used to it.

The red text can only but ensure that.

 

[Nolan.]

Wouldn't it be awesome if some random MS programmer had to find an emergency hiding place for his porn collection? Pressed against the wall, he quickly found an unused directory, MS/360/GAMEDAY directories. In this directory he made two folders. The first, LIPS, for his collection of the best oral on the interweb. The second, titled Ninja Blade, is where he put his Japanase Samurai porn (he is a Microsoft programmer, so stuff neads to be orderly). Unbeknowsnt to the poor Microsoft programmer, the directory MS/360/GAMEDAY was of course the Press directory for today. His porn was quickly found, enjoyed by all, but his fate was sealed.

He was banished to work on the next DoA Volleyball game.

This has happened to you hasn't it -_-...

 

[chris0701]

What's Lips ? Any info?

 

[traveler]

From the new trailer:

:lol

:lol :lol :lol

 

[abacab driver]

That certainly is wrong. Ask everyone who has actually played it!

It has some of the traditional platforming elements still, but what makes it reinvent the genre is that instead of Banjo and Kazooie having and gaining abilities to complete tasks and collect stuff, you use vehicles instead. You use vehicles like you use moves, power-ups or whatever usually, but the big twist here is that you can actually create these vehicles yourself! It's like Mario with the ability to create your own suits and power-ups...

And that is how you innovative a genre, plain and simple...

Yep.
Whats crazy is, they (supposed 'platformer lovers') just dont see it. :lol

 

[PhatSaqs]

GAF loves to talk about developer freedom being good but apparently we wish Microsoft had forced Rare to do the same old thing in high def.

WHY ISNT KILLZONE 2 AN RPG?!

 

[FrankT]

From the new trailer:


:lol

The True, for bold.

 

[Nolan.]

Wow. Trying reading past the first sentence.

Why should I bother when you refute your own empty statements from the start, why waste my time.?

 

[gregor7777]

From the new trailer:

:lol

Ninja Mother Fucking Gaiden 2 baby

:lol :lol :lol

 

[twinturbo2]

From the new trailer:

:lol

Captain Obvious to the rescue! :lol

 

[burgerdog]

I know, but you called Banjo an adventure game, not a platform game... and I argumented why I think you're wrong. Come on...

Careful there, NeXuSDK, he's clearly played it and you haven't.

 

[batbeg]

Yep.
Whats crazy is, they (supposed 'platformer lovers') just dont see it. :lol

Frankly we platformer lovers belong to a very divided group. Very, very few people seem to like all the same games in different sub-genres (the typical example being Ratchet and Clank vs Jak and Daxter, where a lot of people like one but not the other, or hell, Jak vs Jak 2/3).

 

[Kill Your Masters]

From the new trailer:

:lol

Captain Obvious strikes again. :lol

 

[WrikaWrek]

That's too bad, the facts of life are tiring sometimes, get used to it.

They can always ignore you, i think the ignore function works on mods too.

But we cool, i'm just sayin dem ya know?

Not me nuh huh.

*walks away slowly*

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

From the new trailer:

:lol

:lol Oh man that is classic.

 

[Alaskanbullworm]

Just as long as Banjo has the same level of humor and a well enough storyline, then everything else is just like icing on the cake, to me anyways. And who doesn't lick the icing first! Platforming with vehicles is a drastic change for this series, but whatever, it looks and sound great!

VP2 just makes me so happy. VP was the only game that I was glad to sit through and get every single achievment. So much fun in that game. I just hope this game continues with those Wildcards (for those who don't know, it was the rare chance of getting a different looking pinata, think of it as a shiny pokemon).

Any ways, this year is looking so much better on all consoles than it was last, and I thought 2007 was a phenominal year.

 

[Assaulted Nuts]

Screw the haters, they don't even have reason to complainyet. When we get to play it tonight we'll know whether or not it's garbage.

 

[ThatGuy]

How it seems the Microsoft Games Showcase is not only today but also the next two days, with stuff that will not be unveiled before E3 (also 2009 stuff) (NDA'ed) for some choosen people (print magazines,..). So maybe they will show Lips and Ninja Blade and Scene It! 2 there.

 

[FrankT]

did anyone else get this from amazon.co.uk?

Dear Amazon.co.uk Customer,
Ninja Gaiden 2 releases Friday, May 16th, 2008, at Amazon.co.uk. You've looked at it or bought other similar games for Xbox 360 in the past.

ninja gaiden 2 this friday ??

No US amazon changes yet. The release trailer today still says June.

 

[Firewire]

No Alan Wake? Moved to 2009?

"TVG learns from Microsoft's Gamers Day that the possibility of a 2008 release for Alan Wake is looking extremely bleak...

A Microsoft Spokesperson has told TVG that Microsoft's Gamers Day (soon to start in San Francisco) is showcasing all of the company's major game releases for 2008, strongly suggesting that triple A title Alan Wake (which isn't on show at the event) will quietly slip into the 2009 release window that we all probably knew but hoped wouldn't happen"

http://www.totalvideogames.com/news/No_Alan_Wake_In_2008_13214_4736_0.htm

 

[TheOddOne]

This thread need info

Fable 2 In Action, Dog Included: http://kotaku.com/389992/fable-2-in-action-dog-included

 

[ToyMachine228]

Haven't been keeping up with this thread. I assume Too Human is going to be shown as well? Seems dumb not to show it since it definitely needs more pimping to the broad audience.

 

[Dega]

How it seems the Microsoft Games Showcase is not only today but also the next two days, with stuff that will not be unveiled before E3 (also 2009 stuff) (NDA'ed) for some choosen people (print magazines,..). So maybe they will show Lips and Ninja Blade and Scene It! 2 there.

Totally having Deja Vu here.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

IGN exclusive shot

 

[FrankT]

How it seems the Microsoft Games Showcase is not only today but also the next two days, with stuff that will not be unveiled before E3 (also 2009 stuff) (NDA'ed) for some choosen people (print magazines,..). So maybe they will show Lips and Ninja Blade and Scene It! 2 there.

Ah so it's over 3 days? Well maybe something will come out this week on Lips and Ninja Blade. Give us our NG2 demo, frothing here.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

This thread need info

It needs colonic irrigation.

 

[duckroll]

They can always ignore you, i think the ignore function works on mods too.

If he thought I had nothing good to say he would have ignored me long ago.

Of course it's a big problem when you like SOME of what a person posts, but not the negative things he posts about. I don't see any reason to be less negative about things I feel just aren't good. It's not like I wake up in the morning and go "WOO LET'S TROLL SILICON KNIGHTS TODAY!" Did I know they were going to cut out 4-player co-op? Nope. Do I know that they're going to release a bunch of bad screenshots before they do? Nope. How about instead of focusing on people being negative about things that are shown, demand that developers and publishers show stuff that DON'T look like shit, and DON'T disappoint people, and DON'T make people upset? Consumers are the highest power in any industry, but I swear so many of you don't realize it. Stop being cocksuckers and man up, call it as you see it. Quality of products will improve when developers realize people don't take shit.

Call me crazy, but I think we could hold ourselves to some slightly higher standards than that--regardless of people being juniors, members, or mods.

I know, this is neogaf, dude--but it IS neogaf, dude.

I do have standards. I just don't see why I have to -lower- these standards just because people are upset that I'm being "overly negative" about something. Come on, how can it be trolling Silicon Knights or Too Human by simply pointing out how crap the entire PR ride has been so far?

 

[FabCam]

I don't see why some people don't want to see Banjo being a platformer. Bajo used to be one of the best platformers, it's not like the games would suddenly suck. I just hope the whole game doesn't revolve around vehicles.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

And whether the whole formula ultimately works or not, the game at least looks astounding. Absolutely popping with bright colors, interesting textures, and fanciful character and art design, it already stands as a jaw-dropping showpiece for HDTVs. Even Banjo's fuzzy fur impresses, and the environments never take the easy way out: Nutty Acres features a giant LCD screen as a sky-blue backdrop, with sheet-metal clouds hanging in front and what looks like a stitched grass quilt stretching over the landscape.

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3167777

 

[Rocksteady33]

But the point is they're still pushing it. Microsoft are not making everything fit into a specific demographic - hell, you just mentioned Scene It, another casual game they're trying to push out there. There is nothing that looks particularly forced about the style this is going in, and I'm pretty sure the lego aspect of it is one of the things that will make people feel most reminiscent of childhood, and engage their imaginations.

But look at the colors, the landscape, the entire stitched textures. Do you honestly think this is Microsoft forcing the game into a FPS demographic?

I'm not saying that they aren't pushing to get into the casual crowd or just other demographics for that matter, they are, but they haven't had much success. And because of that we see one Rare franchise (Viva Pinata) continue to approach that, with its simulation gameplay, loads of merchandise and Fox Kids TV show. The other brand (Banjo-Kazooie) is then geared away, not necessarily solely to the FPS demographic, but certainly something that they'd find more interesting compared to it being a pretty true sequel to the N64 games.

And as for the "colors, the landscape, the entire stitched textures" yes I do feel like that has swayed away from the original games. Before the environments were open, welcoming and had a desire to be explored. Now it's cluttered with generic cogs, with shades of green trees. Where's the sense of exploration and platforming up to extensive heights when I can simply hop in a flying aircraft and zip right over to it?

I know Click Clock Woods would have lost all sense of precision and timed platforming had there just been an aircraft I could hop in to.

 

[MirageDwarf]

No Alan Wake? Moved to 2009?

Did you honestly think it would get 2008 release?

 

[FrankT]

This thread need info

Fable 2 In Action, Dog Included: http://kotaku.com/389992/fable-2-in-action-dog-included

Thank, you, thank you.

 

[WrikaWrek]

This thread need info

Fable 2 In Action, Dog Included: http://kotaku.com/389992/fable-2-in-action-dog-included

Glad to hear that it still has the original theme from Danny Elfman, it's beautiful.

 

[FFChris]

This thread need info

Fable 2 In Action, Dog Included: http://kotaku.com/389992/fable-2-in-action-dog-included

Love the music in this game.

That dog is going nuts!

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Gears2 looks great. I'm a huge fan of the first so this looks fantastic to me.

Too Human sounds like it could be fun. I was never going to take advantage of the 4p co-op anyway so that's not a huge loss, but 2P local would have been nice. I'll wait until the game is out to see some reviews. I agree that the game is getting unfairly dumped on by some, though. Denis has to take some of that blame but still the product may turn out to be a lot of fun. Games with long dev histories tend to be judged unfairly when all is said and done. When Duke Nukem Forever footage appears again it will be picked apart and when the game ships a lot of folks will dump on it if it's not perfect in most ways. It's just comes with the territory. People develop unrealistic expectations or they're annoyed/vindictive because the game took too long to come out and they were looking forward to it at one point. Plus, it's just hip/cool to like/hate certain things no NeoGAF. Groupthink FTL.

Fable 2 looks great. Enjoyed the first.

Banjo 3 looks good to me. I understand what they are going for with this. If it's what I think it is then it is still a platformer, just not a traditional one. Anyone who has played "Gripshift" will know what I am talking about. It's a lot of fun. Some folks look at Gripshift and see a racing game. Those who have played it for a while know that it is, in fact, a platform game. A very fun one, and Banjo takes this to an entirely new level. But there will always be those who wanted BK64 HD or the 360's answer to Mario and that's not what we got. Sorry, folks. I hope you can get over the disappointment and try BK3 for what it is when it comes out.

 

[TheOddOne]

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=188055

Complete Banjo in “20-30 hours,” says Rare + Full interview

“The trick is not forcing everybody to play it for a colossal amount of time. So if people want to try and complete it in like 20 to 30 hours that’s fine. If people want to then carry on, that’s fine,” he said.

Mayles added: “The player will be able to play it, collect a certain number of vehicle parts, build vehicles to get through the game and then finish it - but to go back and retry all the challenges to try and improve their rankings, and by doing so you unlock the very best vehicle parts.”