Banjo-Kazooie Retrospective

A look back at Rare's masterwork and the franchise it inspired...

Fourteen years ago today, Banjo-Kazooie debuted in North America for the Nintendo 64. It was one of a handful of all-time great games that appeared in 1998, along with StarCraft, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, another N64 game. For some reason or another, Banjo-Kazooie hasn't appreciated in value like those other titles. Critics' top 100 lists regularly contain games like Half-Life and Ocarina of Time, but rarely do they feature Banjo-Kazooie. In 1998, however, the game was a hit. Banjo-Kazooie launched to great critical and commercial acclaim: it maintains a score of 92 and 93 on Metacritic and GameRankings, respectively; and it sold nearly two million copies in the United States alone. This success led to a sequel two years later, and a handful of games after that. There are five Banjo-Kazooie games in total: four from the main series, one spin-off. The original is still the best, however, and it wouldn't have happened without one of the most productive partnerships in the history of gaming.


A Rare Gem

The British game company Rare (then known as Rareware) developed Banjo-Kazooie and all its sequels. Rare was hugely important to Nintendo in the years between 1994 and 2001, when it functioned as a second-party developer for the gaming giant. Among the games Rare produced in this period are Donkey Kong Country, Blast Corps, GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, Diddy Kong Racing, and Conker's Bad Fur Day, along with Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel Banjo-Tooie. Since being purchased by Microsoft in 2002, Rare has fallen on hard times. The once great video game company is now relegated to making games for the Xbox 360 peripheral Kinect. Ironically, one of Rare's best games during the Microsoft era was a Banjo-Kazooie game -- Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, which was released in 2008, ten years after the original game arrived in North America.


Original Recipe

Believe it or not, Banjo-Kazooie started off as a SNES game. Codenamed "Dream," it was an adventure game staring a young boy with a wooden sword who fan afoul of pirates. Three year after development on "Dream" began, Rare ported its code from the SNES to the N64, revised the concept, replaced the boy with a bear, and produced Banjo-Kazooie. The game's heroes are Banjo, a big, dopey bear, and Kazooie, a wise-cracking "breegull" who serves as Banjo's best friend, partner, and sometimes weapon. When the vain and powerful witch Gruntilda kidnaps Banjo's kid sister, it's up to the dynamic duo to save the day.

Kazooie lives in Banjo's backpack. It's not weird. You're weird!

Many critics compared Banjo-Kazooie to Super Mario 64, which had been released two years earlier. The games certainly shared many gameplay elements, but Banjo-Kazooie was technically superior and much more focused on exploration than on platforming. Jeff Gerstmann, who wrote a review for GameSpot, summed it up nicely:

"A lot of people are writing off Banjo-Kazooie as a Super Mario 64 clone. Now let's think about this for a bit. Mario 64 was a revolutionary game. It redefined what people expected from a platform game. Banjo-Kazooie follows in the footsteps of Mario 64. It doesn't stray too far from the formula, but it makes the logical progressions you would expect Nintendo to make. "

Banjo-Kazooie also surpassed Super Mario 64 in terms of collectables: the bear and bird duo could collect "jiggies," golden jigsaw pieces that opened new worlds, along with musical notes, feathers, eggs, honeycombs, and Mumbo tokens, which allowed Banjo to transform into a special animal that could travel to normally inaccessible areas.


Two is (Almost) Better than One

After the huge success of Banjo-Kazooie, Rare started work on a sequel. In 2000, Banjo-Tooie arrived in stores. In many ways, Banjo-Tooie is a better game than its predecessor. The sound effects, music, and graphics are phenomenal. How Rare crammed so many animations, particle effects, and huge, expansive environments into a single cartridge without the help of the expansion pak is a mystery; although the improved, high-power graphics come with a price -- random dips in frame rate.

Banjo faces two Split-Up pads, which allow the duo to separate.

Banjo-Tooie is much bigger in size and scope than its predecessor. Whereas in Banjo-Kazooie, players could access (and conquer) each world via a magical portal, all of the worlds in Banjo-Tooie are connected. This allows missions to span several different environments instead of being limited to a discrete world. In a sense there are no "levels" in Banjo-Tooie, only a sprawling open-world hub with interconnected areas. Other additions include Split-Up pads, which allow players to control Banjo and Kazooie separately, dozens of new unlockable moves, and lots of genre-mashing episodes, including one where Kazooie functions as a gun in a first-person shooter. Banjo-Kazooie currently holds an aggregate score of 90 and 91 on Metacritic and GameRankings, respectively.


Well in Hand

Like most of the popular Nintendo franchises, Banjo-Kazooie was shrunk down from the home console to a handheld system, in this case the Game Boy Advance (GBA). Rare developed two titles for the GBA that were published by THQ: Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, an interquel that takes place between Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie; and Banjo Pilot, a racing game similar to Mario Kart. Taking full advantage of the GBA hardware (and using some graphical tricks of their own) Rare managed to convincingly transfer the 3D feel and look of the console B-K games onto a much small screen. Despite its top-down point-of-view, Grunty's Revenge retains all the hallmarks that make the franchise so rewarding and addictive. It's an unknown and underrated gem.

Banjo Pilot (left) and Grunty's Revenge (right).

Banjo Pilot, on the other hand, had nothing to do with the Banjo-Kazooie storyline. Originally developed as a follow-up to Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo Pilot was retooled after the Microsoft buy-out to feature Rare characters. Despite all the delays and revisions, Banjo Pilot is a competent racing game with a strong multiplayer mode and good replay value. Overall, however, it's easily the weakest entry in the series.


Are you Nuts?

The fifth and (possibly) final Banjo-Kazooie game arrived on the Xbox 360 in 2008. Titled Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, the game represented a significant departure from the series. Instead of exploring, collecting, and jumping through monster-infested worlds, Banjo and Kazooie must buy, build, and compete. Musical notes are still an important part of the game, but in Nuts & Bolts, they are currency used to buy over 1,500 unique vehicle parts that can be combined to create cars, boats, planes, and helicopters. The purpose of Nuts & Bolts, which is cleverly self-referential and self-deprecatory, is to use these improvised creations to complete vehicular challenges.

One of dozens of challenges in Nuts & Bolts.

By releasing a Banjo-Kazooie game based on a vehicle construction engine, Rare betrayed a fundamental misunderstanding of its fans. Still, Nuts & Bolts is the best B-K game since Tooie. It may not be the traditional platform game people wanted, but it's still one of the better and most unique games available on the Xbox 360.


Coming up Next

A proper sequel to Banjo-Tooie is probably a pipe dream. As of now, Rare is mostly a shell of its former self, restricted to working on Kinect projects for Microsoft. Moreover, the British company has shown no interest in returning to its classic franchises. It's a shame. Banjo-Kazooie is worthy of a larger franchise. Its characters are wacky, its writing hilarious, its mechanics masterful, its gameplay nothing short of brilliant. Yet somehow the bear and bird duo got lost among all the other video game mascots of the 1990s and 2000s.

The good news is that the older games are still around and ready to be played. If you can't find the N64 cartridges of Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel on eBay, both games are available for download on Xbox Live Arcade. Nuts & Bolts, which attained Platinum Hits status, can be purchased rather cheaply from Amazon.com or GameStop. Happy playing!

The Most Important Moment in My (Gaming) Life

An 8-year-old kid makes a fateful decision.

I stood at the bottom of the stairs. My mother stood at the top, visibly weary from having to deal with three mischievous children, one of whom (me) was prone to falling down those very stairs. I twisted uncomfortably in what must have been one of my ill-conceived youthful outfits: sweat pants and a tie-dye shirt. My mother stood resolute, statuesque. "What a handful," she must have thought, "but one day he'll be a successful doctor or maybe a famous author! Really, I'll settle for any respectable profession. Just as long as he doesn't end up embedded in Baghdad. But what are the odds of that happening? He's wearing sweat pants and a tie-dye shirt for God's sake." I twisted some more -- staying put was not one of my specialties. Finally, exhausted, she asked: "Which do you want, Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo?"

Before I go on, a little background: I was eight years old when this conversation took place. The smooth, narcotic grip of video games had yet to fully wrap itself around me. But it was a noticeable part of my life. I remember watching my older brother play Kung Fu on the NES, playing R.C. Pro-Am with my friend Ed at his house, and pumping quarters into Rampage at the movie theater. I was far from an expert on video games, however. I knew, though, that I wanted a next generation system of my own (the NES really belonged to my brother). And Christmastime 1991 was the ideal time to score one. The only question was which console to get: the ultra-cool Sega Genesis (which had been out in North America for two years) or the untested yet strangely familiar Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) which had launched that August.

At the time, I was undecided. Both of those shiny new systems called out to me, but neither had me completely sold. The Super Nintendo was the successor to a system I knew inside and out, and loved. But the Genesis was more of a novelty, and it was definitely the "cooler" console. I had contemplated this decision for days, for weeks, and I couldn't make up my mind. Little did I know that my decision would forever flavor my perception of video games, and define the library of games I played for the next 17 years.

So these were the thoughts swirling around in my undeveloped brain when my mother asked me definitively, "which do you want, Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo?" I contemplated the choice one last time, and blurted out what seemed like the more sensible option: "Super Nintendo." I walked away from that encounter with no confidence at all in my decision. It had been as if I had flipped a coin.

In the months and years that followed that Christmas, the decision seemed to make more and more sense. I fell in love with Super Mario World, which was bundled with the console. Other games won my attention too: F-Zero, Street Fighter II, Super Play Action Football, and later Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct. My tastes in video game slowly began to change. There were certain games, exclusive to Genesis and its successor Saturn, that I never learned about. I preferred the Nintendo brand, its mascots, its controllers. I began spending more time with friends who also played SNES -- it was something we had in common after all. I started a subscription to Nintendo Power in 1996 (I still receive monthly issues) and for Christmas 1996, five years after Santa delivered a SNES, I found a Nintendo 64 under the tree.

My first issue of Nintendo Power.

By 1997 I was a die-hard Nintendo loyalist. When people spoke about Final Fantasy or Tomb Raider, I rolled my eyes. Super Mario 64, Turok, and Shadows of the Empire were enough for me. For the next decade, I played games only on Nintendo consoles, and spent my free time mostly with people who did the same. It was only in 2008, when I bought an Xbox 360, that I finally opened myself up to all the experiences I had been ignoring. Yet even now that I own almost every major console released since 1991, I still hold Nintendo above all other companies. Nintendo for me is all that's right about video games. It's given me thousands of hours of joy; it's brought me together with friends; it's made life easier and more fun. There are hundreds of great, awesome, mind-blowing non-Nintendo games out there, but none match the emotional tug of Nintendo games. They belong to my childhood, they conjure memories of my sister, my brother, my parents, my friends, myself. I grew up with Nintendo, and Nintendo grew up with me. And it all goes back to that choice I made at the bottom of the stairs.

Quake

id's groundbreaking shooter still shines.

Before last week, I had never played the full PC ersion of Quake. I had played through the Quake demo via shareware, and also the Quake port on the Nintendo 64, but never the complete PC experience in all its glory. Despite the fact that it debuted in 1996 and has since been buried under a deluge of first-person shooters, Quake has aged well. It's fast, furious, and atmospheric. Although not as good as some of the greats that followed, Quake remains a fun and frantic shooting experience that, at the time of its release, broke new ground for the genre.

Like many computer first-person shooters from the early and mid 1990s, Quake is more influential than it is great. Quake accomplished a lot for the genre, more in fact than Wolfenstein 3D or Doom, both of which predate it. For one, Quake existed in a fully three-dimensional world with polygonal models instead of pre-rendered sprites. This introduced new depth and distance into the first-person shooter: players could negotiate levels by leaping over obstacles or swimming beneath them; they could bounce grenades off walls to destroy out-of-sight enemies. Also, Quake was built on an engine that was highly modifiable, allowing users to alter its script to create fan modifications, or "mods." And lastly, Quake popularized online multi-player modes like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag.

Give the ogre a taste of his own medicine: the grenade launcher.

Beyond its influence, Quake is an excellent game, especially in terms of graphics and sound. Animations in Quake are smooth, seamless, and completely natural. Enemy models, however grotesque, are artfully crafted; they have texture, weight, fullness. All of the 28 levels in Quake are similarly dazzling, albeit in a menacing kind of way. Illuminated by revolutionary lighting effects, each level is well-balanced and ingeniously packed with hidden compartments, traps, and other surprises. Adding to the ominous atmosphere is Nine Inch Nails, which was brought on to the Quake project to provide music and ambient noise. The result is a scary, moody game that keeps it players constantly on edge.

Quake is far from perfect, however. It represents the best and the worst of PC shooters of its era. It's fast, furious, packed with hideous enemies and awesome weapons, dripping with atmosphere; but it's also repetitive, unchanging, mostly plotless. Nearly all of the truly great FPSs came after Quake, once developers started infusing shooters with new ideas borrowed from other genres, e.g. objective-based missions, puzzle-solving, storytelling.

Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee.

So Quake isn't the best first-person shooter ever; but it's arguably the most influential. Many of the generic, taken-for-granted elements in modern games -- modifications, online multi-player, fully-realized three-dimensional worlds -- were made popular by Quake. It's earned its place in the pantheon of great games, and in the hearts and minds of thousands of fans.

Score: 8.5

New 3DS Revealed

Nintendo unveiled a new version of their handheld console last night with a bigger body, larger screens, and longer battery life.

The new version of the 3DS, called 3DS XL, features screens that are 90% larger than the original. The system's top screen measures 4.88 inches; its bottom screen 4.18 inches. Nintendo stated that the 3DS XL will feature a battery life of 3.5 to 6.5 hours while playing 3DS games, and 6 and 10 hours while playing original DS games. The 3DS averaged only 3-5 hours for 3DS games and 5-8 hours for DS games.

The XL will launch on August 19 in North America, the same day as New Super Mario Bros. 2.

In other Nintendo news, it was revealed that Namco Bandai will be developing the new Smash Bros. game for Wii U and 3DS. Masahiro Sakurai, the creative force behind Super Smash Bros. and Kirby, will still helm the project, but he will be joined by Namco Bandai's Yoshito Higuchi (Tales series) and Kenya Kobayashi (Ridge Racer), who will function as director and producer, respectively.

Others involved include Tetsuya Akatsuka, art and sound director for the Soul Calibur series, and the main development team from the Tekken series.

Miyamoto Reveals Favorite Mario Game

Nintendo's resident genius dishes about his favorite Mario...and it's not the one you think.

Among video game developers, none is as famous or as well-respected as Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Super Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and Star Fox. He ranks among game designers and directors like Sid Meier, Hideo Kojima and Will Wright, although he surpasses them all -- at least in my humble opinion. When Miyamoto speaks, the gaming world and millions of fans listen. And it's especially interesting when he shares stories about the glory days at Nintendo, or about the peculiar history of a famous game.

When gaming website IGN caught up to Miyamoto at this month's Electronic Entertainment Expo, they asked him about his favorite Mario game.

"I guess as a developer that might have to be the very first Super Mario game, for me, because I have so many memories tied up in it," said Miyamoto. "Perhaps as a player, I might go for what was, at least in Japan, we referred to it as Super Mario USA, which was a game that just had a very different sort of feel. I think we had such a loose approach to it, we really came up with something interesting."

The first Super Mario Bros. game, routinely listed as one of the best and more influential games of all time, is hardly a surprise. But Super Mario USA, or Super Mario Bros. 2 as Americans know it, is quite a shocking answer. A little back story: after the success of the first Mario Bros., Miyamoto and company worked on a sequel that was graphically similar but far more difficult. Nintendo of America was convinced that the high level of difficulty would turn off American audiences, so Miyamoto helped transform an existing game -- Doki Doki Panic -- into what American audiences know as Super Mario Bros. 2. Because it's based on a re-purposed game, Mario Bros. 2 looks and acts unlike any other Mario game; it's perceived by many fans as the black sheep of the franchise.



That's why it's so curious that Miyamoto would choose it as one of his favorite Mario games. It's certainly not as revolutionary as Super Mario 64 or as innovative as Super Mario Galaxy. Yet, I can't fault Miyamoto; everyone has his or her own favorite, and those favorites often have very little to do with greatness.

Top 10 Underrated Video Games

Because video games have become such a bloated industry, producing hundreds of games every year and raking in billions of dollars, critics have become increasingly useful to those consumers with limited time and money. Critics let us know what's worth buying, what's worth avoiding, and what to expect going forward. Strangely, and this is definitely not a trend that applies to other media, video game critics tend not to overrate bad video games. If there is critical consensus that a game is an all-time great, it probably is an all-time great. That's why it's somewhat difficult to compose a list of the most overrated video games. However, it's rather easy to write a list of the most underrated games. Why? Because although critics rarely overestimate the greatness of bad games, they often overestimate the badness of great games.

Below is a list of the top ten underrated video games. Please keep in mind that this is a list of games that have been underrated by critics, not fans. Each game will show its Metacritic score and also the score it really deserves, based on the DBtC rating guide.

10. Red Dead Revolver

 Metacritic score: 74

DBtC score: 85

Critics loved the spiritual sequel to Red Dead Revolver, titled Red Dead Redemption, but didn't carry much affection for the original. It may not be the prettiest looking shooter in the world, and it has a few control issues, but the core gameplay is rock solid. Players control Red, a bounty hunter on a quest for revenge and redemption in the Wild West, along with several other playable characters. The stages, mostly linear, are varied and embrace a large number of iconic Western set-pieces, e.g., train robberies, saloon brawls. Red Dead Revolver is highly recommended for fans of third-person shooters, Westerns, and Rockstar Games, which imprinted on the game its signature style and sense of humor.

9. Metroid: Other M

 Metacritic score: 79

DBtC score: 90

Of all the games in this list, Other M is the one I'd be most willing to get into an actually fight over. The game takes place late in the Metroid mythology, long after many of the series' most famous events. Intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran responds to a distress call at an outer space facility only to discover a very dark secret. Most of the criticism leveled at Other M related to its script, dialogue, and depiction of Samus. On the contrary, Other M has the best story (and storytelling) of any Metroid game, and it finally makes Samus a three-dimensional character. I think critics and fans expected Samus to be as cold, emotionless, and faceless as her power suit might imply, but underneath is a woman with emotional baggage, just like everyone else. Other M ranks among the best Wii games and the best Metroid games.

8. Red Steel

 Metacritic score: 63

DBtC score: 75

Probably the weakest game in this top 10, Red Steel still deserves more respect than it received when it launched alongside the Wii in 2006. Red Steel follows an American protagonist as he attempts to rescue his kidnapped fiance and stop a kingpin from creating a new world order in Tokyo. The motion controls in the game can be unpredictable at times -- this was the very beginning of Wii motion controls, after all -- but generally they function adequately. The main character Scott can fight with both swords and firearms. Sword fights are typically one-on-one events where Scott must use special moves and good timing to prevail. Red Steel is a solid and original first-person shooter with ambitious, if sometimes glitchy, motion controls.

7. Wii Sports Resort

 Metacritic score: 80

DBtC score: 95

Although critics generally agreed that Wii Sports Resort was a very good game, few recognized what it really was: a game of the year candidate. Wii Sports Resort features twelve sporting events that can be played solo, but are much more addictive, funny, and exhilarating when played with a group of friends. And, thanks to Wii MotionPlus, the Wii remote add-on, character movements respond much more accurately to player movements. But Wii Sports Resort is not simply a demonstration of the potential of the Wii MotionPlus, like some critics argued; it's an expertly-crafted collection of mini-games that can be enjoyed by people of any age, and played ad infinitum.

6. Wolfenstein

 Metacritic score: 72

DBtC score: 85

This sequel to the hit Return to Castle Wolfenstein might not be quite as good as its predecessor, but it's an excellent first-person shooter in its own right. Wolfenstein sets players down in the fictional town of Isenstadt, where Nazis have taken control in order to mine crystals for nefarious, supernatural purposes. Isenstadt functions as something of a game hub, so that Wolfenstein, unlike most first-person shooters, has an open-world feel to it. Think New Mombasa in Halo: ODST or New York City in The Darkness. There's nothing revolutionary in Wolfenstein, but it's still a great game with an appropriate learning curve, terrific boss battles, some very fun weapons (all of which can be upgraded), and many memorable characters, enemies, and levels, including one on a huge airborne zeppelin.

5. The Simpsons: Road Rage

 Metacritic score: 67

DBtC score: 80

In the past, developers have released many bad games with The Simpsons brand, but Road Rage isn't one of them. Basically Crazi Taxi with a Simpsons makeover, Road Rage follows the wacky citizens of Springfield as they drive recklessly through town in an improvised taxi service. The game contains seventeen vehicles, six starting locations (all based on famous locations in Springfield), and many Simpsons characters. Sure, Road Rage has a bare bones presentation and some long loading times, but it's undeniably fun to play, especially in head-to-head mode, which pits two drivers against each other for fares. Fans of The Simpsons will especially appreciate the game, which features original, hilarious dialogue from Simpsons' voice actors.

4. Epic Mickey

 Metacritic score: 73

DBtC score: 90

Although it was met with generally positive reviews, Epic Mickey was under-appreciated in 2010. Critics mostly targeted its problematic camera and "boring levels," but I imagine a lot of the critical backlash was a result of failed expectations. Developers had teased Epic Mickey as a dark and mature Mickey adventure, but the final product wasn't as sinister as advertised. It doesn't matter. The game is a brilliant and beautiful mix of platform action, puzzle-solving, and combat. And there's nothing boring about it. Engaging, reverential, innovative, and intelligent, Epic Mickey belongs in every Wii owner's collection.

3. Killzone: Liberation

 Metacritic score: 77

DBtC score: 95

Most reviewers acknowledged the high quality of Killzone: Liberation, but failed to identify it as one of the very best Playstation Portable games ever made. Unlike its predecessor (more on that later), Liberation is a third-person shooter. Players control Jan Templar as he fights back against invading troops on the planet Vekta. Liberation is an excellent shooter; Guerrilla Games deserves credit for transferring the spirit of the original game into a handheld experience with a different perspective. Its levels are diverse and a joy to play, its story is well-written, and its shooting mechanics are impressive. Apart from the main game, Liberation features several challenging mini-games that unlock upgrades.

2. Tak and the Power of Juju

 Metacritic score: 71

DBtC score: 90

How can anyone dislike a game where the main character dresses up in an oversized chicken suit? Critics missed the boat with Tak, which probably goes down in history as the sleeper game of the century. I didn't expect much from Tak (or its sequels) after buying them up online for a cheap price, but I was wrong: Tak and the Power of Juju is one of the prettiest, funniest, most entertaining platform games around. It somehow manages to make old puzzles and tired platform staples new again. And it just looks absolutely gorgeous. Combine that with a truly great sense of humor, and you've got one of the best, and most unknown, video games of the past ten years.

1.Killzone

 Metacritic score: 70

DBtC score: 90

Two Killzone games in the same list? I'm afraid so. Critics may have loved Killzone 2 and 3, but many of them were disappointed with the original, which holds the dubious honor of most underrated video game of all time. Like Epic Mickey, Killzone was a victim of too much publicity; the expectations it raised were never fulfilled. Critics complained about glitchy gameplay and framerate issues, but I suspect most of the negative reviews stemmed from unrealistically high hopes and expectations. In any event, the low scores are all wrong. Killzone is an outstanding game, and the best first-person shooter on the Playstation 2.

 

Super Mario 3D Land

Meet the first killer app for the 3DS.

It's not difficult to see why Super Mario 3D Land (and also Mario Kart 7) boosted Nintendo 3DS sales in November and December. It's one of the most accessible and forgiving Mario platformers in years. Not only that, but it features a great hook -- a 3D Mario game that plays like a 2D one -- and it finally, at long last, proves the usefulness of glasses-free 3D technology, around which the 3DS is designed. In short, Super Mario 3D Land is the first "killer app" for the 3DS. It's an absolute joy to play, it's rich in content, and it's one of the prettiest games on the 3DS. That being said, the game isn't perfect: it's too easy (although that fact surely helps younger players), it has no real cohesion, and it borrows too liberally from older Mario games.

The plot in 3D Land is paper thin: Bowser steals Princess Peach, Mario sets out to stop him. There's an introductory bit where a massive storm strikes a tree filled with Super Leaves, scattering them across the kingdom, but this serves only to explain why so many enemies throughout the game feature that particular power-up. Nintendo missed a golden opportunity to incorporate this storm into a larger narrative that ties together the eight worlds of 3D Land: maybe a plot that involves Mario collecting the missing leaves to make the tree whole again -- something that makes the player care more about the game on an emotional level, not only a technical level.

The Tanooki Suit returns in 3D Land.

Technically, though, 3D Land is a home run. First of all, it just looks gorgeous. Textures, models, and environmental effects -- namely water and fire -- are all flawlessly realized. 3D Land is one of the most addictive games you'll ever play, in part because it's impossible to take your eyes off it. Controls are similarly excellent. 3D Land boasts some of the tightest and most responsive controls in any Mario game. Then there's the camera, which functions impossibly well. It follows Mario at all times, shifting height, depth, and angle precisely when needed. And all of this is wrapped up in some truly great 3D effects. 3D Land is a game that's noticeably enhanced by turning the 3D slider up, especially when underwater. The developers at Nintendo did a good job of creating scenarios in the game where 3D would benefit the player -- providing added depth -- and create a real sense of vertigo. If you've been waiting for a game that proves the practicality of 3D technology, look no further.


Although 3D Land plays and looks great, it suffers from some small problems. For one, it's far too easy. Extra lives are earned in many different ways: picking up 100 coins, reaching the top of the flagpole at the end of each stage, running into a certain number of enemies while invincible, etc. Players could easily reach the end of the game with extra lives in the triple figures. Moreover, the stages don't provide too many difficult jumps or obstacles, and some of the power-ups are unfairly powerful. Once the game is beaten, players can access eight more worlds of secret levels that are far more challenging, but the core of 3D Land remains on the easy side. Another problem: the stages never form a cohesive whole. Individually, each stage is enjoyable and engaging, but taken together they demonstrate no real theme. Also, 3D Land pays tribute throughout to its predecessors, most notably Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario Galaxy, at the expense of its own identity. Sometimes 3D Land plays like a Mario greatest hits album, instead of embracing something new and unusual. This is especially true in terms of its soundtrack, which is lifted almost entirely from previous installments of the franchise.

One of many boss battles.

Despite some flaws, Super Mario 3D Land remains one of the best games on the 3DS; it's a must-have for 3DS owners. A few design missteps don't erase a fun, addictive, and technically superior package that's fun for all ages and skill levels. Once the main game is complete, players can move on to another eight worlds of redesigned and, in some cases, totally new levels. 3D Land is just what the 3DS needed and exactly what fans wanted.

Score: 9.0

Who Won E3?

The big three have all made their presentations, but whose was the best?
 
The most recent Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has come and gone, and the world now knows what to expect in the coming months from video game giants Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Each company trotted out its best and brightest to introduce, sell, and otherwise hype its new hardware and software. There were a few surprises, a few new products (or at least new ways to use existing products), and a lot of open secrets confirmed. But mostly it was just underwhelming. Very few games appeared to be must-haves, and those that did were usually surrounded by a lot of uninteresting products. Below are reviews and grades for the 75-minute presentations put on by the big three gaming companies -- Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo -- last week at E3. It's difficult to declare a winner, since every company underperformed.


Nintendo:

Nintendo had the most to win and lose at E3. Things have been tough for the video game giant lately: an annual operating loss (its first ever), a slow launch period for its newest handheld, and a precipitous decline in Wii sales. E3 was meant to be the coming out party for the Wii U, which Nintendo hopes will reinvigorate its consumers and investors. Did Nintendo land a knock-out blow with its presentation, then? The answer is no. I don't believe Nintendo changed the minds of anyone in the audience or at home watching the expo online. For those who believe in Wii U -- myself included -- the presentation was an affirmation. For those who think it's a gimmick that relies heavily on recycled first party content, it was also an affirmation.

The Nintendo conference began, appropriately, with the heart and soul of Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto. The living legend spoke a few words in English before welcoming a translator so he could speak in his native Japanese. Miyamoto was there to talk Pikmin 3, easily the best game Nintendo unveiled at E3. "It's an all new Pikmin game," said Miyamoto, "with more detailed portrayal of the Pikmin thanks to the improved resolution of the hardware and greatly enhanced gameplay thanks to the unique controls." He's right. Pikmin 3 looks great, especially compared to current generation Wii games. And the gamepad brings new functionality to the franchise. But what Miyamoto said so simply and persuasively is exactly what the Wii U represents: it looks better and, because of the gamepad with its built-in second screen, it plays better.

Miyamoto talking Pikmin.

Up next was Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. If Miyamoto is Nintendo's heart and soul, Fils-Aime is its muscle. Where Miyamota speaks about games like an enraptured child, Fils-Aime speaks about them almost as a commodity. His presentation was one part investor meeting, one part sales pitch. Fils-Aime spoke at length about the software and hardware associated with the Wii U, confirming that the system will indeed support two gamepads. He also delved into "asymmetrical gameplay," which appeared to be the underlying philosophy in Wii U -- two people play the same game with different controllers (and different points of view) and thereby unlock two very different experiences.

Games introduced during the presentation included: New Super Mario Bros. U, Arkham City: Armored Edition, Scribblenauts Unlimited, Trine 2: Director's Cut, Mass Effect 3, Darksiders 2, Tank! Tank! Tank!, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Ninja Gaiden 3, and Aliens: Colonial Marines. It's an impressive line-up, but several of those games will have been out for roughly a year on other systems before they debut on Wii U.

New Super Mario Bros. U, which will support up to 5 players.

The 3DS line-up was also strong: New Super Mario Bros. 2, plus new installments of Paper Mario, Luigi's Mansion, Kingdom Hearts, Scribblenauts, Epic Mickey, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

The final three Wii games on display at the Nintendo conference are especially worth noting: ZombiU, Lego City, and Nintendo Land. ZombiU is a new survival horror game designed by Ubisoft exclusively for the Wii U. If you needed any more evidence that Ubisoft is supporting Wii U in a big way, consider that its CEO Yves Guillemot personally introduced the game during Nintendo's presentation. It's fair to say that ZombiU stole the entire presentation. A M-rated, first-person shooter set during the zombie apocalypse? On a Nintendo console?

ZombiU, a Wii U exclusive from Ubisoft

Then there's Lego City, which is basically Grand Theft Auto with Legos. Grand Theft Lego? It's basically an open-world crime-stopping action-adventure with the humor and charm of the Lego series. And finally, Nintendo Land, which I strongly believe will be bundled with the Wii U. Nintendo Land is a series of mini-games based on Nintendo's most enduring franchises: Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Donkey Kong, etc. Nintendo wants Nintendo Land to do for asymmetric gameplay what Wii Sports did for motion controls: make its purpose self-evident.

Pros: Pikmin 3, ZombiU, Lego City, the promise of asymmetrical gameplay, strong third-party support

Cons: Too many ports of year-old games; over-reliance on older franchises; no Metroid, Star Fox, or F-Zero.

Grade: B-. Had Nintendo shown a demo from a new Smash Bros., Metroid or Star Fox game, it would have made a significant difference. However, Nintendo proved in its presentation that it had a new mission and a new philosophy about video gaming -- asymmetrical gameplay -- and the third-party support to make it a reality.


Microsoft:

Halo. That sums up Microsoft's strategy for winning audience approval at its presentation, the weakest of the three. The first 15 minutes of the show was dedicated solely to a Halo 4 trailer. Now don't get me wrong: I love Halo. And Halo 4 looks excellent -- a lot more like Metroid Prime than the Halo games that fans have become accustomed to. But the trailer was followed by an hour of bad ideas, boring products, and trailers for games that can be played on systems other than the Xbox.

Halo 4 has many mysteries.

The first speaker at the conference was Don Mattrick, an industry veteran who currently serves a Microsoft's president of Interactive Entertainment. The Xbox is "the only device that brings together all your entertainment in one place," said Mattrick. And he's right. No other home console comes close to the Xbox 360 in terms of the total living room experience: video games, movies, Hulu, Netflix, ESPN, etc. Then Mattrick overplayed his hand, promising the "greatest line-up of games ever." Where, exactly? The games demonstrated at Microsoft's conference, these greatest ever, include a new Splinter Cell (that admittedly looks great), another Fifa, another Madden, and a new Gears of War game. However, the teaser trailer for Gears of War: Judgment, which is a prequel to the events in the trilogy, showed next to nothing. A lot of blurry red images, some Locust, definitely no gameplay.

The big unveiling was probably "SmartGlass," a new idea from Microsoft that allows Xbox users to connect their Windows phones, iPhones, iPads, and Android devices with their Xbox 360. The idea is that these devices work together to "immerse you in entertainment." For example, an Xbox user watching a movie on his television can use SmartGlass on his iPhone to bring up cast credits for the movie. Must be a pretty boring movie if he can't wait 90 minutes to see who played cafe patron #3. The real appeal of SmartGlass is using it to enhance video games. A demo showed a player using a tablet device to call plays in a Madden game that was being played competitively on the TV. A second, smaller screen that produces an asymmetric video game experience? Microsoft better get to the patent office before some other company steals that idea.

SmartGlass in action.

The idea of SmartGlass was best lampooned by South Park co-creator Trey Parker at E3:

"How many times have you been watching an episode of South Park and thought 'I'd like to be able to watch this on my television, while hooked into my mobile device, which is being controlled by my tablet device, which is hooked into my oven all while sitting in the refrigerator'?"

Apart from Halo 4, the highlight of the Microsoft conference was gameplay footage from the Tomb Raider prequel. It's a fresh take on Lara Croft, and looks to be one of the best games released in 2013.

Pros: Halo 4, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider

Cons: Everything else

Grade: C-. You know, it's not fair to complain about Nintendo going to the well too many times with Mario and Zelda, when all Microsoft could summon was another Halo, another Gears of War, another Fifa, another Madden. Sure, Splinter Cell Blacklist and Tomb Raider look great, but they're not exclusives. Give us more games, not more Kinect voice commands and apps.


Sony

The best pitchman at E3 was Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. He knows how to work a crowd and, more importantly, he knows his audience and the strengths of Sony's products. Tretton started off the Sony presentation with Beyond: Two Souls, a new IP from Quantic Dream, the company responsible for Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain. For the first time, said Tretton, gamers will "lead the life of a video game character."

A big part of the Sony presentation was devoted to cross-platform play, the ability to play the same game on both the Playstation 3 and the handheld Playstation Vita. Basically the Vita becomes an enhanced controller for the PS3. Sony also teased "cross-controller" DLC.

"I'm gonna make like this tree, and get the heck out of here!"

Sony also teased a new Assassin's Creed for the PS Vita: Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, featuring for the first time a female assassin, and built from the ground up for Sony's latest handheld. When players link Liberation and the console version of Assassin's Creed, they can unlock weapons, skins, and new characters.

Other demos included Book of Spells, a game based on the Harry Potter universe with original writing from J.K. Rowling that looked dreadfully boring, and the prequel God of War: Ascension, which looks terrific.

The Last of Us -- the best game at E3

But the best demo of the Sony presentation -- really the best demo of the entire expo -- was The Last of Us, a gorgeously rendered but disturbing look at life after an apocalyptic event. Sony concluded its press conference with a long and emotionally grueling The Last of Us demo that showcased the hardware power of the PS3 and the game design genius of Sony's development teams -- particularly Naughty Dog.

Pros: Beyond: Two Souls, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, God of War: Ascension, The Last of Us, cross-controller gameplay

Cons: Book of Spells, PS Move

Grade: B. A well-rehearsed, well-researched presentation with some top-notch game demos. Sony proved it has some of the best exclusives in the world. Enough with PS Move and Playstation Network, already; there are better mousetraps out there.

Sneak Peek: E3 Reviews, News and More

Good things come to those who wait...

Most regular readers will know that Evan recently departed for Iraq for a year. As a result, he's been en route yesterday, today, and most of tomorrow. As he gets settled in over there and re-connects to the world, there will be a little bit of a delay in his posting about E3.

In the meantime, here's a little sneak peak at what you can expect to read about!

While there was a lot going on at E3 over the course of this week, the biggest announcements and demos were revealed during the live press conferences hosted by Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, EA and Ubisoft. The big three, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo featured game demos, introductions and news updates by company CEO's and game designers, and an introduction to changes that will be made available to the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.

Don't Blame the Controller will have in-depth coverage and reviews of those three press conferences, what they mean for the video game industry for the next year, and what you can look forward to in the world of gaming. Check back soon for the feature post and don't forget to wish Evan luck in his travels!

Nintendo Steals Spotlight Ahead of E3

While you might be waiting for all the excitement of E3 to start, you don't have to wait for juicy details of the new Wii U! Though E3 officially runs from Tuesday to Thursday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, on Monday Nintendo released a slew of information about the Wii U including images of the final version of the Wii U tablet, now officially dubbed the Wii U GamePad, and teasers for a new Super Mario Bros. game. If that isn't enough for you, Nintendo also released details on a controller that seems designed to compete with the Xbox and Playstation 3 controllers, that Nintendo called the Pro Controller. Check out below for more information on the new controllers, Super Mario Bros, and the new social networking platform that the Wii U will feature.

Wii U GamePad

Those of you who have been following the developments of the Wii U over the past several months have probably seen a lot about a tablet controller that is arguably the most revolutionary feature of the Wii U. On Monday, Nintendo released imagery of the finalized version of the controller as well as it's new name, The Wii U GamePad. The GamePad features a touch screen, gyroscopic and motion sensors, as well as a button that will allow the player to switch the image from the TV to the Game Pad with one-click (think about when your roommate wants to steal the tv to watch ESPN- no problem, just transfer game play to the Pad and walk away!) Additionally, the GamePad will serve as a TV Remote Control, so if you're someone who prefers a clean room without clutter, you'll only need to have one device on your coffee table to unlock a world of entertainment.

Wii U Pro Controller - note that the Wii U will also be offered in black!

The Wii U Pro Controller is perhaps the most obvious attempt by Nintendo to snatch up serious gamers who might otherwise opt for the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3. When the Wii was released in 2006, it offered two types of controllers: the Wii Remote with it's long skinny design and motion and gyroscopic sensors; and a Classic Controller that followed the design of the Super Nintendo controller, there was nothing that competed with the comfortable and functional design of the Xbox 360 Remote. By rolling out the Pro Controller before the start of E3, Nintendo is acknowledging how important it is to stay competitive with gamers who want what this type of controller has to offer.

Miiverse

The addition of Miis for the Nintendo Wii was a fun way for players to create avatars in their own images, and in the images of their friends and family. Plus it enhanced games like Mario Kart Wii and Wii Sports, both of which allowed players to drive, fly, and play as themselves. What was missing from the Wii however, was a way for you to actually talk with, see, and play games with your real-life friends and their avatars. Unlike the Xbox, which has offered the ability to network and chat directly with your friends who are logged in and using their Xbox, the Wii failed to tap into the burgeoning social networking aspect that is becoming increasingly popular with gamers. As the home screen for the Wii U, the Miiverse will seek to fix that. The Miiverse will be accessible from the Wii U, the 3DS, online and on other mobile devices. With the ability to send notes to other Miis, swap screen shots and generally play with and watch other Miis in the network, the Miiverse should help to bring the Wii U squarely into the world of social networking.

Super Mario Bros for the Wii U!

Nintendo teased a new Super Mario Bros game for the Wii U on Monday, giving rise to increased speculation about the interaction between the Miiverse and actual game play, as well as a possible integrated achievement system for the Wii U. As you can see from the picture, Miis are displayed on a map screen making comments about the game. One of which is "OK, being a flying squirrel is WAY more fun than it should be!" -- sounds like Mario might be getting a flying squirrel suit! Another clue is a gold banner that appears over someone's comment about "clearing it in under 100 seconds". The gold banner says "Cleared in under 100 seconds"- sounds like an achievement! Hopefully we'll see Nintendo release this new Super Mario Bros as a launch title for the Wii U, meaning we'll all get a chance to play it come this Christmas!

It's clear that Nintendo is trying to drum up excitement for the Wii U by enticing both families and traditional serious gamers. By highlighting the internet connectivity/social networking aspect of the Wii U, along with the Pro Controller, Nintendo is obviously trying to eat into the Xbox/Playstation market. Features such as online gaming, integrated achievements, and a traditional controller have been standard on the Xbox 360 for years, and Nintendo's Wii, though it pioneered the revolutionary motion control technology, has lacked these essential components in a market that is leaning more and more toward online access and comprehensive entertainment value.

Nintendo Teases Launch Games

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is only days away, but Nintendo is already teasing some launch titles for Wii U via Facebook. In a recent update on its Wii U page, Nintendo asked fans to guess initial game releases, blocked by three blurred "words." In case you're curious, the three words are 33, 27, and 19 characters each. Of course, each game need not correspond perfectly to the number of blurred spots. Who knows how Nintendo will reveal the secret identities of these games -- via Facebook or at the E3 press conference -- but it's sure to happen within the next few days.