I'm only posting this because it's provoked my mind since Rare Ware's release in August where they give the 30 games they accomplished in 30 years(Rare Replay). and I play Nuts and bolts thoroughly. I didn't finish it, but I got decently far into it and wondered why the game was criticized so harshly. It's not perfect, but it was still fun as hell to play still.
This also gave me a call-back to other games that were either bashed or forgotten in time either due to reviews or lack of marketing. This is just a very short list of games I've come across and played through and still had some fun out it.
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
Even though some people have either already played this or not and expected something from the old days; this is just my two cents to it and your free to burn me all you like, but I actually like this game and I've been so much of a fan to these two characters that I've played both Banjo Kazooie games on the N64 until I finished the cartridges with 100% completion! I did it again in Rare Replay too! When I got to Nuts and Bolts, I recalled memories of reviewers either harshly hating the game or saying that it's ok. When I played the game for the first time, I kind of got the feeling for both sides of where the hate comes from and the 'meh' factor was, though after gathering some parts and finding out how you can cheat the game through the levitation glitch to reach some of the later-game parts; I actually had fun!
JET-POWERED DOG FIGHTER PLANES FIRING GRENADE EGGS!!!! A DEATH CAR MEANT TO SMASH AND CRUSH EVERYTHING!!!!! A PENGUIN TAXI SERVING UP ICED ENEMIES AND TO TOP IT OFF, A GIANT-ish BANJO ROBOT!!!!!!
The game is centered around improving the character to better cope with your skills when tackling challenges. Such as if you don't like the speed, handling or the look of the pre-built car given to you, you can build a faster one you can control easier or come back later with better parts and demolish the challenge with a monster truck. The garage is easy to adapt and build things in pretty quickly and while you can't take your custom creations around the hub world, you can still ride them around the other 'game' worlds outside of missions if you feel like knocking things over or blowing stuff up.
My last guilty pleasure to the game itself is Showdown Town. Every time I start up the game, I drive around town for a bit to take in the sights what the developers created. The different businesses, buildings and the ability to run characters over because something in one of the worlds pissed you off. There are part crates in hiding, Jinjos to rescue and an arcade run by our favorite henchmen for those who played the old N64 classics, KLUNGO! The hub world itself is so full of life that it feels like a living town with a weird mixed feeling of Wreck-it-ralph, the Legend of Zelda and Rayman. Using the musical notes as currency, I also thought was a interesting idea that added more to the whole town's identity in a small sense I guess.
Though as much as I praise this game, It does have it's flaws.
~The 'game' worlds tend feel empty, since your leaving a lively hub world into a deserted game world.
~You only earn the jiggies through challenges
~Building SOMETIMES feels like a chore when it's for a specific mission
~As much as I love the look and feel of Showdown town, the music gets annoying after a while
~You can't use custom vehicles in MOST of the challenges to get around problems you encounter with the pre-built vehicle for that challenge, even though they can be hard as ****. Like the Logbox 720 world with the microchip race challenge.... THAT RACE IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!!!!
Why do I think this game received such a harsh tone? I have one or two theories that are pretty obvious.
#1: People we're expecting-nay-DEMANDING a platformer. People who played the old collect-a-thons we're expecting a repeat with NEW moves, NEW gameplay Elements, NEW story, NEW characters. When they we're offered this and it didn't have what they wanted; they gave it every degree of burn there was and turned it down to the point where we may never see another Banjo Kazooie game. Jon Tron is the SHINING definition from that group of people, he goes over the games flaws a little and over the game itself, a small brief history, but he spends about 65-75% of his review video of that game complaining about how this title should be like it's old predecessors. Though it's not my place or business to say, but if you want to review a game, approach it like a title you never heard before and treat it like an experience you haven't touched on. Then link any references from the past and your own experience with the title.
Note, my comment on never seeing another Banjo Kazooie Game: I'm aware of Ukay-Laylee and I am waiting patiently for it's development to finish so I can play it for fun. I'm referencing the fact we'll probably never see the characters Banjo Kazooie again.
2#: A lot of people didn't want to waste or have time to build their machines. It takes 5-15 minutes to build a car with wheels, seat, guns and anything else you want on it. Most of the gamers who picked it up didn't want to spend the entire game building vehicles and the pre-made vehicles are a joke sometimes that you have to build something new. We as video gamers are lazy and I can understand that for
some of us. Though to be lazy and not try to make something for the hell of it to have fun?
The game is still fun and if you have a creative side, I suggest picking up the game or playing it through Rare Replay. The levitation glitch was never removed, so it should still be easy to get those hard to reach parts, just have to have a little patience.
Sonic the Hedgehog(2006)
WE, THE GAMERS, CAUSED THE GLITCHES TO THIS GAME!!!!!! Alright, aside from a sucky story, I rented Sonic The Hedgehog 2006 and I have my own issues to where there's a LOADING SCREEN EVERY 5 SECONDS!!!!! THERE'S A LOADING SCREEN TO GO INTO A CHALLENGE, A LOADING SCREEN TO LEAVE A CHALLENGE AND A LOADING SCREEN FOR A LOADING SCREEN!!!!! I have had my trouble with the glitches as well, but we kind of caused those glitches to begin with.
To elaborate, Sega was working on Sonic the Hedgehog. We as fans, especially die-hard ones we're desperately waiting for this game to release like children wanting our candy on Halloween. We kept pressuring Sega though about the games release date among other factors, such as when the game's release date was pushed back because of complications with the games engine. We didn't care, we wanted the game sooner than never so Sega released the game early into the world with all the bugs they never got to debug or fix thus earning it's hate in the library. Does it deserve that much hate though?
Technically, yes. Morally, no. We got what we deserved when the demands for the game kept building and they had no choice but to release the title. The only positive side to the game is that Sonic's levels are the least buggy. I mean that quite literally, I've had to reset the game less playing as him than any of the other characters. Silver is an interesting character and becomes more interesting in the Archie comics and you can play as Shadow though I would avoid it.
If you still own the game, somewhere, I would suggest keeping it for two reasons. One, you'll probably only get a $1 value in any store you take to for the trade-in value. Two, you keep it as a reminder of how a fan-boys demand among other factors lead to the downfall of what could have been a great title.
I have more, but by the time I have made this post, I'll be dead tired, so I'll update this post when I can.
These are the only titles I can re-collect so far and have done my digging to find them. Anyone have a title from their library they have a love for that was sevrely crushed by the internet or 'GAMING' journalists?