While many of the elements work well, it doesn't quite top the classics.
After a long hiatus Banjo and Kazooie have since then become fat and lazy, spending most of their days eating pizza and playing video games. All of a sudden the remaining head of their old rival Gruntilda appears for a rematch to see who will claim Spiral Mountain. However, out of nowhere comes a floating computer called the Lord of Games. He decides to put them into another game to decide the owner. At first he tries to put them through a collect-a-thon, but instantly gets frustrated by it. So instead he transports them to a new place called Showdown Town where he assigns Banjo and Kazooie to complete vehicle based missions and earn the series trademark Jiggies. Gruntilda simply needs to stop them.
The hub world works like it did in the original games. The Showdown Town holds all of the game's various levels. You will need to obtain a certain number of Jiggies to unlock new areas. Music notes also make a return and act as the game's currency. Each world you visit has a series of objectives you need to complete. Every mission revolves around using a particular vehicle to get the job done. A lot of missions revolve around racing or carrying items, but there are a good number of other objectives as well. You have the option to either use a stock vehicle or get really creative in the garage and make your own vehicle. This is perhaps the game's best feature. There are thousands of different vehicle types you can make and if you are really good you can create more complex designs. However you really need to plan well with your vehicles because the physics are rather sensitive. You will have to properly balance out the wait and the kind of add-ons you choose if you want your vehicles to work properly. But once you do that it's pretty cool to see it in action.
Showdown Town also contains various missions for you to accomplish. You can also obtain Jiggies and music notes. Showdown Town is, unfortunately, the only place that really provides platforming. As a fan of the original games I'm a little disappointed that platforming didn't play a bigger role. It would have probably been better if you could have combined the vehicle creations with the platforming.
The graphics are absolutely gorgeous in this game. The environments are bright and colorful, incredibly wide open, and have a nice patchwork look to them. The character models aren't too bad, though they seem a little too blocky for my taste. The music definitely sounds like what you would hear in a Banjo game and it is quite good. Some old favorites pop up from time to time. The classic gibberish also makes a welcome return, though the text that translates it is far too small.
PROS:
-Beautiful graphics
-The infinite number of vehicle designs that people can come up with is pretty cool
-Great music featuring some old favorites
-Signature gibberish
-Good amount of mission variety
-Large and creative patchwork-looking levels
-When the game works, it can be enjoyable
CONS:
-The text is TOO SMALL!
-The characters' new looks seem too blocky
-None of Banjo's nor Kazooie's old moves are in here
-Showdown Town is the only place that provides some platforming
-Finicky physics
Overall, while I wish that the game focused more on platforming this is still a rather good game in the end. As cool as the idea of using vehicles and creating them is, they should have not been used for the entire game. They ought to stick with platforming instead. Old school fans ought to proceed with caution, but if you are a fan of games that have room for lots of creativity like Little Big Planet, than by all means check this out.