Banjo-Tooie E3 2000 Hands-On Impressions

Banjo-Tooie, the sequel to Rare's 3D platformer, Banjo-Kazooie, is cut from the same cloth as the original game. The game contains all of the old moves and tricks, and builds upon the original by adding a collection of new moves and crazy new worlds to conquer.

The largest difference in Banjo-Tooie is that Banjo (the bear) and Kazooie (the bird who lives in Banjo's backpack) can separate. Sometimes you'll need to separate and control Kazooie, who can drill through doors and swim around much faster than Banjo. In turn, Banjo has some new moves when he's all by himself, such as holing up in his air-filled backpack while underwater. There are also some new team moves. Banjo can whip Kazooie out of her hiding place and use her as an egg-firing gun, which shifts the game to a first-person view. There are different types of eggs to shoot, including grenade and rocket eggs. There will also be all-new minigames, including a four-way soccer-style game.

Graphically, the game is on par with the original, though everything does look a little bit sharper. If you can handle yet another N64 3D platformer, Banjo-Tooie looks to be a pretty comprehensive package.