Sumthing Else Music Works is bringing the Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts soundtrack out to videogame music fans everywhere.

The Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Original Soundtrack features original musical compositions by Robin Beanland (Killer Instinct, Conker’s Bad Fur Day), Grant Kirkhope (Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie) and David Clynick (Perfect Dark, Perfect Dark Zero).

The Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts OST will be available at retail stores June 30 as well as for digital download on Sumthing Digital www.sumthingdigital.com and iTunes.

With the original Banjo Kazooie patched and live on the Xbox Live Marketplace, gamers have been waiting for a sequel to continue to the popular platformer’s winning streak. Rare’s Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is billed as a fun family game that lets you create your own vehicles from scrounged parts, then race them.

Katharine Fletcher, video podcast host for ChannelFlip, critiques the game meant to be Banjo Kazooie 3 to see if it can possibly live up to the high expectations set by the original.

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Rare has released a patch for Banjo-Kazooie that fixes a number of glitches in the Xbox LIVE Arcade version of the classic N64 game. Unfortunately players will have to start their game over once they patch it. Of course if you don’t patch, you can’t finish it anyway.

Here’s a list of targeted bugs from CVG:

• The update addresses issues experienced by people playing in the 1080i and 1080p. Players will be able to enjoy the game in uncompromised 1080 loveliness.
• It also addresses the Bottles Secret Puzzle glitch for all players starting the game afresh.
• Finally, it also sorts out the one or two instances of strange leaderboard entries but as part of that, two of the leaderboards will need to be reset to make everything fair and square again…

Ok, so I know that December 1 was yesterday, but I am off on Mondays therefore we will just pretend it never happened and list the games that came out yesterday anyway, ok?. There are loads of games being released this week (schedule subject to change) which is all leading up to the grand finale of the holiday shopping extravaganza.

Most games are hitting today, especially the more hyped ones like Prince of Persia, Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi, Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC, and SingStar ABBA (god no!). Tomorrow, those who have not gotten Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts yet, can play  the original via the Xbox Live Marketplace until Santa puts it in their stocking.

Without further ado, here is the list:

Nintendo DS

Animal Boxing – December 2
Burger Island -December 2
Cate West: The Vanishing Files – December 2
Dreamer: Puppy Trainer – December 2
Emma at the Farm – December 1
Happy Cooking – December 2
Heavy Armor Brigade – December 2
Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi – December 2
My Fun Facts Coach – December 2
Prince of Persia: The Fallen King – December 2
Slingo Quest – December 2
The Tale of Despereaux – December 2
Winter Sports 2: The Next Challenge – December 2

Nintendo Wii

Bigfoot (Racing) – December 3
Family Party: 30 Great Games – December 2
King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga – December 2
Metal Slug 2 – December 1
Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars – December 2
My Fitness Coach – December 2
Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek – December 2
Pit Crew Panic (WiiWare) – December 1
Safecracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure – December 2
Ski and Shoot – December 2
Space Invaders Get Even (WiiWare) – December 1
Summer Sports 2: Island Sports Party – December 2
The Tale of Despereaux – December 2
Wordfish – December 2

PC, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360 are listed after the jump.
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With all of the big releases lately, Microsoft apparently felt you don’t deserve a new Xbox Live Arcade game this week — unless you’ve preordered Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, in which case you’re likely enjoying the original Banjo-Kazooie right now. For the rest of you, the only updates to the Xbox Live Arcade this week include a new Street Fighter II-themed table for Pinball FX and three additions to the Arcade Hits line — which means cheaper prices. All three games can now be had for 400 Microsoft points ($5 in real money).

The first of the bunch is the original Feeding Frenzy, a game where you lone goal is to gobble up fish. As much as I’d like to make fun of the premise, I won’t, because I know plenty of people who enjoy the game and for $5 it’s a pretty good deal to keep your child occupied for a bit while that demo of Left 4 Dead downloads.

Next up is something much further away from the kid-friendly tag you could slap on Feeding Frenzy: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. All of the people disappointed with the lack of excessive gore in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe when it releases on Sunday will be right at home here with UMK 3’s classic violence. Just be wary of playing on the 360’s godawful D-pad — it can make things tricky.

And finally, we have Worms. Featuring prettied-up graphics and online support, it’s a very solid iteration of the classic series. It doesn’t bring much new to the table and doesn’t include every feature you’d want (namely, the omission of a number of weapons), but now that it’s just $5, it’ll be hard to complain.

I hate it when companies do this. Apparently, Microsoft revealed a release date on their Gamerscore Blog for an XBLA version of the original Banjo-Kazooie…and then promptly pulled it down again. Of course, this was after several sites had gotten wind of the announcement and recorded all the details. The game was apparently listed for a November 26 release at a price of 1200 MS points. As a cool promotion though, people who pre-ordered the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts would be able to download the original for free a couple weeks early (which makes you wonder: couldn’t you just get this game for the cost of a $5 pre-order at most video game stores and then not buy Nuts & Bolts?). The XBLA title would also allow gamers to unlock some bonus content in Nuts & Bolts through the Stop N’ Swop feature. On top of all this, Microsoft also mentioned plans to release Banjo-Tooie on the XBLA in early 2009.

The only reason I could see for Microsoft suddenly pulling the announcement though is that part of this information isn’t quite accurate. My guess is they realized how easy that pre-order deal would be to exploit to get a bargain price on the XBLA game. Still, it’ll be nice to relive an old classic sometime in the coming months.

Via ShackNews

In one of a continuing series of interviews yesterday, Peter Moore revealed his true thoughts on one of Microsoft’s main partners, Rare. Basically, he flat out said that he didn’t think the studio had the right skills for today’s video game market. So now Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has stepped up to defend Rare and explain why they are crucial to the Xbox 360’s market strategy:

“Rare is a great studio that continuously delivers high-quality, award-winning titles for the Xbox platform and will continue to do so in the future,” stated the newly appointed head of Microsoft Game Studios. Rare plays a strategic role in delivering games and platform experiences that will help the Xbox achieve our long-term strategy of expanding the customer base to a mainstream audience.

“The studio’s current work that includes the recent release of another critically acclaimed installment in the Viva Piñata series, the reinvention of a genre and a franchise with the November release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts as well as the avatar system they’re delivering as part of the new Xbox experience not only is indicative of the value they deliver to our business but proof positive to our partners and the industry at large of our commitment to this strategy and the platform’s continued success.”

That was…well, very PR-ish. Sadly, the fact remains that Rare used to be one of the leading developers in the industry; one of those names that could do no wrong. These days, they’re a studio you approach more with caution than anything. We’ll have to just see how the next Banjo Kazooie does.

Via GamesIndustry.biz

We are all aware of the impending closure of Ensemble Studios, but what we have not heard is Microsoft Game Studios head honcho Phil Spencer’s take on this. Therefore, I will post the email he sent to Microsoft and Ensemble Studios employees in full, which says it better than I can reiterate.

“Today, we shared with our employees at Ensemble that we have plans to close the studio after Halo Wars RTM. Such a decision is never easy. Like any business, we’re accountable for making tradeoffs and the right level of investments that will drive profit and future growth. However, as we reviewed our first-party portfolio and where we need to invest and divest our resources to achieve our long-term strategies, it became clear to us that closing the studio and redeploying those resources to other more scalable ventures is the right thing for our business at this time.

Unfortunately, our decision to close Ensemble will adversely impact many of the studio’s team members. Following the closure, the Ensemble leadership team will form a new entity and have agreed to partner with Microsoft to develop future products and provide support for Halo Wars post launch. While the new company will be hiring a portion of the Ensemble employees, its size and resources prevent it from offering positions to the entire Ensemble team. We hope to integrate much of this creative talent into MGS or the broader IEB team, where we have relevant openings.

Ensemble Studios has produced many notable games over the years – including the Ages franchise – that have helped MGS become a leader in interactive entertainment. And now, Halo Wars is already proving to be a hit by people who have seen and played early versions of the game. The Ensemble team is committed to continuing its development, testing and support of Halo Wars through to the completion of halo wars. We’re also working closely with the studio’s leaders to ensure a smooth launch of the game in early 2009 and continuing support thereafter. We will support the studio in every way possible as they work to deliver this highly anticipated game.

This action notwithstanding, I want to emphasize that the overall investment Microsoft is making in video game development is not diminished, and we will continue to bring in talent to work on titles and franchises where we’ll see the most ROI. Our priority is to continue to nurture the creative freedom that allows us to successfully drive our business strategy forward. Meanwhile, we’re launching some outstanding games over the next few months. We’ve just launched Too Human and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, and soon we’ll see many other games hit retail store shelves, including Scene It! 2, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Lips and, of course, Halo Wars.

I want to thank you for your hard work and focus as we head into the next few months and make this a blowout year for first-party games. Please be supportive and respectful of our Ensemble colleagues as they go through this tough time.

Phil

Thanks: GI.biz

It’s time to jump back into the shoes (if he wore any) of good old Banjo, as he and Kazooie are set for their first adventure since 2000. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts will be available on November 14 for the (strangely) low price of $39.99. I thought that had to be a typo, but Microsoft confirmed to me that the game is indeed going to be priced at $40, just like Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise — that should be a big boon for sales.

Pre-order the game and you’ll get a pretty sweet bonus: a free download code for the original Banjo-Kazooie, which is releasing on Xbox Live Arcade sometime this fall (”a couple weeks after” Nuts & Bolts, which I interpret as the last week of fall). In addition to getting the game for free, you’ll also get to play the game before anyone else, which will let you employ the “Stop N’ Swop” feature, which will unlock additional content. I doubt most people will remember it, but it’s nice that Rare plans on making it up to those of us who looked forward to that feature in the original Banjo and never got to see it used.

I’m extremely excited. Most of Rare’s games in recent years has failed to impress me (Viva Pinata is their saving grace), but the Banjo games were among my absolute favorite games on N64, so I remain hopeful that Nuts & Bolts will be a worthy sequel.

The new video for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts looks pretty fun and pretty cute, but what else would you expect from a Banjo title anyway? Just think of all the wacky adventures you will have should you decide to pick this game up. Here is what was released about the game not long ago:

Build a better bear car – It’s Honey Bear and Breegull time again! Join them as they take to the sky, sea and land to save Spiral Mountain…It’s been a long time coming, but Banjo and Kazooie are back in action – and so, to their exasperation, is dedicated arch-foe Gruntilda. The stakes have been raised, and Grunty’s out to redevelop Spiral Mountain into tower blocks and shopping malls. Banjo and Kazooie’s future is on the line!

Tired of the feuding between bear, bird and witch, a new player has stepped in: the mysterious Lord of Games (LOG), said to have been involved in creating every videogame ever released. He whisks the rivals away to his creative HQ in Showdown Town, and into an elaborate series of challenges held within his hand-made worlds. The winner gets the ownership deeds to Spiral Mountain, the loser an eternity of toil in LOG’s videogame factory. The game is on!

However, things are a bit different this time around. The core gameplay mechanic – and the method by which worlds are traversed, challenges tackled and progress made – is the creation and customisation of vehicles, using components found, bought and won throughout Showdown Town. From wheels and weapons to springs and wings, all of which can be combined in any number and style, there’s a staggering level of experimentation and personalisation for those willing to dabble. If you can imagine it, you can probably build it. But any adventurer with less confidence, experience or time on their hands can still jump in and take on the game with a pre-built range of vehicles. The Lord of Games might be heavy-handed, but he’s big on equal opportunities.

However, it’s not all change in Banjo-Kazooie country, as Banjo will still compete for Jiggies to unlock new destinations and hoard the musical notes that serve as legal tender. Familiar figures on hand to help include everyone’s favourite shaman down at Mumbo’s Motors and newly appointed tourist information officer Bottles; new faces on the block include porcine police chief Pikelet and overly competitive braggart Trophy Thomas. Outside Showdown Town you might just meet them all again, persuaded by LOG to turn thespian and act out hilarious themed roles in different worlds. You’ll also have to take on Grunty’s shiny army of mechanical Gruntbots, riding roughshod over Banjo’s efforts to save the day.

For the first time in the Banjo universe there’s also the opportunity to go online with players across your own world. Combine this with the riveting new solo adventure, and it looks like 2008 really will be the Year of the Bear.

Expect the game to hit sometime this Fall.