Molyneux would like to see Rare have an identity

Or R.C. Pro-Am

Or have them get GoldenEye out on XBL already, because that's the only thing people care about when it comes to Rare...

Of course, much legal work is needed, but come on!!!

Viva Pinata was actually really good, as was Kameo and Nuts & Bolts.
They just didn't really attract any attention. Perfect Dark Zero is the only really terrible game they've made lately, and even that wasn't THAT bad.

I think the problem is that when Rare was with Nintendo, they had the best of both worlds. The could cash in with games like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark for the more Mature audience and still win with games like DK and Banjo for the kiddies. The N64 was owned widely by both demographics. Now, they have to develop for the 360 and 360 owners don't want games like Viva Pinata and Kameo, no matter how good they were. And the only reason people bought PD0 was because they thought it was going to be as fun as the original was on N64 and well, it wasn't. True, it wasn't THAT bad, but it just didn't duplicate the N64 experience. Rare needs to come up with something a little more edgy and with a lot of fun factor for the 360 masses. Not these mystical, magical kid's games.

I think the problem is Rare can no longer just blatantly copy games Nintendo has already made and try to pass them off as "new" and "innovative"

Or make a true sequel to Conker's Bad Fur Day. That game was tits.

Oh, and no, PDZ actually WAS that bad. That's the only game I've ever returned the day after I got it.

@Chad They never blatantly copied anything. Nintendo said "Do a Donkey Kong game" so they did it. They were given permission. All their other games were original IP's starring original characters. Conker and Banjo first started as characters that were created for Diddy Kong's Racing if you remember correctly. All the other games Rare created were in house properties. So I'm not sure what you mean by copying.

Anyone who thinks Viva Pinata is "crap" - get the fuck out of here and go find a new hobby. Idiot.

@Kizzle While opinions are welcomed here as this is a place to post one's comments and feelings, direct insults will get you no where.

"I think the problem is Rare can no longer just blatantly copy games Nintendo has already made and try to pass them off as "new" and "innovative""

I don't think it's fair to say Rare every copied Nintendo. First, they were working directly for Nintendo, so it's hard to say they're copying something when you're a part of the group (I hate the term second party and refuse to use it, if at all possible).

Second, Rare's strength has ALWAYS been in taking existing conventions and polishing them up into a new gold standard. DKC was nothing particularly new, especially by Nintendo's standards, but it was SO well done. Ditto for Banjo Kazooie and Killer Instinct.
About the only game Rare did that really broke that mould was, arguably, Goldeneye...and even then, you *could* say that all they did was successfully translate the PC FPS experience to consoles (although I'd personally give Goldeneye more credit than that)


There's nothing wrong with that, either. Not every game has to be some amazing, never-before-seen experience. Naughty Dog and Insomniac pretty much have the exact same development philosophy, judging by their finished products, and no one gives them shit for it.

Rare's strength isn't coming up with crazy new concepts. Sure, they can come up with them and execute them reasonably well, but they never really feel fully realized. They're always a bit unfocused.
Rare needs another person like Miyamoto guiding them and keeping them focused. Unfortunately, Peter Molyneux, even though he's considered to be more or less on the same tier Miyamoto is, is the absolute LAST person Rare needs guiding them. He's more unfocused than Rare is!

Have you actually played Viva Pinata? (The garden-sim, not the spin-offs)

Viva Piñata... crap? Not really.

Sure, it looks like a game for kids, but try it anyway. It's actually quite a fun game, a great experience, and with much audio / visual richness to boot.

"I think the problem is Rare can no longer just blatantly copy games Nintendo has already made and try to pass them off as "new" and "innovative""

What's stopping them? They could easilly churn out "Banjo Kazooie Universe" right now, with the whole intergalactic angle and what would happen?

Man, so they are the @soles who keep RC Pro-Am from gettin into the VC worlds?

Man, Rare can go to hell for what I care now!!!!!

Unless they create a trully sequel of PD. I dont care it comes for the 360, i just want o hear that its better than the original

since they already made games about banjo and conker from diddy kong racing they should make a game about tiptup (the turtle), he was the best character from that game.

Yeah, and the same can be said about Donkey Kong. It hasn't been the same since Rare joined Microsoft.

seriously where the F was Rare at this years E3?

And they should definnatly port a XBLA Jet Force gemini of the game! and have a sequal?

And where the F is Killer Instincts ??

You lost ALL credibility when you called Viva Pinata crap. It's one of the best and funnest games for the 360, and this is coming from a 28-year-old, hardest of core gamers. So suck it.

Thing is, Donkey Kong 64 wasn't even good to begin with. Rare peaked around the Goldeneye/original Banjo game, and after that they just went downhill.

DK64 was a ridiculous collect-a-thon, collect 2000 yellow bananas and coins and whatnot to unlock another ape, play the same levels all over again and collect blue bananas and coins to unlock yet another ape, re-play the same levels, collect green bananas this time... UGH! Shite gameplay, shite game.

Banjo 2 was collect-a-thon (original game was too, but being the original game at least you hadn't done it before), starfox... collect 30 million things to win the game, UGH!

Rare lost its originality along the way, perhaps with people quitting the company or the owners tiring of making games that earned them piles and piles of dough I dunno. The fun in the company simply collapsed like a failed soufflet. No wonder every game since has been either bad or unremarkable.

@ Faar

I beg to differ. Rare didn't peak at Goldeneye and Banjo Kazooie. They went on to make more awesome games after DK64. Perfect Dark, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Blast Corps (which was so awesome when I first saw it), and the last being a personal fav, Diddy Kong Racing.....but I would have to say that many people wouldn't think it was that great a game. Nevertheless, Rare didn't just peak at Goldeneye and Banjo.

I just wanted to post that!

Please, maybe stop teasing a new Killer Instinct and actually make it now.

DON'T CHANGE THE GAMEPLAY FOR NO REASON!

They haven't made a game that connected with me in a long while. I can see how people would like Viva Pinata and Banjo but they just weren't for me.

Molyneux peaked with Populous 1 and 2. You just just can't cash the cheques his mouth is writing. He would do well for Iraq's new Minister of Information.

Let me add that his games are good (Fable 1 and 2) but they just aren't good as he tells everyone they will be. I remember him telling me how I will never look at gaming the same after playing Fable. He then said the same thing for Fable 2 and I'm hearing the same thing for Natal. He just stay under the radar for a bit and let his games do the talking.

I don't disagree with you, his games don't always merit the hype he gives them. But I don't think he is be disingenuous or telling you something he doesn't fully believe. Again he is the creative visionary type, and more often than not his ideas and visions are beyond what he is able to actually build. So the end result is he ends up creating unrealistic expectations. He certainly does himself a huge disservice in this respect, his games never live up to the hype (though as you mention they are normally good if not great games). My point is his new position essentially puts him in position to dream big and to inspire the developers and designers in MGS Europe. While his over-hyping will probably always continue it should encourage MGS to think big.

"I remember him telling me how I will never look at gaming the same after playing Fable."

Ah man, talk about memories. Back when the XBox was still an unproven console, this was supposed to be one of its greatest game. At the time, I decided to follow it; this was long ago when it was still called 'Project Ego'. I still remember the things they called it and the huge debate raging that it would eventually surpassed 'Morrowind' as the open-ended game to have.

Unfortunately, I begin to realize something was terribly wrong with the first gameplay trailer was released, and I noticed that the game was...a bit...different than Molyneux said.

It's funny how things turned out. Back then, I thought Molyneux would be the next great developer.

?????

You've clearly never played the game.

I wouldn't blame him for not playing the worst game Rare ever made!

@ Mr ESC: My only problem with DK64 was that there was just too much to do. Way too many characters, associated abilities, and items to collect towards completion. The levels were really daunting too. They looked really fun, but it always seemed the next platform was placed just a wee bit too far to complete your jump. The progression was really demanding too, it always seemed like you needed 80% of the possible collect items in order to proceed to the next part of the game.

Still, it was hardly Rare's worst game. Especially now that Perfect Dark Zero has come and gone. I enjoyed DK64, I might even like it more than Kameo (and I love Kameo!).

I actually enjoyed the old multiplayer better. =/

I enjoyed it more too, at the time, but going back to it, with no dual analogue, it doesn't quite hold up any more. Its still fun, for sure, but one analogue stick is just clumsy for a shooter now.

Agreed, Nuts & Bolts is like the most underrated game ever (up there with God Hand). Such a fantastic game. Especially for only $40US and you were getting like three games in one (four if you pre-order and got the original BK!), each of them better than most $60US games. One of the best looking games this generation too, and some of the most catchy tunes you'll ever hear.

"...although If you played the demo I cannot blame you you are just playing the tutorial levels"

I honestly wouldn't have given this game a chance if I hadn't played the demo. Probably spent more time playing that demo than I did playing most any other game last year. :P

Ditto the other two. N&B is near the top for my personal favorite games this generation. I know people were turned off by the focus on vehicles, but it was still an extremely enjoyable game.

I would like to see a new game with the focus returned to platforming though. The platforming elements in the central city showed that Rare's still got it. They could even keep the vehicle creation system in the game, just mix in more platforming for the actually tasks to collect jiggies.

Nuts and Bolts isn't a very good Banjo game, but its the best Lego game on any console.

I'd really like it if they just took its engine, dropped Banjo Kazooie, and expanded on the vehicle construction into a franchise that placed it front and center.

JFG! I FORGOT ABOUT THAT GAME!! that was awesome.

The two biggest problems with Rare are that Microsoft keeps tossing them garbage work, like the busy work nobody wants to do for the Natal gimmick, and the fact that most of the original talent has gone. The Stamper brothers are gone. Kirkhope's gone, another one of the original team just left the other day.

Rare isn't Rareware any more. It's something else.

"I always wonder about Rare. What happened to them? They were THE guys on the N64. Not only did they make amazing games, but they were all types as well. Platformers like Banjo, shooters like Goldeneye, adventures like Jet Force Gemini - without them the history of the N64 would be a lot different."

Completely agreed.

Rare has achieved something very, well, rare. They were one of the few developers to match Nintendo on their own console. Not only did they create games that were every bit as amazing as Nintendo's own (and remember, this was the gen that in which Nintendo created the likes of SM64, OOT, MM, and etc), but their games also sold as well as that of Nintendo's. I don't think any other developer has ever been able to do that (just look at the GCN and Wii).

I'm not sure if many would agree with me, but on the N64 (and perhaps SNES), Rare was definitely one of the top developers. They, along with Nintendo, had a touch that turned things to gold and, thanks to them, I thought the N64 was an awesome console.

It kills me to see what happened to Rare,