"One Of The Few Racing Games For GBA - And Not Too Shabby Either"

As soon as I heard about this game, something told me not to expect much. Something about it just shone as being "not worth it" in some way. Still, being a major fan of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, it was always a game I found to be worth buying. The game, originally Diddy Kong Pilot, was announced back in 2001, actually before the GBA launched in North America, but due to Rareware going over to produce games for microsoft, the company could no longer use the diddy kong characters, and instead of scraping the project altogether, it was decided to change the game into "Banjo Pilot". Because of its original name, anyone who has played Diddy Kong Racing for the N64 will be reminded of that concept in the game (particularly with the boosters spread about the tracks). By no means original, the ideas it takes from other games (primarily from the mario kart series) are still blended together well.

GAMEPLAY - 8

If you have played any of the mario kart games, then this is basically the same. The "Grand Prix" mode pits you up against 7 other racers in 4 different tournaments, each consisting of 4 tracks, most of those based of levels in Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie. Borrowing again from Mario Kart, you can also unlock a reversed mode of these tournaments, as well as a "all four cups in one tournament" feature. Quickrace" is the same as ever; just choose your character and track and away you go. "Time Trial" has a nice edition to it, in that there are actually already set times for you to defeat, creating an actual purpose to using time trial. Although the first times are almost comically easy to beat, you can eventually unlock some challenging times later in the game.

A nice extra to the game is the "Jiggy Challenge" where you must race a character and collect several jigsaw pieces from around the track at the same time, needing to both win the race and collect every piece to win. Once again, this should remind some people of Diddy Kong Racing. There are only four characters available at the start of the game, with 5 more unlockable later in the game, one of which will require you to complete everything the game has to be beaten.

SOUND - 8

The sound on this game really is quite good, with a variety of catchy tunes. Still, it would have been nice (and somewhat appropriate) if the music had been from the Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie games. Some of the music is (such as the start screen and menu music), but most of the track music is new. The nice grunting as a character talks to you is still here, and as a character passes you in a race they will make their trademark sound.

GRAPHICS - 8

The game looks pretty nice, though certain parts (like the boss battles) look fairly standard. The start up screen and menus look quite impressive. The graphics don't get in the way of the racing, and at the end of the day, thats all the really matters in a racing game anyway.

LASTIBILITY - 6

Although there is a fair amount to do in this game, once you have completed everything, you probably wont play it much. This is more one of the games you will probably play a lot, then get bored with soon after you have completed, but find again in a year or so and get into it again. In general, this game really was a positive surprise. Not expecting much from the game, it turned out to be an above-average racer on the racing-lacked GBA. If you have never played Banjo-Kazooie or Tooie, then this probably isnt for you. If you have, or really like games like Mario Kart, then you should not be disappointed. Really this game is not quite an 8, and if I could have I would have given it 7.8. Still, to give it a 7 would not have given it the credit it deserves.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/06