XBLA Today Returns: Banjo-Tooie, Virtual-On OT, and Sorry!

Update – DjDATZ: Added some information on The Maw Speeder Lane DLC right before the links to today’s content.

That’s right folks, XBLA Today is finally back, and boy do we have a interesting one this week, 3 games to check out. The Bear and Bird are at it again in Banjo-Tooie, mechs battle in Virtual-On OT, and Sorry! is, well, the board game Sorry! Also coming out today is the final DLC pack for The Maw called Speeder Lane for 100 Points.

Banjo-Tooie is the revamped sequel to Banjo-Kazooie. Not much has changed in the gameplay aspect from Banjo-Kazooie, spending most of your time playing as the bear Banjo and bird Kazooie. Guntilda is back and again you must save the day (along with help from people like Mumbo and other friends). The platforming is great, collecting musical notes, jiggies, and other items along the way.

One cool thing added is the Stop ‘n Swop feature that was originally intened for the N64. If the game detects a Banjo-Kazooie save you can earn extra prizes. (Check out all the prizes here.)

In the end though, if you liked the first one, you’ll like this one, and vice versa. It retails for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Virtual-On OT is a old Sega arcade game that also was released on the Dreamcast. You control one mech and have basically deathmatches with other mechs. Fairly simple concept, and at first, the game didn’t interest me too much. After a little bit of playing however I saw how this could be a really fun mech game for multiplayer online. It did take a bit to get better at the controls to understand how this could be a lot of fun. The game still plays fairly well, and the mechs are all a little different. All in all the game is pretty good, but the 1200 price point does make me hesitate a bit. If you do remember it, or just have a love for some mech on mech, go for it.

Sorry! is the latest addition to the Hasbro Family Game Night, and like a the rest of it, its the board/card game of its name, but on your TV. If you have a need to complete your Family Game Night collection then go ahead and spend another 800 points. Otherwise I’d probably stay away.

Be sure to check out all the demos, because who knows, you may completely disagree with me, and be sure to stop on by next week, because XBLA Today is back!

The Speeder Lane DLC is the most unique piece of DLC for The Maw as rather than being the little alien and walking around, you get to ride around on one of the guard’s “hoverbikes” and drop bombs on things.  It’s quite a bunch of fun, and if you’ve played through the game, (spoiler alert) you will recognize that it’s very similar to the last last level of the game.  (end spoiler) Personally, I’d suggest you play all 3 pieces of DLC (called ‘deleted scenes’ within the game) after you finish the game, as they all deal with gameplay elements that are taught throughout the game.  For 100 MSP each, you really can’t go wrong.

Links to queue up trials:

Banjo-Tooie

Virtual-On OT

Sorry!

Link to purchase The Maw – Speeder Lane