Here Are The Original Scores For All Of Rare Replay's Games That We've Reviewed

Rare Replay releases Tuesday, August 4, and it gathers 30 classic video games developed by Rare all onto one disc. Our full review of Rare Replay will post Monday, but in the meantime, you can read our original reviews for the games featured in the collection that we published reviews for. We don't have reviews for everything featured in the collection, but we do for many. You will find the scores as well as excerpts (where available) from the original reviews below.

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - 8.5

"Nuts and Bolts shows that Rare is still a respectable think tank capable of delivering experiences unlike anything else, but this game also clings onto a few annoying elements from the company's past. The biggest one, which the game openly ridicules, is the concept of scouring environments to collect items. Sadly, the items you must collect are new part types for your vehicles. If you want to have a deep LEGO box, you have to dedicate time to hunting for them. Annoying collect-a-thon aside, Nuts and Bolts is a rare delight that offers up big laughs and inventive gameplay. It also ends up being the closest thing there is to a virtual LEGO set." – Andrew Reiner

Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise - 8

"Keeping your pinatas happy can still be monotonous in task, but the expanded content and finely made multiplayer relieves some of the repetition that plagued the first game. Viva Pinata retains its child-like charm, but the content is layered with deep strategies and entertaining gameplay that can suck anyone's life away." – Andrew Reiner

Viva Piñata - 8

“I recommend Viva Pinata as a good primer for kids and adults alike who aspire to explore the greater world of god games. It moves at a nice pace, it is never confusing, and it does a great job of holding your hand and showing you what to do next.” – Andrew Reiner

Second opinion review - 7

“Viva Piñata, Microsoft and 4Kids Entertainment’s attempt at creating an animated TV show/video game sensation, is an interesting potpourri of influences. The game combines elements of any number of offbeat titles from recent years, including Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing, and Pokémon. Developer Rare continues to show its visual skills, creating a day-glo world that has a look I’ve never seen before in a game. A large part of the pleasure of playing Viva Piñata comes from transforming brown dirt into a lush paradise. There are certainly parts of the game I like, especially the easy-to-use interface and the humorous antics of the animals. Still, something is a bit off about the entire package. Often, I found myself either bored and wanting something to do, or overwhelmed by trying to foster my misbehaving menagerie of piñatas. I fear this game might find itself struggling to find an audience, too complex for the kids that love the show and too shallow for adults.” – Matt Helgeson

Kameo: Elements of Power – 7.5

"There really is no slow onion peel to the plot, although Rare certainly hoped there would be one. Once you meet a specific character, you know exactly where this tale is going to end up. After working your way through every video game cliché possible (betrayal in your midst, levels based on elements), the game builds to a huge rip-roaring finale. Sadly, the final boss is the weakest in the game (40 Below’s Wrecker attack can tear him to shreds in no time flat). From here it seems as though the game is going to fizzle out and die quietly, but the cinematic that follows this battle is a satisfying and visually stunning way to end the game. All told, Kameo is a respectable adventure, but it drives players forward with its visual content and not its gameplay.” – Andrew Reiner

Second opinion review – 7

“Playing Kameo made me feel a lot like what I imagine Fry must’ve felt at the beginning of Futurama. Here I am in this amazing world filled with sights beyond my imagination, and I’m still stuck doing the same crappy delivery job I did back in the past. Make no mistake – this is one pretty game, filled with gorgeous bump-mapped textures, beautiful lighting, and luminous particle effects. However, Kameo (originally conceived for the GameCube) shows its age in tedious level design, unoriginal boss fights, repetitive objectives, and dull puzzles. The concept of switching between forms is definitely intriguing, but unfortunately none of the creatures (aside from Chilla) have gameplay that is inherently entertaining, and the ways you must switch between them are far too obvious to add any real sense of surprise or discovery. One of the game’s worst boss battles is repeated a half dozen times before you’re done, growing more annoying each time. Graphically state of the art, Kameo is just an attractive repackaging of the same old platforming clichés.” – Matt Helgeson

Perfect Dark Zero – 7

“The actual gameplay is a lot slower than most recent shooters, and lacking many modern conventions, such as a radar or more than one checkpoint per level. However, PDZ does feature a nice cover mechanic, as well as an evasive roll (instead of a jump). Fans of the original will like the weapons selection and the focus on multiple objectives per stage, but others will be completely put off by the ridiculous voice work, forgettable story, and downright boring action. However, online play is a lot more interesting. Deathmatches and Dark Ops games (which are more objective-based) are included, as well as co-op. As much as I love co-op conceptually, I found playing the same campaign with a second player just as boring as playing it alone. Deathmatches and Dark Ops games are surprisingly fun, despite bringing little new to the table. With headshots being the most efficient way to take someone down, deathmatches are a bit more skill-based than some other shooters, which is nice. But outside of some mildly amusing multiplayer, Perfect Dark Zero is an enormous disappointment. Perhaps due to its years in development, Zero just feels antiquated and familiar. Had it released years ago, it would have been a monumental game. But as it stands, it’s just more of the same.” – Jeremy Zoss

Second opinion review – 8

“Perfect Dark Zero wears many guises. It’s one of those games that will have you singing its praises one minute, only to find yourself screaming expletives at it the next. Thankfully, most of its problems can be avoided, but this basically means that you have to steer clear of the single-player campaign. It’s a torturous and completely uninteresting excursion. The real meat and potatoes of this release is multiplayer. The campaign’s story may hold little weight, but it is fun to play through it cooperatively, as you are constantly pushed to use teamwork. Deathmatching is brilliantly devised. You can unload an entire clip into someone, yet not drop them. Hence, you have to use pinpoint precision to line up headshots. It really plays off of your skills. The maps are well thought out, and the assortment of unique weapon abilities opens up new avenues for FPS strategy. It’s not for the masses, but Perfect Dark Zero will definitely be a hit with those of you who want to put your skills on display. – Andrew Reiner

Grabbed by the Ghoulies – 4.5

Conker's Bad Fur Day – 9

We recently played through Conker's Bad Fur Day in its entirety for our Super Replay show. You can check out the entire game by heading here.

Banjo-Tooie – 9

Banjo-Kazooie – 9.25

Perfect Dark – We scored the original Perfect Dark on Nintendo 64 a 9.25, but the game included in Rare Replay is the Xbox Live Arcade re-release that launched in 2010, which we scored 8.5. You can find an excerpt from that review below.

"Perfect Dark is a great example of how a remake should be done. In the original, it almost felt like you were punished for making the gameplay exciting: More action resulted in more slowdown. Now, it runs smooth as silk whether you're sneaking around with a tranquilizer gun or diving into a multiplayer match with rockets blazing. Fans of the original shouldn't hesitate to pick this one up and relive their Nintendo 64 memories." – Dan Ryckert

Jet Force Gemini – 7.75

Blast Corps – 8

Killer Instinct Gold – 8.5

Battletoads – 8.25

For the list of games included on Rare Replay that we don't have reviews for, head to page two.

The rest of the games, listed below, were either never reviewed by us, or were released before Game Informer became a magazine in 1991.