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"Rare - Hero to Zero"

They were at one point in time called the best game developers that had ever produced a video game, but since that sad day in 2002, when Nintendo handed over their exclusive developers to Microsoft, Rare have since then have fallen badly, not even showing one ounce of that magic they had whilst working with Nintendo.

Rare started out life with Nintendo working on titles for the SNES. 1995 saw Rare produce their first masterpieces in the form on ‘Donkey Kong Country’, a project Nintendo handed to Rare, and also the gruesome brawler that was ‘Killer Instinct’. And looking from the majority of their titles, Rare were gearing up to be once of the most innovative games designers in the video games market.

Times then moved on, and Rare reached their peak during the years of the Nintendo 64. Starting out with enjoyable and original titles like ‘Blast Corps’ and ‘Diddy Kong Racing’, Rare then began to produce titles that were some of the best games to date. Rare stunned us all with ‘Goldeneye 007’, arguably the greatest FPS ever made and the game that sold N64s by the truck load, selling globally over 8 million copies.

Rare then took DK into the next generation, going 3D and by god did it go bananas, full of Rare’s trademark and humour, and accompanied a mouth-watering line-up of platformers on N64. Then came the ground-breaking adventures from Banjo and Kazooie, which were frighteningly huge and fantastic titles. They then shocked us Brits with the crude yet hilarious ‘Conker’s Bad Fur Day’, and accompanied it with the brilliant ‘Jet Force Gemini’ and the superb ‘Perfect Dark’. Now Rare were acclaimed world wide as one of the best developers on the market.

But then it all started to slope downhill for Rare. 2002 saw the launch of Nintendo Gamecube, and due to business reasons, Nintendo did not buy their remaining stake in Rare, instead selling them to Microsoft. The world was astonished, and many Nintendo followers were horrified at the news. But Rare did leave us with the good but not fantastic ‘Star Fox Adventures’, and confirmed to Nintendoroids that they would still produce GBA titles.

But from there on in the decline of Rare increased through the years. Their GBA titles were far from what they were capable of, as the likes of ‘Sabrewulf’ and the third Banjo title were disappointing affairs. And Rare were not delivering the goods for their friends at XBOX either, with only the average ‘Grabbed by the Goulies’ to show for their efforts. The people of Nintendo now didn’t care Rare had gone, as their turnout to the market was so disappointing.

There may be life left in Rare though. Rare have confirmed a few follow-ons from their N64 titles, which include ‘Conker: Live and Uncut’ and ‘Perfect Dark Zero’. Plus, they have also unleashed new footage of GBA titles such as Banjo Pilot, and also have a new Banjo game in development for the XBOX, but whether it will appeal to the majority of adult gamers is yet to be seen.

So Rare basically are the tragedy of the gaming world. They looked so promising whilst working for Nintendo, but under Microsoft’s wings they have failed to produce. Could it be Microsoft’s fault for the decline? The questions are limitless, but one thing is for sure; Rare have gone from ‘Heroes’ to ‘Zeroes’ up until now. Only time will tell if Rare can start producing the magic they once did, but I fear their glory days are now over.

Icarus mk2 wrote:
> GBTG was more of an experimental project made into a game; a dip into
> the Xbox technology.

Erm... it started out as a GameCube game in 2000.

ANT ATTACK!!!!

*Stamps on several ants by the garden door*

Rofl...you mean Perfect Dark 2 hasn't been released yet?

I assumed it had...I remember years ago during one of my many Sony vs Nintendo arguments, Edgy or someone going about how awesome it was gonna be...and I remember all the Ninty fans goin wild over the first one.

But it's not even been released yet? And it's not gonna be on a Nintendo console?

Bloody hell, I really have lost interest haven't I? Hehe.

Right be back at around 8: 45. See ya, off to play 5-a-side.

GBTG was more of an experimental project made into a game; a dip into the Xbox technology.

Also, a lot had happened in the company after PD; the chief technical programmer of PD left due to a disagreement, management were too greedy (aren't they always) and staff were demotivated by their actions. Oh well.

It has the potential to be one of the greastest FPS ever, but Rare will probably balls it up.

yes rare are now a zero then. cell shading is balls. If it works in a FPS i will eat my words. But it will be diabolical then.

xiii was alright but you need reasonably sensible graphics

Ashley wrote:
> the main problem i think with Perfect dark 2, will stem from the
> Xbox's controllers which aren't overly flexiblke in high paced
> shooters. Hope its awesome shame it won't be multi platform (will
> it?) as i don't feel many of the consoles have very good games at the
> mo, and would love to have it on the GC as it would make it better
> value! lol

Apparantly, Perfect Dark 2 will be in a cel-shaded, cartoon style, like Wind Waker. Whether it will work though is yet to be seen.

Rare were 'heroes' though when they worked on the N64. Everyone loved them. People would praise and praise them. And they did kick butt. But D-Day in 2002 was the turning point man. Everyone cried.

Has anyone played Grabbed by the Goulies, cuz I think its one of the most stupidest games I've ever played. Far too easy and nothing like Rare could produce.

the main problem i think with Perfect dark 2, will stem from the Xbox's controllers which aren't overly flexiblke in high paced shooters. Hope its awesome shame it won't be multi platform (will it?) as i don't feel many of the consoles have very good games at the mo, and would love to have it on the GC as it would make it better value! lol