18.12.2016

I'll admit straight away that the Super NES and N64 eras of gaming were dearly cherished on my childhood hugely to Rare's contributions over that timeframe; Donkey Kong Country and Goldeneye to name only a few because if I named more, we'd be here all day... So my verdict is more or less biased by default. However I've always took every game I've played over the years and rated it based on quality in all aspects, and as a homage to the history of this developer, the quality shines as golden as the original R logo.So, let's get started.What is Rarereplay? It's a compilation of games developed by, you guessed it, Rare. It covers games for systems back through to the ZX Spectrum, NES, N64,Xbox and the last gen 360. Aside from only having the odd game per system here and there (Grabbed by the Ghoulies is the only Xbox game included) the roster evens out to about 6-7 games per system, so there's a good chunk of era variety here.It's worth noting that Rare were originally known as ULTIMATE PLAY THE GAME in their Spectrum days. Admittedly the Spectrum selection is the one I've spent less time with, mostly because I grew up with the NES onwards and didn't have a huge window to the Spectrum craze, though I can at least ay they are grand in the sense that they're perfectly emulated with the laser like graphics and "bit bot" sound effects.The NES selection actually holds up very well as an addictive hook with the likes of PRO AM RACER 1&2, they're so simple in their lap based racing yet the quick yet light speed races keep you going for more, and the pre-race upgrade purchases give a tactical element. Battletoads is also a great addition with it's variable gameplay elements like beat em up and racing, though I must mention that the arcade version is a massive jump in quality; what with classic arcade machine music tracks and a wider selection of overall sound and voice effects, it's still as addictive and Rare do well to design games with concept art that doesn't age.For me personally, the highlight is the N64 selection. Jet Force Gemini doesn't get the biggest rep but that was my personal favourite game on that system ever made (sorry Banjo Tooie ;) ), but the likes of both Banjo games, Conkers Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark to name a few, are already worth the purchase price at this point in time.Rare get a bad rep around their Microsoft buy-out era as it seemed their titles were lacking the punch or charisma of previous years, I couldn't comment at the time because I couldn't afford an Xbox or 360 around then, and my last Rare game was Starfox Adventures. But after getting a fee minutes in Ghoulies, I did find a massively addictive beat em up with another unaged el shade design and quirky music and voices (the voices of reminiscent of the garbled tracks from Banjo).The 360 titles aren't the best of the package but they're still warranted a play. Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo show a variety in gameplay as FPS and epic magical adventure, and Viva Piñata is a charismatic world of character that will eat your time!I've tried to describe small features about particular games as to give a feel of what to expect for those unfamiliar with Rare, and wanted to jump in with this compilation to see what the fuss is all about. But for the fans, whether it was Jet Pac or DKC that was your first game, you all know what Rare is about and how it's their very own culture, how they try to made everything in terms of genre and then some, and every game has a quality and magic to it that keeps it going over history. We all have our own memories of Rare, maybe some we missed out on (I didn't get to play Tooie or Conker at the time do this is a chance for me).So really, the big question is, is it a good selection of games and do they run well on the emulation software. Yes and yes.Only thing to note; basically, some N64 games are actually the 360 arcade versions that have been made backward compatible with the XBONE (Perfect Dark and Banjo mainly). So these games require a silver online account to install. However it's nice to play these games in wide screen 16:9. Conker and Blast Corps are still in 4:3 and retain the old framerate drops of the N64, but this didn't bother me, more so nostalgia of what the system was doing at the time and the games are so immersive and awesome that I forgot about those issues. Jet Force had a pre-built backup for these hd days, it had widescreen support on the original cart so pop that on in the options and you'll have a better visual experience. And for any Jet Force fans, Rare released a patch for a different control scheme which I highly recommend,it's a game changer :)So that's it, a great selection of games from an all time favourite developer, highly worth the current price!

15.10.2015

Compilations are nothing new in video games, with bundled remakes of multiple games being the norm last gen, and seemingly going into this gen also, with one of Microsoft biggest releases of last year being the pretty broken master chief collection. So it looks like they might have pulled their s*** together and released Rare Replay, probably the best deal you’re going to get in a video game for a long time. Remember those Capcom/Midway classics you used to get in the PS2era? Well imagine those, but with almost every game being fantastic….ish.For the low price of £20, as a digital release, possibly one of the few times a digital game has actually been of equal price to its disc-based counterparts,Microsoft please keep this up. So yeah, you get 30 games from RARE’s past, including Sinclair games back when they were known as ULTIMATE, Rare ware and finally Rare, the full list of games can be seen here;JetpacAtic AtacLunar JetmanSabre WulfUnderwurldeKnight LoreGunfrightSlalomR.C. Pro-AmBattletoads (NES)Cobra TriangleSnake Rattle N RollDigger T. RockSolar JetmanR.C. Pro-Am IIBattletoads ArcadeKiller Instinct GoldBlast CorpsBanjo-KazooieJet Force GeminiPerfect DarkBanjo-TooieConker’s Bad Fur DayGrabbed by the GhouliesPerfect Dark ZeroKameo: Elements of PowerViva PiñataJetpac RefuelledBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & BoltsViva Piñata: Trouble in ParadiseNow to some older gamers out there, who was active in the 80’s and still play to this day, this pack is a phenomenal nostalgia value, though even to those who wasn’t it still shows some of RARE’s greatest hits.Though it isn’t without its faults, for example, it’s a bit odd they chose to put in conkers bad fur day the N64 version, as the controls feel awkward and you get some awful slowdown in some areas making platforming less than ideal. I don’t know why they didn’t also add the Xbox remake, as it would have worked better for the Xbox one controller being almost identical, and also not having to work with the emulation of the N64. Jet force Gemini was also off, some of the weirdest controls ever used, Flick the right stick up and down to jump and crouch? What, A and B are not even used, and you chose not to use these buttons? Okay then. Conker is also a bit of an oddity, as the camera is forced Inverted, no option to change this, which made it a little difficult for me to get used too, again, it’s a shame they didn’t think of these small things to make the usability a little more enjoyable.The N64 emulation is also not perfect, it isn’t on top spec PC’s, so again, there is some slow down on the N64 titles. Apart from Banjo & Kazooie, which use the Arcade titles from the 360 here, same as Banjo Tooie and Jetpac Refuelled.Now, there are other problems, the older Sinclair games run….well they run like they did mostly on original hardware, but there is slowdown, slowdown which makes it difficult in some areas, Jetpac when there are too many enemies are on the screen slows down pretty significantly, it’s disappointing. Also Rare seems to of gone through all the old games to edit Logos and companies, so no Nintendo or N64 buttons on the Conker games, you will see some edited logos and button commands in cut scenes. It’s pretty odd seeing the bumper buttons or trigger buttons in low res on conker, or a really odd Rare logo on Jetpack.One game that I’m really disappointed not to see here is Golden eye 64, I feel like if Microsoft could have acquired the rights to Bond for this one title, it would of pushed its popularity up significantly, add in some Xbox live and it would be a must have, but these are just dreams of a fanboy .You also get some great 360 titles from last gen, Perfect Dark and Kameo, two great launch titles are here, including two Viva piñata, not my kind of games, as I suck terribly at them, but great games to add none the less.Compilations like this are not rare and seem like remasters like this seem to be the big thing in this generation so far (Gears of war, Halo, Last of us, etc) and sometimes it works well, and in this pack, you get a massive pack of games for a very low price which is fantastic. For those players who hold a lot of memories for fans of these series, and will have some fun for new players too who want to play some fantastic games from a great company? Even though there are some odd choices and weird decisions here and there, overall it is a fantastic pack of solid games, plus there is that 10k worth of Gamerscore up for grabs, 4/5.

5.8.2015

Rare have released their back catalogue of some of their games in a compilation called Rare Replay on Xbox One. They have been developing games since the 1980's up until now. They developed games for the ZX Spectrum, Nintendo 64, Xbox, Xbox 360, and now Xbox One. Their highlight I'd say would have to be the Nintendo 64. They have developed some great games on that console. I'd say their greatest game has to be Goldeneye 007 - that is not on this disc, but what's on this disc actually really good.I've got a few mixed feelings about this game. I bet many of us have played the 80's and early 90's games for the first time ever, but is anyone even bothered? I'm not, I'm more interested in the other games,but that doesn't mean I won't play them. I'm sure that diehard gamers and collectors of video games would like them. I like the Nintendo 64 games best, but i'm disappointed by the 360 games on the disc. Banjo and Perfect Dark have been released on XBLA, so they are listed as Xbox games, and they not listed as Nintendo 64 games like the rest of them on the disc. When you put the game disc into the Xbox One, all the 360 games comes up as seperate installs, meaning you can install them, if you haven't played them before. It looks like it uses the backwards compatibility feature that isn't available yet. They appear as normal Xbox One games when installing games, and I don't like the way it's set up. I was shocked when I put the game disc in, and saw all the 360 games came up as seperate installs than the other games that are actually on the X1 disc. The reason why I don't like the idea is because I rather have them on the disc instead of being off the disc, and I just think it ruins my nice collection of installed X1 games. I think I would rather play what's on the disc rather than what's off the disc. Most of these games already own on the 360, and most I don't. With the games I don't own yet that are on this disc, I can easily buy them on the original 360, but I'm not sure if I would really like to play them. I guess it would be a waste of time playing them - owning them or not.The game is supposed to have 10,000 achievements across every game, but when I checked the achievements, it only says 4000 achievements to earn. This might have something to do with the 360 games that are off the disc. The 360 achievements get carried over, so the 360 games don't have their own achievements like the rest of the games do on the disc, it still uses the 360 format to play the games. I find that disappointing as well, I think I would like to earn the achievements again on a X1 console. I don't mean to spoil it for you, but the easiest achievement you will earn in this game is playing the game for the first time and sampling every game. This achievement does not apply to the 360 games.Despite all the achievements to earn, the game does come packed with interviews, behind the scenes, and making of videos. The game also comes with new challenges for you to take on. These challenges are like tasks to do certain things in the games to give you a new edge. These challenges are only for the 80's and 90's games, they are not for the Nintendo games. The game comes with playlists, I don't know what this is, so I can't say much about it.To sum it all up. I gave this a 4-stars because people who have not played any of these games are in for a treat. There really is something for everybody here, ZX Spectrum to Nintendo 64 to the Xbox games. For the people that have played most of these games like me, well there isn't much here for you. If you want to buy this game for the achievements, then there's something here for you as well because there is a lot of achievements to earn across every game and new challenges to take on. This game might not work out for everybody, so buy it or not, it's up to you.

4.8.2015

With its collection of 30 games and a wealth of behind-the-scenes content, Rare Replay is a great collection that represents excellent value for money. I’ve had my copy for a few days now and feel that I’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s on offer.The collection groups assorted games from Rare’s first in 1985 through to Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, though it is worth noting that Goldeneye and the Donkey Kong games are not included. Games that have previously been released on Xbox 360 appear in their ported form (including any DLC), with backwardly compatible digital copies downloaded to the Xbox One game library (these can also be accessed through Rare Replay but play outside the main environment),while other games are on the disc. Older games play in a 4:3 environment with a themed background to fill the remaining space on screen, while X360 games have no graphical updates as far as I’m aware.The games themselves are lovingly presented in an imitation cinema environment, with ‘posters’ to access the games. As you play through, you complete milestones and receive a stamp for a ticket, with each new level granting you access to more behind-the-scenes content. This is a nice touch, though it is a shame that the content isn’t available from the start. Every game can be played as a stand-alone, but there are also snapshots for some of the older games, each with 5 challenges to complete. Themed playlists – drawn from a number of games and offering grouped missions such as surviving for a certain amount of time or with a limited number of lives etc – also offer a new way of playing these games. This is a great way for new players to get straight in to older titles that are not already familiar.Rare Replay is not without its faults. Some of the older games do not hold up well, and you are often thrown in with little information about what to do (though instructions can be accessed through the Xbox One help menu). Due to the inclusion of digital copies for the Xbox 360 games, it is also a mammoth 50GB to install on the system. I have had a few issues with stability too, with occasional crashes and some of the controls on earlier games not working quite right, either not recognising input or reacting slowly. Hopefully these issues will be patched shortly. The claim of 10,000 gamerscore, while technically true, breaks down as 3,000 in Rare Replay and 7,000 across the Xbox 360 games, so anyone who has played these previously will not be able to doublestack achievements.These are fairly minor issues though, and I cannot recommend the collection highly enough. It is presented with the usual Rare humour throughout, right from the introductory medley with all of the characters ‘singing’ along, to the posters and background themes, it is a wonderful celebration of all that Rare has given to the gaming world.

6.8.2015

I didn't purchase through amazon but rather through digital download and was lucky enough to be able to start playing a few hours earlier than release.so what to say about this. First off as others have noted here, a lot of this will hinge on nostalgia, some of the older games are not that clear in what you need to do to play them, and much to the detriment of call of duty playing 12 year olds everywhere are actually very difficult! (Fans of battletoads can relate)Luckily the collection has added a few nice features, you can add "cheats" for instance , increasing your lives, or energy and can rewind the game if you make a mistake, which is nice in this time of easy quick saves as otherwise the majority of people will not be able to get through these.

31.7.2017

Rare are one of the best developers in the world. Long before their employment by Microsoft, they created one of the best games on the N64 and the SNES. Unfortunately because of the licensing reasons the excellent Donkey Kong Country and Diddy Kong Racing couldn't be included, also arguably one of the best FPS games in the world GoldenEye 007 is missing, which is a shame considering the influence this game had on the FPS genre. Of the 30 games that are included there are a few misses like the early ZX Spectrum games which used to be fun back in the day but now are just outdated, but the nice thing is that they are here to remind us that Rare was such a groundbreaking studio since their early days.

5.1.2016

At first I wrote a 5 star review for this but after playing most of the games I have to give it a 4. Most of the 80's games don't hold up well and are more like mini games with some I just cant stand. Also conker I had never played on my N64 and I don't like it the controls are horrible and the screen is too small for the game I was really looking forward to playing this. Dare I say it but I think Perfect Dark has aged badly as well even though I still love this game because of nostalgia. Its just confusing to me I never new were to go and got really frustrated I actually ended up not completing it because I got lost on the alien level (how do you blow that wall open?)

22.8.2015

I did find this cheaper elsewhere.The collectikn as advertised contains a lot of games, the only noteworthy one missing being the original Goldeneye (because SEGA still owns half of it).A lot of the games are fun to play & most of them run at 60fps (the only one I've seen to benefit really from the enhanced run speed is PDZ.The one thing that lets the game colledtion down is a lack of instructions manuals (especially for the older games) as I have literally no idea what is going on in some of them (ahem Gunfright).This is for the achievement hunters only. The collection boasts 10,000Gs. That is only true if you have not already played any of the titles that were launched on the Xbox 360.

24.10.2015

Not only the greatest gaming bargain of the year but maybe the greatest gaming bargain of all time. Rare is one of the best game developers there ever was and this collection is a celebration of that. With 30 games spanning every generation and almost every genre there is something in this collection for everybody. Rare's humour shines through in almost every game and it really adds a certain charm that you don't get from ANY other developer. Buying this game i was already a huge Banjo-Kazooie fan but a couple months after it's release i am now a fan of many other franchises that i never got to play before including Viva Pinata, Battletoads and Kameo. If somebody in your house has an Xbox One then this game would be a great gift.

26.7.2016

Having spent literally thousands of hours on my ZX Spectrum in my childhood, I've dabbled with emulators and managed to get some of the old original cassettes to work over the years for a trip down nostalgia lane, but this takes away all of the inconvenience of searching for "fixes" and gives you a decent selection of favourites in one easy to negotiate bundle. Jetpac, Atic Atac, Lunar Jetman, KnightLore - In the past few days of ownership of this disc I have only scratched the surface - but these are out and out IDENTICAL ports of the originals - literally indistinguishable from the original Spectrum platform - and they are great! Perhaps simplistic for "youth of today" who've been spoilt with the likes of GTAV and COD etc....

26.9.2015

At the time I spent just over £17 for Rare Replay at release, with a collection of games spanning from the Spectrum, C64, NES, SNES, Arcade, N64, Xbox 360 and more. The price per game worked out to be just over 50p for each game, now that is what I call a bargain. I’ve been gaming for more than 30 years now and games within the collection brought back so much joyous memories and I believe this is not only great for veteran gamer like myself, but also young games wanting a taste of classic history. Yes some games may not hold be quite as you remember them to be, but that’s also part of the joy and most of them play great even in this day and age. Even my 4 year old son loves playing these games!From Battletoads,

6.8.2015

At £20 (brand new) - and featuring 30 of the most iconic games in gaming history - Rare Replay is an essential part of anyone's Xbox collection. While it doesn't contain licensed games commissioned by Nintendo (such as Donkey Kong Country and Diddy Kong Racing) or the Goldeneye game, Rare Replay captures the best games of it's 30 year long history in a wonderfully wrapped package, the access to the games wrapped in a wonderfully creative animated interface worthy of the quality of humour and creativity Rare represents. Alongside these delightful touches, Rare has even taken the effort to include two extra modes including Snapshots - small playlists of challenges from various arcade games which give you points towards leveling up,

6.9.2015

So many 'Classic' and excellent games, for such a little price... What can be said other than 'Buy-It' cos it's Essential ???Shame we have such powerful consoles and these old games are some of the greatest we are able to play on them at present mind. However, then again, many of these represent Gaming in it's truest form and featured Gameplay in abundance that the over-sylised games of present day can only dream about havingThis package is allowing me to finally check out some of the games considered 'Classic' I missed out on, despite owning a N64 back in the day (shame no Diddy Kong Racing!!)Despite some of classic Rare's missing Gems, and, fact that they themselves can only dream about making games as good as Banjo Kazooie,

24.9.2015

As someone who has never played any of Rare Wares games and has recently got an XB1 this collection looked like a great opportunity to check it out. there's some really awesome stuff going as far back as the 80s that hold up really well, of the game ive played the ones I really like arePerfect Dark, A fun sci-fi spy FPS that isnt trying to be super serious/grim like most of today's shooter games, its probably my favourite out them all.BattleToads Arcade, me and my younger brother (who has a low tolerance for older games) Had a blast playing it.Grabbed by the Ghoulies has an interesting control scheme,

23.8.2015

Firstly I did not purchase this game from Amazon but as I do purchase quite a bit on Amazon I thought I would add my view. There are 30 games included in here which present you with something you might remember from years ago and from the moment Rare Replay starts, you see that this is just not some collection of ROMs and emulators. The presentation itself is complete with a great musical number and charming transitions, which lend a good playing sense of location and character to the collection. It’s is full of fantastic extras, ranging from unused music and concept art, to revealing documentaries on the making of classics such as Conker.

Rare Replay (Xbox One) - Reviews

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