After nearly a decade, the bear and bird dream team, Banjo and Kazooie, are back in business on the Xbox 360 with “Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts.”

For those of you unfamiliar with the two, Banjo and Kazooie are characters from the Nintendo 64’s “Banjo Kazooie” video game which first released in 1998. The game is developed by Rare; whose name is synonymous with Donkey Kong, Killer Instinct, and the highly acclaimed 007 Goldeneye. However, rather than play like their N64 counterparts, the game play in “Nuts and Bolts” has been completely redefined.

Rather than play like a typical platform game, “Nuts and Bolts” is vehicle based. You are given pieces, similar to Lego pieces, allowing you to construct any sort of vehicle you can fathom. In most cases, as long as you have an engine and fuel your vehicle will be mobile. As you progress through the game you unlock more and new parts, as well as the ability to purchase new ones. The possibilities with this creative process are endless and you’ll find yourself spending hours putting your genius to work creating blueprints.

Any vehicle you make can be used for any mission. However, it’s about picking the right vehicle for the task at hand. Your missions include having to attack enemies, defend allies, race and even chauffeur people around. Upon completion of a mission you are given a puzzle piece known as a Jiggy. The Jiggies are then deposited into a bank on the world map which unlocks more playable areas and upgrades as they add up.

To be honest, at first I was a little thrown off by the game play. I have been a Banjo Kazooie fan since the first game and I couldn’t wait any longer for a return from the duo. However, my opinion immediately changed after playing it a couple of hours. Sure Rare could have created new characters to apply to this unique game play style to. However, they did a great job transitioning the game play and utilizing the entire cast of the previous Banjo games.

The story pretty much focuses on taking down your rival from the original games, Gruntilda. Following a series of events at the beginning of the game Banjo, Kazooie, and Gruntilda are transported to a video game world created by a robot named Log. Log’s motives are to see the two teams fight it out and claim one as champion. The story doesn’t offer much but it captures the same character emotions as in the previous games.

The graphics in the game are stunning. For the first time ever Banjo and Kazooie are completely rendered and smoother than ever before. The motions are fluid and the loading times are quick.

If you play “Nuts and Bolts” and it’s really not for you, “Banjo Kazooie” and its sequel, “Banjo Tootie,” are available for download from the Xbox Marketplace. Furthermore, you can unlock special parts in “Nuts and Bolts” by playing through the original games.

In any case, I’m really glad I picked up this game. I knew it was only a matter of time till I actually played it. It was inevitable. With a recent price drop to $29.99 you really can’t go wrong.