Many years ago, in a land far, far away, two heroes were born. The forces of evil were planning world domination, but were not prepared for what was about to happen; nothing could stop the pairing of one bird and one bear. The epic story that changed the world forever was born.

Ok, maybe that was a little dramatic, but we can’t deny that the first two Banjo-Kazooie games were a huge success. Yes, we know it wasn’t THAT long ago. In fact, 1998 was the first time we were introduced to the comical pair, when the the Nintendo 64 game was released to rave reviews. Super Mario 64 was the only other game at the time to feature such an interesting way to play.

So then what? Well, Banjo and Kazooie went away, very surprisingly, and we didn’t hear anything from them until now.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts is the third game in the Banjo-Kazooie series. It is hard to believe that two games that were so well-received actually skipped a generation of gaming consoles. Well, if you are a fan of the series, have no fear because Banjo and Kazooie are here for the Xbox 360 and will be hitting stores on November 11th. We went hands-on with the demo to tell you if the first game in eight years picks up where the others left off.

The main thing you will notice when firing up the game is that some of the characters that were featured in the first and second games are back. Mumbo Jumbo is back to help Banjo and Kazooie through their quest, and Gruntilda is stirring up her evil once again.

This quest is a little different than before, though. In past games it has been about Banjo and Kazooie rescuing people. This time it is about proving that the prognosticator L.O.G. or Lord of the Games actually created every game known to man. The game centers around the new “Nuts and Bolts” feature of the game which will allow you to build different carts, cars, tanks, and other vehicles to aid you in your journey.

Mumbo Jumbo starts you off by breaking open a box of the first parts for your newest kart. Mumbo instructs you to join him in the garage to build it. The game allows you to view the different parts and see what abilities they posses. While this is kind of fun to begin with, and the demo only gives you limited abilities with what you can build, it may become a little monotonous after a while. The game does provide quick selection blueprints, which are pre-rendered cars to use depending on your needs.

After L.O.G. explains how to open the doors to the game worlds, you take your cart to the center of Showdown Town and the number of jiggy pieces appear above each world’s door telling you how many you need to open them. Many of you will recognize “jiggies,” which are the same pieces from the first game that you collect to aid you along your way and unlock new areas.

The worlds consist of different minigames that will allow you to obtain jiggies for what you complete. The games consist of things like defending a giant metal whale’s eyes while little laser bots attack them. Others want you to race against others in their carts, or even beat a time that someone else owns the record to.