[frenchie14]

Rare was acquired in 2002 and their list of games since doesn't look like shovelware to me [1]. Yeah, there's some misses, but there's also some great games in there. The worst ones are the ones tied to Kinect and MS has abandoned that venture.

Also, MS acquisitions from the last 5 years have released standout games: Psychonauts 2 and Forza Horizon 5 are two that I played and loved and are certainly not "shovelware"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_developed_...

[z3c0]

Maybe it's not shovelware, but there's a pretty stark difference in the caliber of games that Rare released after their acquisition.

This is the company that made Donkey Kong Country, Banjo & Kazooie, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Conker, etc, so anything short of iconic is a step down.

However, I'll add that Viva Piñata is an oft overlooked gem.

[frenchie14]

That's a pretty reasonable assessment.

Honestly, I wonder how much of this has to do with how much things have changed in the last 25 years. Games have gotten so much more complex and shifted their focus to multiplayer. It feels like it's no longer possible for a single developer to have so much impact. Rare developed multiple iconic games _per year_! Nowadays, developers can barely release one game every few years.

[indigodaddy]

It’s Wizards and Warriors for me.. loved that game.

[awill]

>>Rare was acquired in 2002 and their list of games since doesn't look like shovelware to me

I don't know.... Honestly Rare was just as good if not better than Nintendo themselves. And that's a nearly impossible feat.

The n64 did as well as it did because of Rare. GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Banjo, Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Jet Force Gemini etc.. post-acquisition, Rare didn't made the same sort of games. So maybe they found new fans, but the old fans hated it. Myself included.

[sylens]

There was a run of excellence on the N64 (Goldeneye, Banjo Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing, Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark) but Banjo Tooie and Donkey Kong 64, in retrospect, are very bloated games. As a kid, I loved them because there was more content for my money, but I can't imagine replaying them now.

[xtracto]

Shit I'm old. To me Rare were definitely one of the best game studios for NES and SNES: R.C. Pro-Am, NARC, Battletoads, Killer Instinct, Donkey Kong Country. I got into University when the N64 came out, so I did not play it .