|
Microsoft’s last entry to the Xbox lineup is an impressive one. Conker: Live and Reloaded is a remake of 2001’s Conker Bad Fur Day for the Nintendo 64. That game, one of the console’s last, was one of the best. Now that Rare is officially part of Microsoft Game Studios, the company has brought over their quirky game to the Xbox. It isn’t a port, though; it is the complete single-player game sporting some of the best graphics the Xbox has to show and a completely new multiplayer mode.
The game stars Conker the Squirrel, a character that is certainly no role model for anyone. He gets incredibly drunk, gets lost on his way home, and has an adventure for the ages. The game throws Conker in a number of bizarre situations including a confrontation with Great Mightypoo (think about that for a bit). The story is unusual and quirky, taking a few jabs at popular movies of the time like The Matrix and Saving Private Ryan. Of course, these moments while still humorous, are no longer as “laugh out loud” funny as they were a few years ago.
The gameplay is as solid as ever, though. Most of the game is the standard platforming fare. In between all the unusual situations, Conker spends his time collecting items, exploring the numerous environments, taking on a puzzle here and there, and showing off his fighting skills against some enemies. After a bit, Conker turns into a third-person shooter. In this day, a platformer mixed with third-person shooting bits isn’t anything new, thanks in large part to the Ratchet and Clank series but back on the Nintendo 64 this was unheard of. Conker’s shooting bits were the most fun then and remain that way now. It isn’t particularly challenging as you’ll simply shoot enemies away (including some Nazi-oriented teddy bears called Tediz) but the action is quick and hectic.
That said, there are still a few nitpicks with the game. The camera is a bit annoying and doesn’t always give you a good enough view of the action. There are some maneuvering problems with Conker but these are minor. The most annoying aspect of the game is the lack of details regarding your goals. Some of them are easy, but others are incredibly discreet. You’ll spend a good deal of time just figuring out what it is you need to do. Rare hasn’t tinkered with the single player mode a whole lot. There are a few changes in the game design that got rid of some frustrating levels, but for the most part this is the same game it has always been.
As mentioned above, the game has a fully-featured online multiplayer component. There are two sides: the SHC (basically the good squirrels) or the mean Tediz. There are character classes within each group including snipers, big bazooka-carrying guys, a stealth character, and some others. Each class has some weapon upgrades to make them more powerful, as well. The game includes a number of vehicles like tanks and aircrafts to make things a bit more interesting. The vehicles don’t handle extremely well – there is a learning curve involved – but handle well enough. There are a number of maps in the game although none are too interesting. They do, however, give you a decent sized location in which to battle it out. The actual multiplayer gameplay is usually based on getting some checkpoints or capture-the-flag, but works well.
Aside from Live, the game includes a repertoire of multiplayer modes. You can use system link to play offline, or even play two-player split-screen multiplayer with bots. Additionally, the multiplayer levels can be assessed via single player with bots taking place of the human characters.
The game’s visuals have benefited the most from the Nintendo 64 to Xbox translation. Rare has created the best looking game on Microsoft’s console, which is saying something given all the great looking games available. The enemies are incredibly detailed and animate wonderfully. The environments are charming and again, carry a great deal of detail. However, taking one look at Conker’s character model is reason enough to wow you. He animates so well, and his fur looks amazing. The game is a visual stunner. The multiplayer portion doesn’t have quite the same graphical fidelity but you won’t be able to notice with all the explosions going off. Best of all, the framerate stays constant during all of the game.
The game’s audio is excellent, as well. The music is quite catchy and fits the game perfectly. The sound effects are equally fitting and sound great. The voice acting is top-notch with each character’s personality shining through. The dialogue is quite humorous as I mentioned above.
Conker: Live and Reloaded is a great game. The graphics are almost unbelievably good, and it certainly sets the bar very high for next-generation games. The multiplayer component has somewhat of a learning curve but is fun once you get the hang of it. The single player portion holds up rather well for its age, but is ultimately the weakest link. Thankfully, even the weakest link is great. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Jul 5, 2005
|
