Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64) and Conker: Live and Reloaded (Xbox)
Posted: July 22nd, 2017, 11:58 pm
I remember the hype for Conker's Bad Fur Day back in the early 2000's, and it definitely sucked me in. I was maturing as a gamer and the promise of an adult-themed platforming game was too much to resist. And for those that don't recall, Nintendo was very big on its "family friendly" image in those days (even bigger than now), so the fact that Conker was appearing on the N64 was a very big deal. Compelled by the hype and great reviews, I bought the game as soon as I could after it came out in 2001, and played it straight through to completion. ... Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed by the game. It's not remotely adult-themed... "juvenile themed" is more like it. It got a laugh out of me in a few spots, but it's humor is mostly annoying things that a 12 year old would think are "adult". Still, it manages to have a good personality to the game, in spite of itself. How about the gameplay? Well, it's a below average 3D platformer with bad combat, boring gameplay, and a bunch of fetchquests. The Matrix level toward the end was amazing, though, and it's still one of my most memorable experiences on the N64 ... I'd ramble on further about the game, but I just read the Critic's review and it's dead-on with my opinion, so I'd say just read that. Conker has some uniqueness because of the concept, but overall as a game I can't recommend it.
Then came Conker: Live and Reloaded for the original Xbox. Fool that I am, I thought it was a sequel to Conker's Bad Fur Day, and I was hoping that it retained the adult concept while shoring up the gameplay. So I forked over the $30 that it sells for...only to learn, nope, it's just a remake of the N64 game. And it has a competitive multiplayer component tacked on. Well, I finally popped it in my Xbox tonight. First, I tried one round of the multiplayer, which seemed to be some sort of 8-on-8 team deathmatch, and I played against bots. It seemed ok, but tough to tell without human opponents. Next up, I tried the remake of the single player game. The graphics are definitely improved over the N64, and the dual analog sticks helps the camera and controls a lot. But overall, it's the same old boring gameplay and "edgy" juvenile humor. I played an hour of that, but I won't be playing it again. Conker, you've let me down again...
I think Conker is worthy of a C- or D+. Really overrated in my book, and the game's personality is its only saving grace. For those that insist they want to play it, the Xbox remake probably is superior to the N64 original, and it's half the price. The game is also on Rare Replay for Xbox One.
Then came Conker: Live and Reloaded for the original Xbox. Fool that I am, I thought it was a sequel to Conker's Bad Fur Day, and I was hoping that it retained the adult concept while shoring up the gameplay. So I forked over the $30 that it sells for...only to learn, nope, it's just a remake of the N64 game. And it has a competitive multiplayer component tacked on. Well, I finally popped it in my Xbox tonight. First, I tried one round of the multiplayer, which seemed to be some sort of 8-on-8 team deathmatch, and I played against bots. It seemed ok, but tough to tell without human opponents. Next up, I tried the remake of the single player game. The graphics are definitely improved over the N64, and the dual analog sticks helps the camera and controls a lot. But overall, it's the same old boring gameplay and "edgy" juvenile humor. I played an hour of that, but I won't be playing it again. Conker, you've let me down again...
I think Conker is worthy of a C- or D+. Really overrated in my book, and the game's personality is its only saving grace. For those that insist they want to play it, the Xbox remake probably is superior to the N64 original, and it's half the price. The game is also on Rare Replay for Xbox One.