Conker Live & Reloaded

Conker Live & Reloaded
Platform - XBox
3 Save Slots
1 player / Multiplayer

Conker L&R is a remake of the N64 game, Conker's Bad Fur Day. I confess that I've never had the opportunity to try it. But that's exactly the reason I picked up Live & Reloaded. A remake with a total graphic overhaul? Sign me up. What I didn't count on was getting a game completely different from what I was expecting. But sometimes that's not a bad thing at all.

I've always thought Conker was a third person shooter. I've seen clips of Conker here and there with references to The Matrix and Saving Private Ryan. Little did I know that these scenes are at the very end of the game, and that for the other 90% of the time, Conker is a 3D platformer. The way it controls reminds me of Rayman 2. Both have loose control. Both have a helicopter-glide move that extends jumping distance. And both have clunky combat. Your main weapon is a bat. If you time your attacks, you can perform a combo to defeat enemies in fewer hits.

By far, most of what you'll be doing is jumping and gliding over a large expansive world. As you progress, you'll be able to go further and deeper into the areas. The thing that impressed me the most is that Conker consists of a series of puzzles. Everything from how to proceed to how to defeat bosses requires some brain-work. I first noticed this on the initial boss fight with an angry bull. There were healing items all over, and even when consumed, they would reappear after a little while. It finally dawned on me that this wasn't a game to be conquered by outlasting the boss, but rather by discovering the opponent's weakness. All bosses seem impenetrable, but as you try different things, the game will alert you when you're getting warm. So the game gives you a few clues, but stops short of holding your hand. It's a nice change of pace and many of the boss battles are quite clever.

One of the most talked about things about Conker is its humor. There's a lot of cursing in the game, mostly bleeped out, and there's a lot of wrongness too. I can't think of any other games where you push a ball of feces which grows bigger as you roll it over the diarrhea-covered ground in hi-res glory. I also appreciate its neverending list of film references. They're really just icing on the cake.

Conker is one of the most original games I've played in a long while. I had a blast going through the game and its variety of playing styles. You'll sneak, jump, push, whack, fly, shoot, pilot, and swim your way through the stages - and what pretty locales they are. The effects and graphical power of the Xbox really make the graphical update worth it. It's one of the nicest looking games on the system. But what I enjoyed most of all really are the puzzles. Some of them are quite a challenge. Once solved, they're rewarding. There's something about having it click that gives you a feeling of accomplishment. Funny how perceptions of what a game is like can be so wrong. This time though, I've been pleasantly surprised.