Conker's world has been reborn on the XBOX console with some stunning results.
The story hasn't changed, seeing as this is a remake and all that. Conker, a red squirrel, was hanging out with his friends one night and calls his girlfriend to let her know. After a few rounds of drinks, he heads home. He reads the signs wrong, however, and heads off in the wrong direction. When he wakes up, he's in an unfamiliar place and feels awful, yet he heads out to find his way home. Meanwhile, the evil Panther King is trying to enjoy his glass of milk in his castle. When sets his glass on the table, the table leans down and the glass slides off. His scientist finds that his table is missing a leg and they must fill that gap with a red squirrel.
The story is incredibly stupid and the events that take place are incredibly stupid, but that's the point. It was meant to be fun rather than be a deep experience and it is fun. It'll have you laughing at the trouble Conker finds himself in and, while the plot is not a deep focus, you'll be engaged until the end. This game was released five years after the original and, from a story standpoint, it has aged well.
There is also a "story" in the multiplayer. It's basically just the Squirrels versus the Tediz and it's not deep at all. It was just meant for some substance behind the seemingly random multiplayer battles.
The gameplay is mostly the same as well, though there are a few changes. You still run and jump around as you did on the Nintendo 64. The platforming still feels great, though there are some issues that can get on your nerves and even kill you. You might slide off a platform easier than you should and there are some sections of the game that are poorly designed. There is one section of the game that has you running up a slim path and at certain points, a worm monster pops out and throws you off. This forces you to slowly walk up and can really irritate.
One difference between the two versions is the fact that the Xbox version has normal enemies. Your frying pan has been replaced with a baseball bat and you control differently when you have it equipped. The normal enemies are in the original N64 version but they are enemies that are defeated by special means there, here they are defeated by doing a specific 3-hit combo. This combo can be sort of annoying to pull off due to the specific timing.
Another part of the gameplay are the context sensitive actions. You'll see these B button pads around the world and pressing B on them causes Conker to perform different actions, what action you perform depends on the situation. These are the main ways Conker interacts with the world and they are used to solve puzzles. They are entertaining, especially since Conker is self aware about how they always give him what he needs at that time. They are simple and always do the same thing, but they serve their purpose.
The final aspect of gameplay is the multiplayer. The multiplayer has changed drastically from the N64 version which is a HUGE disappointment. That said, the multiplayer is still fun. There are still two teams, the Squirrels and the Tediz. Unlike the N64 version, which has multiple gameplay modes, this game has multiple stages that have different objectives. The basic gameplay in multiplayer plays a lot like the gunplay scenes in the story mode. It controls like a basic 3rd-person shooter just with control issues. The basic controls are messed and I changed them as soon as I could. After I did that, the controls were easier to get the hang of, but it's still confusing.
There are different classes in multiplayer, each with different special abilities and weapons. Each class if more suited to different objectives and some are better at combat than others. I found myself sticking to only two of the classes, but all are effective when used properly. Each class can upgrade once by collecting these power-ups on the map. Overall, the story mode mostly holds up and the new multiplayer is fun when you get the hang of it.
The music is still the fantastic work it was back then, but with the addition of the new multiplayer score, it's even better. The voice work is still the same for the most part, new lines had to be recorded for the Xbox's button scheme and the voices for the multiplayer portion are all new and it all remains great. The voice track is more censored than in the N64 for some reason. Even still, the audio for this game is Rare levels of fantastic.
The visuals of the N64 version were nothing short of the best seen in that generation. The visuals here are again, nothing short of the best seen in this generation, for the most part. Conker's character model looks fantastic, as do most of the environments. If anyone was ever to do an improved remake, this is one to look to on the visual side. Some issues remain, however, the normal Squirrel soldiers got a redesign and their story voice doesn't suit their new look whatsoever. The facial animations haven't been improved at all, though they still look great, and some environments and models got more attention than others, mainly Windy. Windy is the "main hub" for the game and it looks stunning, but places later into the game look way worse and it's easily noticeable.
Another strange thing that has changed is the level of violence. The original was incredibly violent, but here the violence has been toned down considerably. In the original, you blow people to bits, cut them up and blow their heads off. In this version, all you can do is blow them into blood and blow their entire head off. No idea why it's toned down but it's still disappointing. Overall, this is how a remake should look and very few games can stand up to this game from the sixth generation.
PROs:
- Story is silly and fun
- Platforming still works great
- Controls transferred over well
- Gunplay is better
- New multiplayer is still fun
- Music is still amazing
- Great voice work
- New visuals look stunning
CONs:
- Gameplay is still really simple
- Visuals get worse as the game goes on
- New multiplayer isn't as fun as original
- Game is more censored
- Violence has been toned down extremely
Overall, if you're a fan of Conker's Bad Fur Day or haven't played it before, this is a game to check out. It's a funny platformer with some 3rd-person shooting. It still holds up well from it's original Nintendo 64 version and the new visuals are amazing, even if they are inconsistent throughout the entire game. The music is fantastic and so is the voice work. If you have any interest in a game that's outside the norm, then buy this game. Support Rare's actual games and not what they have become.
Story: 9.0/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Audio: 9.5/10
Presentation: 9.5/10