Those who didn't play the original will love to play this game, and those who played the original wouldn't go without it
Most reviews take games and compare them directly to another previous title, and if the game isn't up to the other games standards, then the game gets the slashes in the Scoring department, and isn't graded on just the game by itself. I will be comparing the game to its original, BFD, but Scoring will be from CLR by itself.
Conker: Live and Reloaded is a game in which by itself is one of the few titles that I can honestly say should have been in everyone's favorite games stack. But due to certain retailers refusing to sell the game, sales fell well below expectation and it is only a few that know the games hilarious antics and brilliant game play. Live and Reloaded will make your sides split and grab your attention from the beginning to the end, and Movie Buffs will love the parodies in the game. Those who did not play the predecessor Conker's Bad Fur Day will love to play this game, and those who Played the original wouldn't go without it.
For those new to the game are probably wondering, what type of game is this? Well my friend, your in for a real treat, for this game is unlike any other (well... besides the original). Remember the style of game play that Banjo and Mario 64 brought back in the 90's? well take that, and to those who've played Gears of War's 3rd person shooter style of game play, and add that in there as well. Then take all of the things that you were thought not to do or say in public and throw that in there as well. Throw in some cables and broadband internet while your at it, and maybe a gamer tag or 2. Then Mix them together really well and bake them at 425 degrees, you get Conker: Live and Reloaded. Now you would say.. man, that recipe sounds disgusting, how would any of those ingredients go together? Well, stay along for the ride and you'll find out.
Rare somehow can make things that don't sound pleasing to be.. well... pleasing. Conker, the little squirrel fella whom you control throughout the whole game, essentially is a materialistic, alcohol loving Red squirrel who wears a zip up hoodie and shoes, and more recently shorts. The game starts out with a parody of a clockwork orange, with Conker in the Kings Throne drinking some milk, and explaining that he is king and how he will tell of how his events took place. Then, after a night of heavy drinking, Conker stumbles off into an unknown land and has to find his way back home... which he never really does, and ends up meeting some of the wackiest characters I've ever seen people put into a video game. But don't worry they're quite funny. While Conker finds himself stumbling into large ugly bee queens and talking scarecrows, the Panther King is spilling his milk and asking for a replacement leg, which The Professor tells him needs to be a Red Squirrel.
While the Plot makes no logical sense what so ever, there's no need. What? did you expect a game featuring an alcoholic squirrel that chases after cigar smoking 11 dollar bills to have a plot that is like everyday life? Well if you did, I'm left to wonder whether you are seeing alcoholic squirrels that chase after cigar smoking 11 dollar bills during everyday life. The game doesn't need to make sense, because that all goes away after you start to play the game. You suddenly find yourself lost in laughs, grins and happiness as you whack things with bats, throw toilet paper at a talking poo monster, and accidentally electrocute a fellow SHC POW.
The games graphics have been totally revamped, looking in some parts nearly as good as some of the early 360 titles. Conker's fur is flowing, textures on metal are nice, and fluid dynamics are quite good. Only downside is its lacking in 16:9 aspect ratio, which almost no games during this era had that anyway, so its not much of a downside at all. Sound quality has improved, mostly from taking off a lot of the reverb in the last game's dialog, and most of the voice acting is the same. Frame rate is significantly improved in this one, and you on very rare occasions get a rate drop. But overall its much better than the first in overall terms of Smoothness. Like the last, its easily one of the best games graphically for its Console.
Game play you ask? well there's plenty of that to talk about. If you've ever played a Platformer before, you know it involves jumping, and lots of it. Jumping and floating to get from place to place is the way you get around in this game. Controls of the game have improved over the last one, although some parts of the game the camera angles make things more difficult than the previous game, while in others the camera angles make things easier in this one. The largest improvement is mostly due to the xbox/360 Controller Scheme, which makes adjusting the camera much quicker than the N64's camera adjustments. The Game is full of "Context Sensitive" pads in which you press B in order do most of the things in the game. The game lacks in basic combat, as three hit combos seem to get boring after a while and you soon find yourself avoiding enemies totally by flying or jumping around them. Camera in the first seemed to be better floating in the N64 version, while this one enables easier control.
Game play quickly changes in this one when you get to the War and Spooky chapters, parodying Saving Private Ryan and Van Helsing/Dracula respectively. The game turns into a 3rd person shooter, filled with zombie shooting, shotguns, SMG's and Tediz ( a Teddy bear parody of a Nazi) slaughtering (who knew that the enemy would be so adorable?). Killing the Tediz gets slightly tiring, but that won't stop you from loving the game. The downside to the 3rd person shooter style is camera angle and lack of increasing the sensitivity on the x/y axis. Turning corners means turning and strafing to the side. Enemies are predictable, but still, you enjoy it a lot.
Multiplayer is quite good, both online and offline, and features a totally new style of game play. Sorry fans of the original, but you won't find any of the old multiplayer variations on this one. But you won't be disappointed at the multiplayer aspect of this one. You get to choose whether you want to be SHC or Tediz, as well as 6 classes to choose from. Also included is a mini story called Chapter X, which tells a back story of the battle between the SHC and Tediz, with the leader Von Kripplespac (aka The Professor in the Single Player). Online, the game is great. Yes, there are many glitches, but one can't get over the fun you can have shooting someone's head off. As of today in 2009, People still play the game online, and anywhere between 2-6 games can be seen on optimatch, with at least one featuring at least 12 people. Sorry folks, an open NAT is pretty much required, so if you suffer from bad ISP or low quality Router Syndrome, you might have to play at other friends' houses to get your fix. When you first play, it takes sometime to get used to, but after a while it gets easier. Great thing about it is its use of bots (up to 15) offline, and you easily know when you've killed you enemy, as your amount of CP (career points) gained pops up on the screen.
Sorry to tell ya, but the game has been censored more than the last, but that doesn't stop it from being funny. The most bothering part is the Great Might Poo's song, where instead of bleeps are farting noises, contrary to how funny it sounds to tell about it, its much less funny. In fact I didn't laugh at that part, simple bleeps could have been fine. Some hardcore fans will get nit-picky about parts in the game, such as simply the removal of the eel part in the War chapter, or the absence of the Frying pan in the Platformer part.
Nonetheless, the game wins my vote hands down as a game that should be in every gamers favorite games pile, along with the original. I won't go out on a limb to say it beats the N64 game, especially since the original was so different and innovative for its time (and very shocking), but it definitely can hang with it. If you can find a copy, this is a must have for all gamers, you won't be disappointed.
Final Score: 9.2/10