Conker: Live, Reloaded, Gold

When was the last time you saw a cute cartoon squirrel swear like a sailor and drink like a fish? For owners of the Nintendo 64, chances are it was in 2001, when Rare released Conker's Bad Fur Day.

The lead character, Conker, was an adorably fuzzy squirrel that could easily pass for a Saturday morning cartoon. That is, until he opened his mouth, at which point four-letter words and alcohol-fueled vomit spewed forth. Unlike today's games, which earn Mature rating through beating up hookers, stealing cars, and filling enemies full of lead, Conker's Bad Fur Day earned its M rating the hard way--bosses made out of feces, psychedelic-drug references, and rodents engaged in lewd acts--all under the guise of another family-friendly Nintendo hit.

After developing some of the most popular games for Nintendo, including Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong Country, and GoldenEye 007, UK developer Rare was eventually purchased by Microsoft in 2002. The company was scheduled to release Kameo: Elements of Power as its first Xbox game, but that honor eventually went to Grabbed by the Ghoulies, and Kameo is now being developed as an Xbox 360 game.

Meanwhile, Rare decided to remake Conker's BFD, as Conker: Live and Reloaded, for its new owners and its console. The game was originally scheduled for release in 2004, but it was pushed back to 2005. Today, Rare revealed that Conker: Live and Reloaded has gone gold and will be available on June 21.

The new version will include a redesigned Xbox edition of Conker's Bad Fur Day as well as an all-new multiplayer mode through Xbox Live. The multiplayer mode features various classes of squirrels, each with different strengths and weaknesses, manning vehicles, carrying some heavy firepower, and reducing each other to a smoking pelt of sizzling fur.

In addition to Kameo, Rare is hard at work on the Xbox 360 game Perfect Dark Zero, a sequel to its well-received N64 title, Perfect Dark.

Conker: Live and Reloaded is rated M for Mature and will retail for $49.99. For more information on the game, head over to GameSpot's brand-new Hands-On Impressions, or read the full review of the 2001 original.