Let's talk about Conker

I just played (and finished) Conker for the first time through the Rare Replay. And I have to say I was pretty let down. Beyond the excellent and varied characters, scenery, and pop culture references, I found the gameplay and story very dull. For every smile or laugh I had, there were probably 5 times as many sighs. So much wandering around a room trying to figure out what to do or where to go, or dying over and over again in a boss fight or tough scenario (escaping the beach ughhhhhhhhhhhh) until I figured it out or got lucky.

Frame rate was all over the place, camera very shaky that caused many deaths/plummets. Controls did not feel very good. And the story made absolute zero sense, and I guess that's the point. But why did the main villan and the girlfriend we were supposed to rescue end up playing basically no part in the entire game? Really would have liked to see more of them.

And yes I know the game came out in 2001, but explain why Banjo Kazooie and Mario 64 had better controls and camera.

This is all my opinion, I'd love to hear yours

I adore the game myself.

The level design does leave a lot to be desired, but I thought the game controlled fairly well in terms of movement. The context sensitive button prompts were also very creative.

It's just one of those games that don't hold up. It was awesome when it first came out, although I always preferred Banjo Kazooie.

Your reaction is exactly the reaction I would expect from a Conker-newcomer.

I feel like a lot of those 3D N64 games have that same problem. They feel really outdated compared to (even older) SNES games, for example. 2D games are just more timeless than 3D games, they live longer. A Link to the Past still feels like I remembered it.

@warriors30: not necessarily. I can name a few 3D games from the 90s that have held up very well. Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, Final Fantasy 9, Chrono Cross, and even the original Metal Gear Solid. That's just a few.

@mastermetal777: Yeah, these are all classics. Personally, I think Super Mario 64 feels like GARBAGE now, but that's just me. I agree about the other games. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are still awesome, and Final Fantasy 9 is my favorite FF of all time.

Conker is fantastic, though it does have its issues. Why Microsoft didn't include the xbox version instead of the N64 version is baffling to me. If you are interested in knowing more about the development cycle that led to some of the design choices, the Rare developers responsible for it recently made a commentary of the game, touching on many things including what they ironically describe as "groundbreakilgly trivial plot" and "that bloody Teddy Island level", along with some insider tales of Rare company politics and some reflections on where gaming has gone since then. It's hilarious to listen to and very informative, and I think any Conker fan owes to himself to watch it (disclaimer: contains foul language and heavy drinking).