For those who missed it the first time around, Conker’s quest is a funny, disturbing jaunt that will not only have you busting a gut, but also enjoying one of the best Xbox platformers in a long time.

Those of us who fondly remember the glory days of the Nintendo 64, Conker’s Bad Fur Day may be recalled as a glorious final swan song for the system. Basically thumbing their nose at all the critics who claimed that the N64 was nothing more than a kiddie system, Rare developed a game that not only featured some very risqué elements and adult humor, but also presented a very scathing satire of the adventure/platformer genre in general, wearing away at the tired clichés that had become so prevalent, especially on Nintendo’s system. Nothing was sacred in Conker’s Bad Fur Day, not even Rare or Nintendo themselves.

The game could’ve been the death knell of a tired genre, the platformer to end all platformers, but the steep price tag (it retailed at about 70 bucks) and the fact that the N64 was on its way out anyway prevented it from being the runaway smash that it should’ve been. However, gamers are currently getting a second chance, as Rare has redeveloped the game for the Microsoft Xbox. Luckily for us, Conker’s gameplay and bawdy humor stands the test of time, and the new graphics engine is incredible, easily some of the best seen on a console. If you are new to Conker, then get ready for a fun and hilarious game that will keep you glued until the end.

Conker starts out very innocuously … wait, no, it doesn’t. You are in a bar, drinking late with your buddies, when you eventually decide to make an attempt to stumble your way home. You don’t make it, of course, and you wake up in a field with a raging hangover. Thus begins your day, as you try to get home and run into a bunch of obstacles along the way, like an evil tiger king trying to capture you for his busted table leg and so on.

Conker: Live and Reloaded plays almost exactly like its N64 predecessor, with a few changes here and there. You have a few new weapons to complement your frying pan, like a baseball bat with nails pounded into it. The game also controls a lot better than the N64 version, with a new targeting system that takes advantage of strafing and feels very comfortable on the Xbox controller. Aside from some minor tweaks in the stages and some of the enemies, Conker: Live and Reloaded is very much the same game, at least as far as single-player is concerned.

The real changes come in the form of the multiplayer gameplay, which splits you into two different sides, the Tediz (a Nazi-esque group of militant teddy bears) or the SHC, which are the Allied squirrels. After you select your crew, you then can choose a certain kind of specialization, a la Team Fortress. You can choose from classes like a demolitions expert, a stealth specialist, a common grunt and so on. You also have a few different vehicles that you can drive throughout the course, helping you get from point A to point B a lot easier, taking out all enemies in between. The controls are pretty basic for this type of multiplayer experience, although they do take some getting used to since they are a departure from the single-player controls. 

The graphics are also pretty incredible, with meticulously detailed character models and great, fully realized environments. The camera problems that plagued the original game are all but gone, and the animation and art design is fantastic.

The sound effects are also great. Most of the voice work has been carried over from the N64 game, although this time around, the dialogue is crisp and clear and doesn’t sound compressed at all. The script is snappy and hilarious, having me nearly in tears at points. The music is also very good, although a little par for the course when it comes to platforming games.

Conker: Live and Reloaded takes a great game that slipped under the radar for many gamers and makes it readily available, now with some great improvements and new multiplayer modes. If you missed out on Conker’s Bad Fur Day, then this is the version you need to get.

Gameplay: 8.5
The single-player game (aside from some tweaks here and there) is pretty much the same game that you may’ve played some four or five years ago. However, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hold up very well. While the game lasts only about ten hours, it’s an engaging platforming adventure with a great story that should keep you engaged until the end.

Graphics: 9.8
Conker: Live and Reloaded has some amazing graphics, with brilliantly detailed characters (advanced fur mapping allows for each tuft of hair to show up), and bright and colorful environments. Even the camera quirks from the original have been cleaned up. Overall, Conker is a gem on the Xbox, and one of the best looking games to hit a home system.

Sound: 9.5
Even though much of the recorded dialogue has been recycled from the sessions from the N64 version (albeit with much better quality), the game has excellent sound, with great voice acting and a clever and funny script. The music is typical for a platformer, and not out of place (even considering that Conker’s theme is somewhat, er, different).

Difficulty:  Medium

Concept: 9.0 
Sure, it’s a remake, but Conker: Live and Reloaded has a bevy of awesome online additions that make this a game for all Xbox Live gamers to check out.                                                                                                                             

Multiplayer: 9.5
Conker’s multiplayer is a blast. There’s everything here that you could want, a variety of different stages, tons of bots, several different modes, and online and offline play.

Overall: 9.0
Conker: Live and Reloaded is a classic game made even better for the Xbox audience. The new multiplayer features are great and the updated graphics are amazing. If you missed out on Conker’s Bad Fur Day the first time around (and there are many of you out there) then you owe it to yourself to play this game.