"Conker" the videogames

About 4 years ago towards the end of the brief Nintendo64 era, "Conker's Bad Fur Day" was released, and according to some it was the best game on the system (and even the best on any videogame console at the time!). During the development stage of the game the entire concept of the game was changed. Initially it was going to be called "Twelve Tales: Conker 64" and was going to be just another platform game intended for younger gamers. But the final product is the complete opposite, it is a game intended for mature audiences. It features "violence, profanity, drug use and sexual content that is inappropriate for gamers under the age of 18".



The game's appeal also lies in its wicked humor and numerous parodies of popular movies including Saving Private Ryan, Alien, The Matrix and Dracula. For those who own an XBox an updated version of the single player game is available, (named "Conker: Live and Reloaded) This updated version has alot more focus on multiplayer eg: XBox Live. Indeed multiplayer was also a big part of the original game and the 'multiplayer experience' was considered to be up there with "Goldeneye".

The Xbox version has vastly superior graphics and sound due to the superior technology. Although considering the specifications of the N64 the original looks and sounds suprisingly good. Apart from the obvious hardware differences, the only major change to the single player game that I am aware of is the the updated movie reference to Van Helsing as apposed to the parody of Dracula. In conclusion "Conker's Bad Fur Day" is a self reflexive videogame in the way that it borrows and pokes fun at ideas in other platform games and of course popular films of the time.

For those with an XBox I highly recommend you check it out, or for those of you who are into videogame emulation the N64 version is also available to download.

For a review of N64 version (Conker's Bad Fur day) http://ign64.ign.com/articles/163/163960p1.html

or XBox version (Conker Live and Reloaded)
http://xbox.ign.com/objects/490/490304.html