Conker: Live & Reloaded

Conker: Live & Reloaded is a platform video game developed by Rare and exclusively released for the Xbox in June 2005. The single-player mode is a remake of the 2001 game Conker's Bad Fur Day for the Nintendo 64. However, it includes a new multiplayer mode that is different from the Nintendo 64 version using Xbox Live. Development started the moment the studio was bought by Microsoft in 2002.[1] On April 17, 2018, Live & Reloaded was made backwards-compatible with the Xbox One. It was also added onto the Microsoft Store as a digital copy.

Conker: Live & Reloaded
Developer(s)Rare
Publisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)Chris Seavor
Programmer(s)Chris Marlow
Artist(s)Stephen McFarlane
Louise Ridgeway
Composer(s)Robin Beanland
SeriesConker
Platform(s)Xbox
Release
  • NA: 21 June 2005
  • EU: 24 June 2005
  • JP: 30 June 2005
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Multiplayer and gameplay

The Multiplayer in Live & Reloaded uses the same third-person perspective as the single-player game. Multiplayer consists of different game modes such as Capture the Flag or the standard Deathmatch modes. The player may participate as a member of the SHC or the Tediz. As well as a choice of a soldier, the game has a choice of "classes" which significantly affect play style.[2]

Each class has its own special equipment, special abilities, and physical capabilities, each being designed for a distinct purpose. They are also designed to have advantages against certain classes while being vulnerable to others. For example, the Thermophile's flamethrower inflicts extreme damage on Sneekers and Long Rangers, who have less health, but is virtually useless against the high-vitality Demolisher. Each class comes equipped with a primary weapon with unlimited ammunition (although reloading of the weapon is still required), a limited stock of grenades, and at least one special ability. Each class can also choose from several specialist ordnance items and vehicles unique to the class, which can be obtained at stations in team bases (however, an option is available to the host of a server to disable one or both features). Abilities common to all classes are the ability to shoulder all weapons for extra running speed, and a Spray Can that can be used to apply the player's avatar image to walls to mock human opponents. Scattered throughout the arenas are yellow Upgrade Orbs, which grant a player more equipment and abilities when obtained. A player loses his upgrade orb upon death, allowing another player to obtain it.

Terminals are found in every mission, usually near a base. Terminals are computers that dispense useful items or vehicles, and can be accessed by a player during the game. When accessed, the player is given a menu of the available items. When an item is chosen it can be picked up at an adjacent dispenser area. The objects received from the terminals disappear upon the death of the player that obtained them. Terminals may be neutral and available to both sides, or under the control of one side. Terminals can be attacked and disabled, but not destroyed. If damaged or disabled, they can be repaired with an arc weld, issued to the Demolisher and Sky Jockey classes. Neutral or enemy-controlled terminals can be hacked with a Sneeker's hacking device. There are two types of terminals: Specialist Ordinance terminals, and Mobile Units terminals.

Censorship

The game was originally titled Conker: Live and Uncut and was to feature a completely uncensored single-player experience. At some point during the development of the game, this was changed and the game was released with some censorship.[3] The censorship included that of some obscenities which were present in the original N64 version. This drew criticism from fans of the original, especially as it detracted from comedic highlights such as the "Great Mighty Poo" song in the Sloprano chapter. This song was also censored on the soundtrack, and Rare once had the uncensored Xbox version of the song on their website.

Like the original, the game was rated M by the ESRB and carried warnings about its content as well as Rare's promotional spoof warnings that advertised the fact that the content of the game was explicitly 'adult'.

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic78/100[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge8/10[5]
EGM6.67/10[6]
Eurogamer4/10[7]
Famitsu28/40[8]
Game Informer8/10[9]
GameRevolutionB[10]
GameSpot8.3/10[11]
GameSpy[12]
GameZone9/10[13]
IGN8.1/10[2]
OXM (US)8/10[14]
Detroit Free Press[15]
The Sydney Morning Herald[16]

Conker: Live & Reloaded was received positively by critics for its presentation and graphics.[2][12] The game was named IGN's "Best of E3 2005" in the category of "Best Graphics" for Xbox.[17] However it was criticized for changes to the single player campaign compared to the original, such as the removal of certain challenges, and the lack of refinement in areas such as facial animation that was perfected on the Nintendo 64. IGN didn't find the new multiplayer to be as fun as the original.[2]

The multiplayer mode (new in this version of the game) remained popular well into 2007 (over a year and a half since its release) when it remained in the top 10 most played online titles for its platform.[18]

Maxim gave it a perfect ten and stated that, "up to 16 people can torch each other. It's more of everything you loved (and decent people protested)."[19] The New York Times gave it a favorable review, stating, "The game is essentially a burlesque of every game featuring cute forest creatures. It has the sort of platform-jumping, rope-climbing, monster-whomping challenges seen in many of these games, but adds foulmouthed animals, scatological humor and gallons of vividly scarlet cartoon blood."[20] The Sydney Morning Herald gave it four stars out of five and said, "The potty humour will not be to everyone's taste but many films are hilariously lampooned."[16] However, Jim Schaefer of Detroit Free Press gave it three stars out of four and said that he found it "amusing to relive some of Conker's bawdy behavior, but I wish they would have come up with a new story rather than remaking the old one."[15] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four sevens, for a total of 28 out of 40.[8]

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References
  1. "Interview with Chris Savor: The Voice of Conker at Rare-Extreme". rare-extreme.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2016.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  2. Goldstein, Hilary (17 June 2005). "Conker: Live and Reloaded". IGN. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  3. Goldstein, Hilary (12 April 2005). "Conker: Playing with Yourself". IGN.
  4. "Conker: Live & Reloaded for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  5. Edge staff (August 2005). "Conker: Live & Reloaded". Edge (152): 93.
  6. EGM staff (August 2005). "Conker: Live & Reloaded". Electronic Gaming Monthly (194): 115.
  7. Reed, Kristan (27 July 2005). "Conker: Live & Reloaded Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  8. Khalid-S (22 June 2005). "this week Famitsu Reviews". NeoGAF. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  9. Reiner, Andrew (August 2005). "Conker: Live & Reloaded". Game Informer (148): 103. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  10. Dodson, Joe (23 June 2005). "Conker: Live and Reloaded Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  11. Navarro, Alex (21 June 2005). "Conker: Live and Reloaded Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  12. Williams, Bryn (22 June 2005). "GameSpy: Conker: Live and Reloaded". GameSpy.
  13. Hopper, Steven (21 June 2005). "Conker: Live and Reloaded Review - Xbox". GameZone. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  14. "Review: Conker: Live and Reloaded". Official Xbox Magazine: 82. August 2005.
  15. Schaefer, Jim (10 July 2005). "Online 'Conker' challenges multiplayers". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on 12 July 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  16. Hill, Jason (14 July 2005). "Battling on". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  17. Xbox Best of E3 2005 Awards
  18. Lary 'Major Nelson' Hryb, Top Xbox LIVE Games of 2007 (Retrieved from the Internet Archive.)
  19. Maxim staff (21 June 2005). "Conker: Live and Reloaded". Maxim. Archived from the original on 1 July 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  20. Herold, Charles (2 July 2005). "That Drunken Red Squirrel Whomps Again". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
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