Reviewed: September 11, 2001
Reviewed by: Aaron Daigle
Publisher
Nintendo
Developer
Rare
Released: March 5, 2001
Genre: Adventure
Players: 4
ESRB: Mature
9
9
9
8
9.2
Supported Features:
In a nutshell, Conker's Bad Fur Day is a lot of %@$#*@ fun. When it was first announced in March of 2000, few thought Rare's foul-mouthed platformer would ever see the light of day. People figured that Nintendo would bury the project faster than a squirrel does acorns. Thank Greg, the Grim Reaper, those people were wrong. The game begins with our hero, Conker the Squirrel, getting wasted at the local pub. On his way home he passes out, and when he comes to he finds himself in a land ruled by an evil panther king and his weasel minions.
To get an idea of what to expect from Conker's Bad Fur Day (hence forth referred to as BFD) mix the look and game play of Banjo-Tooie, the raunchy humor of the Bloodhound Gang and throw in two or three handfuls of movie and theatrical parodies (if you've read or seen Death Knocks you will be rolling on the floor). The result is one of the most entertaining games for mature players this year.
That's right; MATURE. Never mind the lewd and violent themes; this game contains language never heard in a console game before. Though the most blatant profanity is bleeped, I was amazed at what was left uncensored. While it's clearly not for the kids, Rare has once again delivered a game with very few flaws and more character than a singing poo-monster.
BFD's game play is 3D platforming at its best. There are ladders to climb, bodies of water to swim through, secrets to discover and tasks and errands to run. Unlike some games of this kind, there aren't any long, drawn out collecting sequences. Any special items or skills you need to acquire can be had by finding the context sensitive pads scattered throughout the game. While you can roam about the game pretty much at will, the plot progression is strictly linear, meaning that you have to find and complete the next objective before you can continue with the story - no skipping around.
As I've come to expect from Rare, BFD's controls are completely intuitive, which I guess is a good thing, as you can't adjust them. I truly found the controls to be simplicity defined. This is largely due to the "context sensitive" pads that take care of providing and explaining all the special skills and items. Though the controls are great for the most part, the camera button is mostly useless, as it only centers the view as long as you're holding it down. Seeing as how the loose camera is the only major complaint I have, my guess is that this probably could have been corrected before shipping.
The game play in BFD never gets stale. In addition to the running, jumping, and swimming staples of the platform genre, the game also includes races, FPS levels and more mini games than most any other title in recent memory. Some of the people I played the game with grumbled about the frame rate bogging down occasionally, but I never found it slow enough to make things difficult or unplayable.
In a word, WHOA! The game looks great, and keep in mind that it doesn't support the Expansion Pak! Rare must have been scraping the walls to find every last graphical trick they could to make this one of the best looking N64 games to date.
The character models are smoothly animated and have a highly refined, almost glossy look to them. The levels have the same drop-dead-gorgeous look to them. With squishing poo, puffing dust, and some absolutely amazing flowing water as some of the stand out features. As I mentioned above the only real issues are the slight fluctuations in the frame rate and that annoying camera that seems to never go where you want it.
As is the case with most Rare games, BFD supports Dolby Surround Sound. Those of you fortunate enough to have surround speakers on your television set will be treated to the excellent audio experience that is Conker's Bad Fur Day. But everyone can enjoy the eclectic background music never gets old, and some of the sound effects are just stunning.
Listen while Conker walks. I counted at least five different sounds for his footsteps alone. But above all else, the real stand out in the sound department is the voice acting. With BFD, not only can I say the voice work doesn't suck, I can emphatically state that it is the most consistent, highest quality voice acting I've encountered in a game, ever, period. Disney flicks have got nothin' on this trash-talking squirrel when it comes to the talkin'.
Not counting the highly addictive multiplayer modes, the casual gamer can expect to spend better than 20 hours with Conker and company. For you hardcore folks out there, you can probably plan on finishing the game in a full weekend of playing.
BFD offers several entertaining multiplayer games, most of which are variants of capture the flag or deathmatch. The real gem of the bunch is the Beach, which takes the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan and swaps the Allied G.I's for Frenchies trying to sneak back into their country. Nothing is ever simple however and their way is blocked by heavily armed teddy bears. Pick your team, teddy bears chose your weapon and Frenchies get ready to run, all you have to do is reach the trucks waiting to wisk you away. It sure is a good thing that blasting your friends never gets old.
Conker's Bad Fur Day is likely to be one of the last must-have games for the Nintendo 64. Whether looking at the game from a purely technical standpoint or from that of an avid gamer, BFD is a marvel to behold. While some may find the game's humor crude and immature, hopefully this game's existence will encourage developers to create more mature themed games for the Big N's systems. I leave you with the following image; Big Breasted Sun Flower.
