Conker lives it up on Xbox

For the Xbox Live gamers trying to get the most out of their membership, a nostalgic game has found its way out of Nintendo64 and into Microsoft’s Xbox. Conker: Live and Reloaded’s mischievous squirrel is back with revamped graphics and added extras. The game has Xbox Live capabilities, but the Xbox version also comes with its updated version of Conker’s Bad Fur Day.

Serious Xbox Live gamers may scoff at Conker’s online capabilities at first glance and not give it the chance it deserves. Despite the lack of proper media hype, Conker: Live and Reloaded has managed to get an overall press rating of 8.0 according to www.ign.com since its launch on June 21, a rating comparable to other popular online multiplayer games such as Rainbow Six 3.

Conker on Xbox Live is your basic arena type multiplayer game with a twist. Instead of battle- hardened human soldiers, gamers play as either rough-looking teddy bears or cute-looking squirrels in army uniforms, armed to the teeth. There are several types of games with different objectives, such as infiltrating an enemy’s base in a given amount of time.

The graphics alone are fantastic. The battlefields are large and intense and can almost be equal in comparison to some maps on Halo2. However, unlike an extremely sensitive control configuration found in a game such as Halo2, the controls are user-friendly, allowing gamers to quickly feel comfortable with maneuvering their character. This quick and easy game control system adds to the game’s fun factor. In all combat games, the character is only as good as the weapon he’s holding, and in Conker you’ll enjoy the plethora of killing machines ranging from bazookas to sabers.

Every game has its faults, whether obvious or obscure. The sniping system in Conker is enough to make even the most skilled Halo2 sniper seem like a bumbling fool. The bullet-reloading time is excessive and the characters move so fast it’s tricky to lock on. It takes practice to be a good sniper in Conker, but the work pays off in more ways than one. Once successfully reaching a certain number of “headshots” and kills with the sniper rifle, your character will be upgraded, have a steadier hand and the ability to zoom in on its targets. That’s a lot of work for someone looking for immediate satisfaction.

To add to the package, Conker: Live and Reloaded stays true to the original violent and fairly vulgar humor of the nostalgic Nintendo64 version.