{"id":2405,"date":"2013-02-21T16:22:52","date_gmt":"2013-02-21T16:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=2405"},"modified":"2013-02-21T16:22:52","modified_gmt":"2013-02-21T16:22:52","slug":"my-top-100-15-conkers-bad-fur-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=2405","title":{"rendered":"My Top 100: #15 – Conker’s Bad Fur Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"2001<\/a>

2001 – Rare (Nintendo 64, Xbox)<\/p><\/div>\n

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It wasn’t the homage to A Clockwork Orange<\/em> in the intro that got me thinking Conker’s Bad Fur Day<\/em> was going to be something quite different.\u00a0 It wasn’t the fact that the story was about a cute, cuddly little squirrel with a massive\u00a0hangover who just wanted to get home.\u00a0 It wasn’t even the constant barrage of foul language, or the suggestion that a male bee would only be interested in pollinating a sunflower because she had (*ahem*) “big stigmas”.<\/p>\n

It was when I saw the warning labels written all over the box, and when the clerk at Blockbuster Video asked “You’re 18 years old, right?”<\/p>\n

Never in my life had I tried renting a game only to be asked that particular question.\u00a0 Silent Hill<\/em>, Turok<\/em> games, Perfect Dark<\/em>,\u00a0Mortal Kombat II<\/em> all the way through to 4<\/em>, and not once was I ever carded for renting any of these violent games.\u00a0 Good thing, because I didn’t turn 18 until September of ’01, about eight months after trying to rent Conker<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“Yep, I am 18 for sure, man!”<\/p>\n

The guy behind the counter had come to know my face from my countless lunch trips to that mini-mall, and though he could have easily assumed I wasn’t quite 18 yet, he let me walk out of the store with it.<\/p>\n

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the game, though.\u00a0 I hadn’t bought any EGM<\/em>‘s for a while, and my Nintendo Power<\/em> subscription had run out a year earlier, so I knew nothing\u00a0of its existence.\u00a0 The game was made by Rare, and although I hadn’t played Banjo Kazooie<\/em> (or Tooie<\/em>), that’s pretty much what it looked like from the back of the box.\u00a0 I wasn’t sure if I’d like it all that much, but it was worth\u00a0a shot!<\/p>\n

I popped it in, turned it on, and I was\u00a0plopped into a world of fairytales and talking animals, all of which might be\u00a0inspired\u00a0by stories\u00a0from our\u00a0childhood.\u00a0 After a quick explanation of the game’s context-sensitive controls from the intoxicated scarecrow named Birdy,\u00a0I grabbed\u00a0my trusty frying pan and set off on an epic adventure.<\/p>\n

One of the things that makes\u00a0Bad Fur Day\u00a0<\/em>so great is the way the world is structured.\u00a0 You start off in a cave at the mouth of a waterfall, and after you get accustomed to the controls a bit and exit the area, you’re brought to this game’s version of Peach’s Castle in Super Mario 64<\/em>.\u00a0 From this main area, there’s a door that leads to every single level in the game, even though they’re not all accessible right away (which makes sense).<\/p>\n

The world is so vividly colourful that you can’t help but explore every corner of it.\u00a0 “What’s over here?\u00a0 Oooh!\u00a0 Why is there barbed wire here?\u00a0 What if I climb up this narrow path with vicious worms attacking me?\u00a0 Why does that sign say ‘Don’t go this way’?”\u00a0 If you explore enough, progressing in the game will just sort of take care of itself.<\/p>\n

For example, after helping a sobbing Queen Bee retrieve her nest that’s been stolen, you travel on down the path a bit further to find easily aggravated dung beetles, guarding their mountain of poo.\u00a0 A door opens, you explore some more, make new friends, help them out, beat a boss, come back to the main area, explore some more, find areas that are now accessible, repeat…\u00a0 it’s that simple.<\/p>\n

The context-sensitive controls come into play when you stand on a “B” platform (self-explanatory, really), and it pretty much lays it all out on the line for you, right there\u00a0– “here’s a weapon, and we’re pointing you in the direction of potential targets…\u00a0\u00a0figure it out!”\u00a0 Some of the later levels\u00a0pay homage to zombie and Dracula flicks,\u00a0Saving Private Ryan<\/em>, The Matrix<\/em>, and Aliens<\/em>, so at around the half-way point, the game\u00a0switches its\u00a0focus on action rather\u00a0than platforming.<\/p>\n

The game itself is incredibly fun, because you just never know what Conker’s going to\u00a0find himself\u00a0doing next.\u00a0 Whether you’re throwing toilet paper into the mouth of an opera-singing poo monster, getting drunk and urinating on lizards made of fire, or chasing down cavemen thieves on your rocket-propelled surfboard, chances are pretty good that you’ll be having a good time doing it.<\/p>\n

2005’s Conker: Live and Reloaded<\/em> for Xbox gave the graphics and some of the controls\u00a0an overhaul, as well as a few new multiplayer modes.\u00a0 The writing and humour were back, but there was a catch; unfortunately, the game was\u00a0censored a fair amount for this release, which is strange…\u00a0 you’d think that, with more recent games of the time\u00a0pushing the envelope quite a bit, Microsoft wouldn’t mind allowing Rare to get more vulgar than they did for a Nintendo 64 exclusive.\u00a0 I guess not!<\/p>\n

If ever you find either version of the game, though, PICK IT UP!\u00a0 You won’t regret it!<\/p>\n

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