Xbox Hardware & Games

Hang on as we rejoin the now-legendary vice-addled squirrel on a series of shooting, driving, and puzzle-based adventures. All of the classic characters are back, including, of course, the giant, opera-singing pile of excrement. Did I mention that Conker is M-rated, for practically every possible reason: blood, gore, violence, sex, language, drugs, and more of the rudest, crudest humor in any video game? Little tweaks and new surprises await us as the story unfolds again, for the first time.

The single-player mode is essentially a port of the old N64 version, which, in this case, is not such a bad thing. Conker's Bad Fur Day was one of the most subversively entertaining Nintendo games ever created, as developed by Rare. The facelift it received on the way to Xbox exclusivity is nothing short of extraordinary. The in-game Dolby Digital 5.1 delivers surprisingly powerful low-frequency effects and a welcome surround presence in the Saving Private Ryan and Matrix spoofs. The 480p graphics are a sublime blend of color, texture, and detail. Reloaded also supports multiplayer action via System Link, and it's Xbox Live—enabled for online play.

This new version fails to engage with the same charm as the original. The controls, combat style, and camera angles could all be better, and our objectives are not always clear-this after more than five years to regroup. But it is memorable for the new cut scenes and parodies of more great movies, such as Aliens.