Conker has been in development for the Xbox for what seems like an eternity but at last some preview code had made its way to me in order to see if the game was worth the hype and the wait. Conker has catered for all players with the inclusion of the single-player game "Conker's Bad Fur Day" as well as the in-depth all-new Xbox Live-enabled team based shooter "Conker: Live and Reloaded". Non Live players will be happy to know that "Live & Reloaded" can be played offline via system link or as a single player against A.I. bots with multiple mission campaigns covering Old & Future Wars.

Since there is in theory two games here for the price of one, this preview will be split between both, starting with "Conker's Bad Fur Day". This game has been masterfully recreated for the Xbox with new puzzles so that players will not find it identical to the N64 classic version; in fact during the tutorial the game mentions that it has been slightly altered. For someone who has never played Conker (like myself), the game is full of crazy characters and movie parodies resulting in some of the most hilarious situations I have ever seen; all done with amazing graphics and profanity. To say the least, this game deserves its age rating, whilst the more mature players will be able to recognise many of the film take-offs, especially The Terminator and Jaws scenarios.

"Conker: Live and Reloaded" is a team-focused story driven game pitting the Noble Squirrels against the Evil Tediz. You must choose which side to fight for and select one of six combat specialists - Skyjockey, Long Ranger, Grunt, Demolisher, Thermophile and Sneeker, each specialist comes complete with signature weapons and abilities. Along with these devastating weapons, players can also operate five types of vehicles depending on which campaign they are playing in (Old or Future War) such as a Sky Steed, Mule Bomber, R-Hog, Toad Jeep and Tankus. If that wasn't enough, there are several weapons that can be operated by everyone. As well as the extensive campaign mode on offer, you could play a death match mode as well if you so choose. Each game style can support up to 16 players on Xbox Live.

Overall, the graphics are superb, animation is smooth and the humour with its rude wit, lewd innuendos and spectacular graphic violence make this game a pleasure to play as well as watch. This should be in my opinion a massive hit and a welcome distraction from the usual human shoot-em ups. Conker: Live and Reloaded should be released sometime in June in both the US and Europe.

Preview By: Joe