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YOU COULD BE FORGIVEN for thinking the platformer genre has seemed a little stale on the Xbox. Sure there have been one of two good platform games but nothing really outstanding. When Rare announced that they would be remaking Conker's Bad Fur Day one could not help but get a little excited. The renamed Conker: Live and Reloaded promises to add a huge multiplayer mode on top of the critically acclaimed single player game which debuted on the Nintendo 64 almost five years ago.

The story goes something like this. You play Conker, a red squirrel who just wanted to have a few drinks with the lads, however one drink too many tends to get our furry friend just a little bit tipsy and on top of that, a little bit lost. This is where the game starts and along the way there are many humorous characters, some to guide you and most trying to stop you from getting on your merry way. Within the game are a variety of movie parodies from Terminator, Jaws and even The Matrix with a whole lot of classic humour which is guaranteed to make you laugh.

The Xbox conversion of Conker has been in the works for what almost seems like an eternity and from what we have seen so far it has been worth it. The graphics have had a total overhaul and are looking splendid as well as the sound being digitally re-mastered for the current hardware. On top of that is a huge multiplayer mode, something that Rare have had a lot of praise for in the past from the likes of GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, both of which were also on the Nintendo 64 (but sadly not coming to Xbox!).

The multiplayer mode is promising 16 players on Xbox Live or LAN via System Link. Within each side of this two-team game are six classes per team. A Skyjockey, Long Ranger, Grunt, Demolisher, Thermopile, and Sneeker, each with their own attributes. These include feigning death, turning yourself invisible, healing yourself as well as a few others which we've not yet seen. There is a host of characters to choose from regardless of class as well as unlockable ones which we presume will be available over time. Graphically, the multiplayer game is just as impressive as the single-player mode and we are looking forward to giving this a good bash for ourselves once the final game is released.

Conker: Live and Reloaded is due for release on 15th July.

Show me the screenshots!