Post by MMCC0203 on Aug 9, 2015 17:28:21 GMT -5
Thanks to the release of Rare Replay, I had the chance to once again play through one of my favorite platformers ever. I just finished single-player a few minutes ago and wanted to post some thoughts and impressions while they're still fresh in mind. I'd describe playing this for the first time in 7 years as an emotional roller-coaster, and here's why.
First off, I have to say that this game definitely hasn't aged perfectly in some ways. I found myself constantly fighting both the controls and the camera. Aiming an inverted crosshair with the left stick was an absolute nightmare for me at first, and while I was able to adapt to some extent, I don't think I ever felt truly comfortable with the control scheme. I almost wish they'd go the Jetforce route and give us a more modern control scheme as well as an option to turn inverted aim off. None of this is a deal-breaker of course, but giving us more options to play never hurts.
Another aspect of CBFD that I found quite jarring were the difficulty spikes. I won't spoil any specific parts of the story for those of you that haven't had the chance to experience it. Just know that the the difficulty varies wildly. For every great moment/chapter that felt appropriately difficult like Heist or the boss from Sloprano, you have something like It's War, a chapter with great moments that are ruined by cheap deaths, enemies that spawn out of sight and rush your position, and an escape sequence that throws all of that and some bazooka-wielding Tediz at you. It's the kind of situation where I found myself laughing out loud at certain parts only to be groaning in frustration moments later. For better or worse, this feels like a game still firmly rooted in old design sensibilities in terms of difficulty.
Now, on to the good. It has to be said that the writing has absolutely stood the test of time. It's as absurd and self-aware as games get, and I can't recall any platforming game in recent memory that's had such a memorable cast of characters. Gameplay variety is still second-to-none with bits of platforming, shooting, racing, flying and even elements that make it feel like a survival-horror game at one point. It seems like solid new mechanics are thrown your way just about every time you enter a new area, so it's the sort of game that's hard to put down or get bored of. Multiplayer is also a major plus because of how well Rare translated the variety of single-player into multiplayer. I have fond memories of sneaking over to my friend's house back in 2002 to get in a few rounds of Beach, and while it obviously doesn't have the depth that it once seemed to, there's still a good amount of fun to be had either by yourself with some bots or with a few friends via split-screen (no option for online multiplayer, sadly).
I guess I'll end this mini review of sorts with some thoughts on the ending. Potential Spoilers ahead
The last time I played through CBFD was back in 2008 when I was still a dumb kid in high school. I didn't remember much from that playthrough, so when I finally chucked that Xenomorph out of the airlock earlier today I was kind of taken aback by the ending. Conker unwillingly becomes king of whatever miserable land they're in and ends up surrounded by pretty much everyone except the only person he cared for. He realizes he probably could have brought Berri back to life when the "software engineer" intervened at the end, but he hadn't thought about it at the time presumably because he'd always taken her for granted. Maybe I'm alone here, but I found this ending to be completely depressing. It was a fairly serious moment with a grave moral message in a game that was otherwise completely ridiculous, and you know what? I think that's why I love this ending. It was completely out of left field yet it wrapped up the story in a really interesting way.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far. If not, I don't blame ya. Thanks to Rare for releasing such a great compilation of games. It's an important part of gaming history.
First off, I have to say that this game definitely hasn't aged perfectly in some ways. I found myself constantly fighting both the controls and the camera. Aiming an inverted crosshair with the left stick was an absolute nightmare for me at first, and while I was able to adapt to some extent, I don't think I ever felt truly comfortable with the control scheme. I almost wish they'd go the Jetforce route and give us a more modern control scheme as well as an option to turn inverted aim off. None of this is a deal-breaker of course, but giving us more options to play never hurts.
Another aspect of CBFD that I found quite jarring were the difficulty spikes. I won't spoil any specific parts of the story for those of you that haven't had the chance to experience it. Just know that the the difficulty varies wildly. For every great moment/chapter that felt appropriately difficult like Heist or the boss from Sloprano, you have something like It's War, a chapter with great moments that are ruined by cheap deaths, enemies that spawn out of sight and rush your position, and an escape sequence that throws all of that and some bazooka-wielding Tediz at you. It's the kind of situation where I found myself laughing out loud at certain parts only to be groaning in frustration moments later. For better or worse, this feels like a game still firmly rooted in old design sensibilities in terms of difficulty.
Now, on to the good. It has to be said that the writing has absolutely stood the test of time. It's as absurd and self-aware as games get, and I can't recall any platforming game in recent memory that's had such a memorable cast of characters. Gameplay variety is still second-to-none with bits of platforming, shooting, racing, flying and even elements that make it feel like a survival-horror game at one point. It seems like solid new mechanics are thrown your way just about every time you enter a new area, so it's the sort of game that's hard to put down or get bored of. Multiplayer is also a major plus because of how well Rare translated the variety of single-player into multiplayer. I have fond memories of sneaking over to my friend's house back in 2002 to get in a few rounds of Beach, and while it obviously doesn't have the depth that it once seemed to, there's still a good amount of fun to be had either by yourself with some bots or with a few friends via split-screen (no option for online multiplayer, sadly).
I guess I'll end this mini review of sorts with some thoughts on the ending. Potential Spoilers ahead
The last time I played through CBFD was back in 2008 when I was still a dumb kid in high school. I didn't remember much from that playthrough, so when I finally chucked that Xenomorph out of the airlock earlier today I was kind of taken aback by the ending. Conker unwillingly becomes king of whatever miserable land they're in and ends up surrounded by pretty much everyone except the only person he cared for. He realizes he probably could have brought Berri back to life when the "software engineer" intervened at the end, but he hadn't thought about it at the time presumably because he'd always taken her for granted. Maybe I'm alone here, but I found this ending to be completely depressing. It was a fairly serious moment with a grave moral message in a game that was otherwise completely ridiculous, and you know what? I think that's why I love this ending. It was completely out of left field yet it wrapped up the story in a really interesting way.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far. If not, I don't blame ya. Thanks to Rare for releasing such a great compilation of games. It's an important part of gaming history.