Rules

Rules govern the gameplay and story in Bad Fur Day just like in every other game.  From the beginning of the game the rules were made clear.  By pressing all sorts of buttons we figure out that Conker is hungover, and since he is hungover we have difficulty completing the most basic task of walking.  Soon after when we beat our hangover we learn the rules about opening doors when you have to complete a very simple challenge to get a key to the door.  

One of the most interesting features of the game is that you are given a very limited array of weapons to use throughout most of the game, except for when you find a 'context-sensitive' button.  This button allows you to magically do whatever you need to depending on the situation.  For example, when fighting the Giant Poo Monster you are able to throw rolls of giant toilet paper.  This rule of not being able to use special weapons all of the time makes it exciting to  wonder what kind of things you'll be able to do.  I replayed one of my favorite scenes the other day.  It was the scene that follows the cut scene imitating the lobby scene in the Matrix.  I remember watching the cut scene and wondering what kind of tricks i would be able to pull out of my hat.  What i was able to do was to do cartwheels in slow motion while shooting up the room.  The creators of the game managed to create a rule in which it would make sense to only be able to do shooting slow motion cartwheels consistently.

Throughout the game it is set that there will be cut scenes to fill in pieces of the story.  These cut scenes go in order, and are set so they play as certain actions are completed.  For the game to function properly the gamer will have to complete the tasks required in order, in a free roaming environment.  To do this in an environment like this, rules must be made so that the gamer does everything in order.  The game manages to do this and still give the character a bit of freedom by having major goals that have to be completed in order as well as having other challenges at a lesser level that don't have to be completed in order.  The game is also set up so that when completing larger challenges, there are clear cut steps to completing the tasks at hand.

Another fun examples of the way that the game playfully changes rules.  At the beginning of the game when you went in water, floaties appear on the arms of Conker.  Later in the game Conker finds 'Confidence Pills.'  These pills allow Conker to not wear floaties and swim underwater.  The ridiculousness of the cut scenes that depict Conker understanding the change in rules is one of the things that makes this game so enjoyable.

One of the other rules of the game is that Conker is made happy by finding money.  Each time Conker gains money he makes a smart comment or greedy joke about money.  The money comes in handy though later in the game when it is required to pay off different characters like talking barrel's or guards who don't realize that the red squirrel they're supposed to be watching out for walks right up to them without them realizing it.

The rules in Conker's Bad Fur Day are based upon the situation in most cases.  The main rules however are mainly in place to insure a set story is told to the gamer.  The rules also help keep the gamer immersed in the game.  This is done by switching up the gameplay to make the game more exciting just like in the Matrix scenario i explained earlier.  

Characters

Over the course of the story of Bad Fur Day, Conker has relations with a plethora of other characters.  Conker forms several character triangles as well as changing as a character himself

One of the main character triangles is between Conker, his girlfriend Berri, and the Panther King.  Throughout the story Conker is pitted against the Panther King who is after him, while trying to get home to his girlfriend.  During the story however the Panther King gets ahold of Berri, completing the triangle.  A triangle can also be formed between the Panther King, Conker, and the Panther King's mad scientist Professor Von Kriplespac.  The Panther king and Professor Von Kriplespac will do whatever it takes to get to Conker, who will do whatever it takes to thwart their plans.

Although in this replaying of the game Conker has not changed that much thus far, the cut scene at the beginning shows a Conker who is much different from the one that I am playing as right now.  At this point in the game, he is annoyed that he isn't at home, but he's still making jokes and not getting too upset about anything, but in the cut scene he is very, very angry and bitter about something.  From playing before I know it's because Berri dies in his arms at some point during the game.  It is safe to say that Conker becomes less and less of a happy character as his troubles grow, and his need to get to Berri, and later avenge Berri increase.  This growth as a character is key to making the player get hooked and more immersed in the game. 

The story

Conkers Bad Fur Day is an unusual tale of a squirrel who becomes king after having a really, really bad day.  The game starts with a lengthy cut scene narrated by Conker, beginning with him sitting in his throne with an angry look on his face, and then proceeding to the night before when he had too much alcohol and got lost.  Conker's only goal is to get back home to his girlfriend Berri, but to do so, he must run around many different environments to complete tasks for various characters who help him to get closer and closer to home.  The strong point of the story is the adult humor that goes along with it.  The game was created by Rare, but unlike other Rare games, it has an attitude.  Rare had received criticism because many people thought the game was just going to be another platformer with cute animals.  What the critics got was a game full of crude langauge, violence, and many sexual themes.   I always find it amusing when the characters say things like 'arse' and '@#$%^&', and when Birdy, the scarecrow who teaches you a couple basic buttons of the game sells you a manual for the game says something along the lines of 'love long time, you love manual long time.'  In my opinion, the story is one of the reasons I enjoy this game so much.  Conker is probably my favorite character from a video game because of his persistence, and the humorous way he deals with conflict.  It's definitely a nice change to play a game as an unlikely hero who is a smart***, instead of the stereotypical unlikely hero that has perfect morals.