Review – The Conduit

Publisher: Sega
Developer: High Voltage Software
Platform(s): Wii
Genre: First-Person Shooter

Rating: Teen
ESRB Content Descriptors: Blood, Mild Language, Violence

The Scoop: Hardcore. That’s been a scary word for the Wii. Taboo almost. People who own the little console, myself included, mostly take it out only when we have to entertain family or friends. That’s a sad prospect, especially since I know Nintendo is capable of so much more when it comes to their hardcore audience. Enter The Conduit.Developed by High Voltage Software and touted to be the definitive FPS for the Wii, The Conduit had garnered much media coverage since it was first announced back in 2008 and a lot of hype followed. Pretty graphics? Check. Online multiplayer? Yup. Exclusive to the Wii console? For sure. But does all of this come together to make a truly great experience? Read on and I’ll tell you…

The Setup: The story in The Conduit follows a secret services agent named Michael Ford. He has been assigned by a government organization known as The Trust to eliminate a terrorist that goes by the alias Prometheus. Typically, something bad occurs during the mission and Mr. Ford is thrust into an alien consipiracy that could very well mean the end of human life.

What’s Hot:

• Graphics: This area has always been the Wii’s pet peeves, but I’m happy to report that HVS has managed to squeeze a considerable amount of graphical fidelity from Nintendo’s console. Impressive particle effects and lighting contribute to an overall sense of polish that’s not seen in most Wii games.
• Online Multiplayer: Fun, frenetic action and a bevy of unique gameplay modes and weapons add depth to a multiplayer offering that kept drawing me back in to play some more.
• Customization: The Conduit boasts the most customizable controls ever in an FPS game. Everything, from the button input to the HUD layout, can be altered in some way, allowing every gamer to find their own comfort zone. Even more astonishing is how perfect I found the default controls to be.
• Old School: The Conduit is stuck in the past, but in a good way. If you enjoyed classics like Perfect Dark or Goldeneye, then you’ll appreciate what’s on offer here. The gameplay’s homage to the corridor shooter is structured well and the game itself can be quite tough.

What’s Not:

• Art Style: Despite immpressive graphics, The Conduit suffers from a bland art design that bogs down the overall look of the game.
• Presentation: An already generic plot is worsened by the horrible manner it’s presented in: Text and some awful VO. That’s right. No cinematics here.
• All Seeing Eye: The only gameplay element that made me cringe. You see, there are some moments during the singleplayer campaign where Mr. Ford will have to pull this round sucker out and use it to disarm invisible mines, unlock hidded weapon caches, and solve some light puzzles in the environment. It consistently breaks up the action, though, and just isn’t all that fun to use.

Final Verdict: So is The Conduit the Wii’s best pure FPS? Absolutely. But we must also bare in mind that it’s the only pure FPS on the Wii. Overall, though, I fully recommend The Conduit to any gamer who has an itchy trigger finger.