In a way, I already feel bad for Conduit and HVG.
I mean, the game isn't even out yet and people are either declaring the best Wii FPS ever or a failure.
This is why I believe game developers should just make the game they want to make and hope for the best.
I admire that HVG is working hard towards proving that the Wii is a gaming console like the rest. But if they fail, even a tiny bit, they will feel the backlash.
People have yet to forgive Ubi for Red Steel, and it too was a FPS game that wanted to prove the Wii could do games like these.
So, I feel bad for Conduit.
I liked Red Steel even with all its flaws. What I haven't forgiven Ubisoft for is ignoring the sales the game saw, which were pretty good for a poorly reviewed launch game, proving that the market existed right from the start. Ubisoft had a perfect opportunity to refine the Wii FPS experience. As an early mover, Ubisoft had a chance to get an improvement out the door before anyone else could even finish a first attempt. Instead, they tried to copy Nintendo. Badly.
Getting back to HVG, my greatest fear is that the game will not perform well enough and will "prove" the opposite of what HVG is saying. Other publishers will point to it as an example of why they only make "casual" games for Wii. My hope is that it is a very good game, a critical darling, and a huge seller. We will then be drowned in FPS games, hopefully with a few gems in the mix.
Actually, I take it back. My greatest fear is that the game will sell phenomenally, but then other publishers will continue on the same path, claiming either that it was a fluke or that Wii gamers wouldn't buy another one for some crazy made up reason. It will prove that the third party situation on the Wii is indeed not the product of rational thinking, but the response of an industry angry at Nintendo for disrupting its market, moving its cheese, upending its tea table, etc.
All this is too much to place at The Conduit's feet, of course. All I really want from the game is a fun time, and my predictions of doom are just for fun (it's not like I know anything). You can't say High Voltage isn't at least partly to blame for all the punditry about it, though. They know it's good for publicity.
Edit: If anyone particularly pedantic comes along, I know I didn't really use the phrase "upend the tea table" right.