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Wii

North America

The Conduit

by Jon Lindemann - June 29, 2009, 6:16 pm EDT
Total comments: 113

8.5

High Voltage gives us a solid first-person shooter that shows off everything the Wii has to offer.

At this point in the Wii's lifespan, it's safe to say that the first-person shooter genre has been a neglected one. We've seen a handful of third-party releases in pre-existing franchises like Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and Far Cry, but aside from Red Steel in 2006 and the recently-released Onslaught, completely original shooters have been virtually non-existent on the platform. Sega and High Voltage have stepped up to fill this gap with The Conduit, a Wii-exclusive first-person shooter recounting the battle to fend off an alien invasion of Washington, D.C. While not without its flaws, The Conduit is an impressively robust package that sets a new bar for the genre on Nintendo's console.

The Conduit places you in the role of Michael Ford, an agent for a mysterious organization called the Trust. Recruited by Trust commander John Adams, Ford is sent into Washington D.C. to recover an agency-developed prototype called the All-Seeing Eye (A.S.E.) from a terrorist known only as Prometheus. Meanwhile, the city is in a state of chaos, caught in the grips of an alien invasion while suffering from the spread of a flu-like affliction that turns humans into alien puppets. Ford sets out to recover the A.S.E., unwittingly pulled into an ever-growing conspiracy.

And thus we come to the most glaring flaw of The Conduit: to call its story, setting, and characters clichéd is being kind. The government/alien conspiracy angle has been done to death, and it isn't taken anywhere new here. Enemy and weapon designs are highly reminiscent of Halo 3, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Resistance 2, and the side-story broadcast by radios scattered throughout each level is straight out of Resistance 2 as well. The first-person shooter genre has never been one known for its originality, but seldom do you come across a game so wholly derivative of others on the market.

Fortunately, these retreaded elements are wrapped in a completely new - and excellent - graphics engine built from scratch for the Wii hardware. Environments are varied, expansive, and detailed throughout the game's nine single-player levels. You'll battle through underground bunkers and subways, a meticulously-recreated Jefferson Memorial, the offices of the Pentagon, and even the White House itself. While some textures are recycled a bit too much, the look and feel of each level is different right to the end. There are occasional frame rate drops in larger rooms, but gameplay is never affected and the experience is a smooth one overall.

The Conduit's audio is generally good. Featuring voice acting by Kevin Sorbo and Mark Sheppard, High Voltage certainly spared no expense in telling the game's story. While the voice acting could be better (Sorbo and Sheppard have a fairly wooden delivery and some of the dialogue is downright cheesy), it's nice to see such attention to detail in terms of presentation. The musical score varies in quality, ranging from the excellent theme to forgettable background tunes, and sound effects are your typical alien screams and explosions.

These technical achievements would mean little if there wasn't a solid game to back them up, and The Conduit delivers for the most part. There's a substantial single-player campaign (about 8 to 12 hours in length) complemented by dozens of achievements, as well as unlockable art and cheats. There are several different difficulty levels as well, giving dedicated players plenty of reasons to keep playing, and of course its extensive online multiplayer component.

The Conduit's control scheme is very similar to Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, with forward and lateral movement handled by the Nunchuk joystick and the Wii Remote acting as a mouselook and B-trigger. The bounding box concept is employed, meaning that moving the Wii pointer outside of an invisible box in the middle of the screen causes the player's character to turn in that direction. Some of the default Wiimote button mappings are difficult to reach (the spin and grenade selection commands, for example), but everything is customizable, so if you don't like the default layout you can switch up the controls however you want.

The motion controls are excellent, allowing you to turn quickly and zero in on targets accurately; aiming takes skill and a steady hand. The most unexpectedly impressive aspect, however, is throwing grenades with the Nunchuk. A thrust of the Nunchuk tosses a grenade, but how softly or hard this is done is accurately reflected by how far it's thrown. There's nothing more satisfying than dropping a grenade right in the middle of three enemies, exactly where you intended.

The Conduit is a brisk run'n'gun experience in the classic mold, pitting you against waves of enemies intended to prevent you from completing objectives and advancing the storyline. In addition to blasting baddies, players use the A.S.E. to hack into computers, decipher hidden messages on walls, and even uncloak invisible aliens. Like the scan visor mechanic in Metroid Prime, the A.S.E. is fun to use and gives players incentive to explore their surroundings. If you enjoy first-person shooters, you'll definitely find a lot to like here.

However, fans of the genre will also find a host of minor annoyances. There is no on-screen grenade indicator (like in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare), meaning that you'll run towards grenades as often as you run away from them because you aren't sure where they are. Objectives aren't always clear either, forcing you to pause the game and check your list to determine what to do next. You sometimes aren't explicitly told if your goal is to clear out enemies or their spawn points instead, so you may waste time unwittingly killing an endless stream of enemies.

Checkpoints are also problematic. Since checkpoints are the only way to save the messages you've deciphered with your A.S.E., dying means you have to decipher them all over again to get credit. Checkpoints also take an exact snapshot of what you're doing when you pass through, so if you're facing a wall with the A.S.E. equipped instead of a gun you'll start that way every time thereafter. These sound like nitpicks, but over the course of the game they become increasingly frustrating.

Level design is good for the most part, but there are irritations here as well. Later levels don't increase difficulty in any way other than throwing more enemies at you, and the general lack of enemy variety doesn't help. While none of these issues are game-breakers by themselves, as a whole they make the single-player campaign feel less polished than it should.

For all of the flaws of the single-player campaign, The Conduit's online multiplayer component is excellent. The lack of local multiplayer is disappointing, but there's still plenty to do. Players can challenge up to twelve friends or regional/worldwide opponents in solo deathmatch, team deathmatch, or team objective play. There are seven different maps, several different weapon sets (Alien, Human, Explosive, etc.), and many different game types to choose from. Among the best are A.S.E. Football (a variation of "Hot Potato" with each player competing to see who can carry the A.S.E. the longest), Bounty Hunter (one person is the target, and players lose points for killing anybody other than that person), and the classic Marathon (kill as many players as possible within a time limit). Throw in an online ranking system and full stat-tracking, and you have a multiplayer game that you'll be playing for a long time. Performance is also relatively lag-free, with some hitches when playing worldwide matches but nothing too distracting.

What makes The Conduit's online component so impressive is its robustness. Multiplayer is WiiSpeak-enabled (for friends only), allowing players to chat with others in the lobby and during gameplay. The quality isn't always the greatest: you'll get echoes depending on the speaker setups of other players, and voice chat sometimes cuts in and out, but it adds so much to the experience that it simply doesn't matter. There's nothing better than talking smack after an especially satisfying kill. Friend code management is also a breeze, including functionality that allows you to add mutual friends and send invites that others can accept later. It's as fleshed-out as anything you'd find on the Xbox 360 or PS3, and can only be described as a remarkable achievement.

This is the paradox of The Conduit. Its disappointing single-player component seems hastily-designed with its cookie-cutter plot, limited range of enemies, and myriad elements copied wholesale from popular recent first-person shooters. On the other hand, its multiplayer component is great, matching online shooters on other platforms feature-for-feature and providing a no-hassle experience that's among the best on Wii. Hopefully High Voltage will learn from The Conduit's shortcomings for their next game, but for now, Wii owners will have to settle for something very good instead of truly great.

Score

Graphics Sound Control Gameplay Lastability Final
8.5 8 9 8 9 8.5
Graphics
8.5

High Voltage definitely pushes the Wii hardware, producing some pretty large and detailed environments with nice lighting effects. There are some frame rate drops in larger rooms, and certain textures are re-used a bit too much, but it's very good overall.

Sound
8

Impressive voiceover work suffers somewhat from wooden delivery and cheesy dialogue. There's some good music, but the sound effects aren't particularly notable.

Control
9

The Conduit's motion controls works like a charm, and throwing grenades is surprisingly satisfying. Some of the default button mappings aren't effective, but the ability to customize everything minimizes this issue.

Gameplay
8

The Conduit is a fairly vanilla run'n'gun first-person shooter that's very reminiscent of Perfect Dark. It's a lot of fun, but its single-player suffers from a slew of minor design oversights that drag down the overall experience.

Lastability
9

The single-player campaign features multiple difficulty levels, dozens of achievements, and lots of secrets to find. The online multiplayer mode is deep and will have you playing for months. This is a great value.

Final
8.5

The Conduit sets a high bar for future first-person shooters on the Wii. Its derivative story and single-player mode disappoint, but its online multiplayer is excellent. As jam-packed with features as this is, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better first-person shooter on the system.

Summary

Pros
  • Customizable control scheme is very effective
  • Extensive voiceover work
  • Multiplayer is deep, robust, and very fun
  • Quality graphics
  • WiiSpeak support is a much-appreciated addition
Cons
  • Enemies lack variety
  • Lack of a grenade indicator results in cheap deaths
  • Objectives aren't always made clear
  • Story, setting, and characters are derivative and unoriginal
  • Unlockables only saved at checkpoints
Review Page 2: Conclusion

Talkback

StratosJune 29, 2009

Well written, Lindy! I think you covered all of the games aspects very well. I look foreward to talking smack with you again in the near future ;)

kraken613June 29, 2009

Good review, I agree with everything you said. Its a review that the game deserves. I think with a little work we can improve the echo of Wii Speak. Everyone should just put the Wii Speak right near you and it pretty much solves every problem. Also headphones help a great deal. I can't wait to talk smack to Lindy once my Wii Speak comes!

NinGurl69 *hugglesJune 29, 2009

Does Call of Duty get penalized for its limited range of enemies?

Quote from: NinGurl69

Does Call of Duty get penalized for its limited range of enemies?

If I had reviewed it, it would have.

NinGurl69 *hugglesJune 29, 2009

Right on.

AVJune 29, 2009

great review. It's fair and balanced writing that doesn't forget the positive and mentions the negative evenly.

broodwarsJune 29, 2009

There may not be any LAN-based multiplayer or anything, but is there any way for you to enter multiplayer with computer AI "bots" or whatnot for simple offline multiplayer?  I'd hate for there to be an entire section of the game essentially useless to me because I hate playing online multiplayer (I haven't had the best of experiences there).

As for the single-player, how would you compare it against something like Perfect Dark's (which I rather enjoyed back in the day) or even one of the Timesplitters games?  While none of those could be accused of being altogether original, they all had a nice variety in objectives you had to accomplish so it was still quite enjoyable.

King of TwitchJune 29, 2009

Thanks for the robust review. So it's a great online multiplayer game with a story mode thrown in?

SteleJune 29, 2009

Odd. You praise the nunchuck grenade launching.  After nearly killing myself 2-3 times I switched controls to get rid of it.  :o

Definitely annoyed with the checkpoints.  I cleared out a room with 3 switches, each triggering an ambush.  Finally get out of the room, down the hall through several doors.  And then there's another room with an ASE key, and 3 conduits full of enemies... with no checkpoint between.  ???

Anyway I was on vacation last week so just picked up my copy this morning.  Looks like I might finish single player tonight, although I only got maybe 2/3 of the discs and like 1/5 of the secret messages.  So definitely some completion-ist replay there.

It definitely looks and controls great though.  Very reminiscent of MP3 in that respect.

Mop it upJune 29, 2009

A game which has touted its graphics as a major aspect and has even gone so far as to sacrifice features for them doesn't get the highest marks in the graphics department? That's kind of disconcerting...

StratosJune 29, 2009

It's probably because of the graphical glitches present from time to time.

I like the nunchuck grenade control. Though on occasion I will scratch my head while playing and accidentally throw a grenade.

Broodwars - There aren't any bots.  It's strictly online multiplayer.

As I recall, Perfect Dark and Timesplitters definitely have better single-player.  It comes down to one word: personality.  The Conduit's story and characters are so generic that it's hard to care about the story at all.  And I won't get into any spoilers, but I will say that the story's conclusion is less than satisfying.  Perfect Dark and TimeSplitters weren't that original, but they had interesting and witty characters and stories that you could care about a little bit.

Stele - I loved the Nunchuk grenade throwing because it feels like what you're doing with the motion controls actually matters.  It's great.  I'm with you on the checkpoints though.  There's a checkpoint later in the game that has you do something really hard and then duck into an elevator that's packed with enemies, but the checkpoint only triggers AFTER you get in the elevator.  Which means that you can sit there for 10 minutes and complete your difficult task, but still lose all of your progress if you get killed by the guys in the elevator.  SO annoying.

Mop - Yes, there are definitely some minor graphical glitches, and some of the environments re-use elements quite a bit.  The engine isn't as polished as, say Mario Galaxy, which I consider to be the pinnacle on the platform, but it's still very good.

Mop it upJune 29, 2009

Quote from: Lindy

Mop - Yes, there are definitely some minor graphical glitches, and some of the environments re-use elements quite a bit.  The engine isn't as polished as, say Mario Galaxy, which I consider to be the pinnacle on the platform, but it's still very good.

That's kind of my point though. Super Mario Galaxy didn't advertise its graphics as one of its features, nor was it a main focus in development. This game's developer has touted the graphics since the beginning, even going so far as comparing it to the XBox 360 I believe and also sacrificing features, and it isn't even the best the system could handle? Eek.

broodwarsJune 29, 2009

Quote from: Lindy

Broodwars - There aren't any bots.  It's strictly online multiplayer.

As I recall, Perfect Dark and Timesplitters definitely have better single-player.  It comes down to one word: personality.  The Conduit's story and characters are so generic that it's hard to care about the story at all.  And I won't get into any spoilers, but I will say that the story's conclusion is less than satisfying.  Perfect Dark and TimeSplitters weren't that original, but they had interesting and witty characters and stories that you could care about a little bit.

Well, guess my Conduit money's going towards paying off the rest of my B:AA CE fund then.  This game does look very good, but if the single-player campaign really isn't all that great and that's all I'm interested in there's really no reason to get this game now.  I'm better off just waiting for a price drop.  Sorry, High-Voltage, but you'll have to put a bit more work into all the aspects of your games.  I'll never understand why it's apparently taboo for an FPS to have an awesome multiplayer and singleplayer.  It's always one or the other.

I think it has to do with the fact that any company attempting a first-person shooter is typically tech-heavy (staff-wise) vs. design-heavy.  Since so much of what makes FPSes great is based on their level of technological prowess, it makes budgetary sense to funnel money into the tech side more than the design/story side.  Note that I said *financial* sense.

One of the reasons why I hold CoD4 as the best shooter of this generation is its story.  It's probably the only top-tier first-person shooter I've played that had moments in the single-player that were put in STRICTLY for dramatic effect.  I mean, who would have ever expected that your character would die halfway through the game as a result of a nuclear strike, and that you would actually be able to crawl around on the ground in first-person as he died from radiation exposure?  When I played that for the first time I didn't know what the hell was going on, but then when it was over I realized what they did and was like OH...SHIT!!!

StratosJune 29, 2009

Broodwars, would you consider renting it just to see if the online is alright for you? Or is it not technical issues that you are referring to when you say you've had poor online experiences. It would be a shame for you to miss out on it if that were the case.

The online is really fun when playing with friends. I haven't tried random matching yet.

StratosJune 30, 2009

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

The online is really fun when playing with friends. I haven't tried random matching yet.

Random matching feels like planning to go to the park. Sometimes the weather just isn't going to fit in with your plans.

broodwarsJune 30, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

Broodwars, would you consider renting it just to see if the online is alright for you? Or is it not technical issues that you are referring to when you say you've had poor online experiences. It would be a shame for you to miss out on it if that were the case.

Hmm..maybe.  My problems with online multiplayer have been partly technical, partly design, partly user-based.  I've just never found a game I found particularly compelling online compared to its offline counterpart, and it's always been a rather soul-less experience without that person you're playing with there right with you.  And when I have gotten an online match going, I've often found people online to be (for lack of the ability to use a banned word) jerks.  I suppose voice chat could rectify that a bit (dramatically in some cases, like with the Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta I played earlier this month), but I'm not buying Wii-Speak for a single game.

StratosJune 30, 2009

I was a lot like you in that opinion. But I've found playing with friends and people here especially changed my attitude about it. I almost never played games online before I joined the forums here in January and I was sorely dissapointed in Brawl since I had no one to play with and also hated Mario Kart Wii. But playing games with people here, people I know, changed that. A lot.

So maybe give it a try. You can hear even fruends even if you don't have WiiSpeak and Kraken so far has gotten by without it.

If you decide you want to keep it, your save file keeps your FC so buying it later wouldn't be much of an issue there.

And if you find it compelling enough to want WiiSpeak, I think GameStop sells it for $15 used. You might also find another good deal online. The Animal Crossing bundle is going for less that the WiiSeak device alone in some places. So if all else failed, you could buy AC for $25 and sell off the game for $30-$40 brand new. And if you're feeling crafty, you could open it and enter the Club Nintendo points and then sell it off for a good price.

Just some thoughts. Plus I'd love a chance to play you at the game. It's kind of a goal to play with everyone on the forums. :)

Quote from: broodwars

...it's always been a rather soul-less experience without that person you're playing with there right with you.

So you'd rather play with bots?  ;-)

broodwarsJune 30, 2009

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

Quote from: broodwars

...it's always been a rather soul-less experience without that person you're playing with there right with you.

So you'd rather play with bots?  ;-)

At least with bots I can enjoy some aspect of multiplayer without my best friend buying a Wii, a copy of The Conduit as well, and both of us scheduling simultaneous play sessions between the mounds of other stuff we're both playing on our own time.  Besides, AI bots done well ala Perfect Dark (i.e. with AI personalities) can make for quite enjoyable experiences.  They'll never match the quality of a true human being, but they have their uses.

RABicleJune 30, 2009

LOL! Derivative characters. I have a friend named Michael Ford. I'm going to call him derivative.

Thanks for the top-notch review, Lindy!

kraken613June 30, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

You can hear even fruends even if you don't have WiiSpeak and Kraken so far has gotten by without it.

Thank god one more day of that! I want to talk shot to you guys!

Mop it upJune 30, 2009

Quote from: broodwars

At least with bots I can enjoy some aspect of multiplayer without my best friend buying a Wii, a copy of The Conduit as well, and both of us scheduling simultaneous play sessions between the mounds of other stuff we're both playing on our own time.  Besides, AI bots done well ala Perfect Dark (i.e. with AI personalities) can make for quite enjoyable experiences.  They'll never match the quality of a true human being, but they have their uses.

If anything I think bots are more important than ever, especially for anyone who doesn't buy a game on its release date. If I were to go out and buy The Conduit next week, would I stand a chance against the online competition who've been playing non-stop all week? Not even close. Bots allow people to set up practice situations so they can improve their skills at their own pace instead of having to deal with snobby veterans who wouldn't give them a chance. Bots also allow 2 players to play team matches and other possibilities.

The design process for shooters seems to have evolved into focusing on unnecessary and/or arbitrary features such as graphics over gameplay features. That's one reason why the only shooters I like are on the Nintendo 64.

StratosJune 30, 2009

I'll tone down my skill. I did it for Kraken so he could get used to using my favotire gun I pwnd him with tonight. ;)
It is my crutch gun.

Mop it upJune 30, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

I'll tone down my skill. I did it for Kraken so he could get used to using my favotire gun I pwnd him with tonight. ;)

Can I set you to six different difficulty settings? Can I choose to make you slow or fast? Set you to use only explosives? Give you a super powerful shield? Make you vengeful? Make you careless? Can I have eight of you?

You'll never be as awesome as a bot.  :P

King of TwitchJune 30, 2009

I wish my gf had those bot options.

StratosJune 30, 2009

Quote from: Mop_it_up

Quote from: Stratos

I'll tone down my skill. I did it for Kraken so he could get used to using my favotire gun I pwnd him with tonight. ;)

Can I set you to six different difficulty settings? Can I choose to make you slow or fast? Set you to use only explosives? Give you a super powerful shield? Make you vengeful? Make you careless? Can I have eight of you?
You'll never be as awesome as a bot.  :P

Well, I think one of me is more than enough for any person, but if you insist I will try. I'll need to call Calvin and Hobbes about getting his duplicater, though.

Honestly, though, I'm pretty flexible if you need someone to play different ways. I know how to tone myself down when I need to and I think I'm pretty good at it. I was a master of it back in the day on Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. I'm not there yet in this game, but I'm good enough to be able to turn myself down when needed.

PS-You're giving GP more ammo with statements like "Can I have eight of you". Just saying.

KDR_11kJune 30, 2009

Don't worry about getting pwned online, for one there is still an influx of new people later on that you can play against, for another many people simply don't learn fast. I've wiped the floor with guys in Water Warfare who ranked much higher than I did.

Speaking of which, I see your cons list doesn't include "no local multiplayer" which I suspect is fairly important to many people.

LJKKJLCM9June 30, 2009

If you try to connect to a match it generally trys to connect you with people the same rank as you.  Therefore if you're just starting, you should be playing against people who are also low ranked.  Considering ranks increase quite quickly at first, the best matching early on would also be new players.

THE JACKEL

kraken613June 30, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

I'll tone down my skill. I did it for Kraken so he could get used to using my favotire gun I pwnd him with tonight. ;)
It is my crutch gun.

O, I will figure out how to kill you with that gun. Hey, look in that Warehouse Bounty Hunter we came even and you used that gun....

Quote from: KDR_11k

Speaking of which, I see your cons list doesn't include "no local multiplayer" which I suspect is fairly important to many people.

For me personally, it's not a con.  I don't play local multiplayer, so it not being there doesn't really affect me.  And besides, I tried to review this game for what's there, not what's not there.  To me it's like how Killzone 2 doesn't have co-op...yes, it's disappointing, but it doesn't drag down what's already there.  Having it would only make what's there even better.

NinGurl69 *hugglesJune 30, 2009

Now if I had Conduit controls with BWii AI, I'd have the squad-based shooter I've always wanted.

KDR_11kJune 30, 2009

BWii needs more than just decent shooting controls, it also needs "go there" orders and better ways to handle split forces. Currently they all want to follow you in a giant clusterfuck instead of letting you, say, keep the arty behind without it wanting a hug from you every time it kills its designated target.

StratosJune 30, 2009

I thought you could order units to hold their position so they don't follow you?

All they need is love, KDR. Don't deprive them of their need. ;)
That was a hilarious description.

KDR_11kJune 30, 2009

You can tell them to stay where they are but you can't point somewhere and tell them to go there and after an attack order the units default to follow mode even if they were set to hold position before.

NinGurl69 *hugglesJune 30, 2009

Quote from: KDR_11k

BWii needs more than just decent shooting controls, it also needs "go there" orders and better ways to handle split forces. Currently they all want to follow you in a giant clusterfuck instead of letting you, say, keep the arty behind without it wanting a hug from you every time it kills its designated target.

This is interesting cuz I'm assuming you haven't played the first game.  You probably don't know what it was like to not have pointer control while running.  Walking, aiming, and lock-on are right out of Metroid Prime... and I'm sure you'd be happy to lock-on ONLY to the closest object in front of you every single time.  Lock-on w/ Pointing is fine in BWii cuz I'm constantly changing targets to lock onto and telling my units to chase things.  In BWi I had to RUN TO TARGETS or manually aim while stationary to get a desired lock.  I use lock-on maybe half the time in BWii when manually shooting things (the secret to maximizing efficiency and stomping Flames of Chaos on VS. Melee mode).

My two burning frustrations with BWii were the omissions of:
1.  Big open-area missions/maps as opposed to linearly-progressed trails, and
2.  Manually ordering units to stand at specific ground locations you aimed at (that's right, aim at the ground, "go there", done!)

That made me SAD.  In Battalion Wars, No.1 were my favorite type missions (figure out your own approach/path), and No.2 was important for doing No.1!!!  And now theyre gone D=

KDR, in the Options Menu you can disable your units from following you after they kill something, if that helps.  That's how it worked in the first game.  (I stopped disabling Auto-Follow due to BWii's linear level design; moving quickly as a massive pack is critical to saving time for score reasons).

ShyGuyJune 30, 2009

Pro is getting chocolate in my peanut butter.

Good Review by Lindy.

NinGurl69 *hugglesJune 30, 2009

Here's your Reese's.

StratosJune 30, 2009

Quote from: ShyGuy

Pro is getting chocolate in my peanut butter.

Good Review by Lindy.

But I love peanut butter M&M's! ;)

Though we probably should move the BWii discussion out of the Conduit Review Talkback thread, as enlightening it is to me.

KDR_11kJune 30, 2009

Quote from: NinGurl69

This is interesting cuz I'm assuming you haven't played the first game.

Yeah, I picked it up for three Euros recently and haven't gotten to it yet.

Good Review... I picked up the game about 5 days ago, i am thoroughly enjoying it.

After beating it i have a feeling this is going to be one of those games i will try to 100% complete

BlackNMild2k1July 01, 2009

I haven't even touched the single player campaign. I plan on being so good at multiplayer, the single player will not be a match for me.

kraken613July 01, 2009

^
LOL! I am the one of the best players on the board and the AI can kick my ass on the 2nd difficulty at times! The AI is tough once you get to the last few missions.

StratosJuly 01, 2009

I blame it more on the sheer amount of them they throw at them.

It reminds me of some Goldeneye levels on the harder difficulties that had infinite spawning enemies. I always hated that about the game. It was a spy game and I thought you should be able to eliminate every enemy in the level and wander around freely to finish the objectives.

broodwarsJuly 01, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

I blame it more on the sheer amount of them they throw at them.

It reminds me of some Goldeneye levels on the harder difficulties that had infinite spawning enemies. I always hated that about the game. It was a spy game and I thought you should be able to eliminate every enemy in the level and wander around freely to finish the objectives.

You could in some cases.  I had a blast in that one Goldeneye level where you had to escape from the jail cell and take out the facility just luring enemies into my cell one-by-one so I could take them out and take all their guns.  Then I'd just tour around the facility blowing things up with no one left to stop me, even on the highest difficulty level.

EDIT: Incidentally, I was window-browsing my local Gamestop today and they still had one copy left of the Conduit Special Edition.  Damn, I almost bought it just to have a copy without the ****ty cover art...but I must resist...Batman's only 2 months away, and my backlog's insane as it is...

StratosJuly 01, 2009

Quote from: broodwars

Quote from: Stratos

I blame it more on the sheer amount of them they throw at them.

It reminds me of some Goldeneye levels on the harder difficulties that had infinite spawning enemies. I always hated that about the game. It was a spy game and I thought you should be able to eliminate every enemy in the level and wander around freely to finish the objectives.

You could in some cases.  I had a blast in that one Goldeneye level where you had to escape from the jail cell and take out the facility just luring enemies into my cell one-by-one so I could take them out and take all their guns.  Then I'd just tour around the facility blowing things up with no one left to stop me, even on the highest difficulty level.

EDIT: Incidentally, I was window-browsing my local Gamestop today and they still had one copy left of the Conduit Special Edition.  Damn, I almost bought it just to have a copy without the ****ty cover art...but I must resist...Batman's only 2 months away, and my backlog's insane as it is...

So there is an end to the enemies. I don't recall if I even found an end to the deluge on that level. It felt like there were always more.

Mop it upJuly 01, 2009

In Goldeneye the enemies duplicate on some levels. Using the aforementioned Bunker 2 level as an example, if you don't take out the guards residing in the side rooms they will spawn to infinity. After you take them out the spawning will stop.

kraken613July 01, 2009

You should have bought it! It is ridiculously fun online!

CalibanJuly 02, 2009

Did NWR authorize the use of this review for this article?

No, but that's fine.  They're giving us some pub so that's good.

CalibanJuly 02, 2009

Cool.

StratosJuly 02, 2009

I find it interesting they left out IGN's score of 8.6

BlackNMild2k1July 02, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

I find it interesting they left out IGN's score of 8.6

Thats what I was thinking when I saw it.

Include NWR but leave out IGN? didn't make much sense unless they like what was said specifically in the review from NWR.

StratosJuly 02, 2009

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

Quote from: Stratos

I find it interesting they left out IGN's score of 8.6

Thats what I was thinking when I saw it.

Include NWR but leave out IGN? didn't make much sense unless they like what was said specifically in the review from NWR.

Because IGN is awesomer than IGN. That chart there, see, was not about Conduit ratings. It was about website awesomeness. And NWR is at the top if it.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 02, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

Quote from: Stratos

I find it interesting they left out IGN's score of 8.6

Thats what I was thinking when I saw it.

Include NWR but leave out IGN? didn't make much sense unless they like what was said specifically in the review from NWR.

Because IGN is awesomer than IGN. That chart there, see, was not about Conduit ratings. It was about website awesomeness. And NWR is at the top if it.

Bald headed affirmative action!

LOL yeah, I thought it was curious that they left out IGN's score as well, when it was higher than ours.  They also left out the six other reviews that were in the 8 to 8.5 range, immediately leading to comment thread cries of an inflated score due to Nintendo fanboyism on our behalf (since nobody that read that article would actually go to Metacritic to check out the entire range of review scores, and where we placed on it).

If they only knew that my checkered past includes me pretty much being considered an anti-Nintendo PS3 fanboy troll on my own website's forums.  ;)

ShyGuyJuly 05, 2009

Sheesh, Lindy never misses an opportunity to mention the PS3, does he?

It's not so much the PS3 as it is the irony.

StratosJuly 05, 2009

As your sig now proudly boasts, you trolled said forums on your honeymoon, too. I find that ironic as well.

trip1eXJuly 07, 2009

Frame rate sucks in Conduit especially in Multiplayer. 

The game feels chintzy. 

On the other hand there hasn't been an fps on the Wii since Medal of Honor if I remember right so Wii owners who want an fps on the system are starving.  And when you're starving folks will eat anything.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 07, 2009

Quote from: trip1eX

Frame rate sucks in Conduit especially in Multiplayer. 

The game feels chintzy. 

On the other hand there hasn't been an fps on the Wii since Medal of Honor if I remember right so Wii owners who want an fps on the system are starving.  And when you're starving folks will eat anything.

Framerate sucks? It may not be super smooth but it is fine fo rme.

Eat anything? Must be why I also have a good gaming PC, 360 and PS3 as well yet still enjoy the game?

kraken613July 07, 2009

^
Seriously! I own all 3 consoles and I still enjoy this game.

It runs 30fps. Your internet connection probably sucks is why you are lagging online.

StratosJuly 07, 2009

Quote from: trip1eX

Frame rate sucks in Conduit especially in Multiplayer. 

The game feels chintzy. 

On the other hand there hasn't been an fps on the Wii since Medal of Honor if I remember right so Wii owners who want an fps on the system are starving.  And when you're starving folks will eat anything.

You forgot about CoD:WaW.

Mop it upJuly 07, 2009

Before playing a game with a bad framerate, I play Super Doom. If you think that The Conduit has a choppy framerate, play a little Super Doom before playing The Conduit. It will make even something like Perfect Dark seem smooth as butter in comparison.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 07, 2009

Quote from: kraken613

^
Seriously! I own all 3 consoles and I still enjoy this game.

It runs 30fps. Your internet connection probably sucks is why you are lagging online.

I really am tired of that argument being used that it is all Wii owners can get. That is saying Lindy, who is pretty open about his love for games on other systems is not giving his true opinion. People, like me, enjoy it because it is a throw back to games like PD, when things were simpler and yes even more chaotic. Not only that bu the controls are FUN.

ShyGuyJuly 07, 2009

Wii owners are like the fat ugly guy at the prom, they'll take anything they can get.

I have a theory that some "hard-core gamers" are trying to assert themselves after being picked on by bullies in school. They have become the bullies. WHO'S THE TOUGH GUY NOW VINNY

Flames_of_chaosLukasz Balicki, Staff AlumnusJuly 07, 2009

Quote from: ShyGuy

Wii owners are like the fat ugly guy at the prom, they'll take anything they can get.

I have a theory that some "hard-core gamers" are trying to assert themselves after being picked on by bullies in school. They have become the bullies. WHO'S THE TOUGH GUY NOW VINNY

I think that applies to PSP owners. If you saw the PSP release schedule this year it rivals the GameCube release schedule when it was on it's last legs.

PlugabugzJuly 07, 2009

All The Conduit discussion is banned until it has been released in Europe.

As you were.

StratosJuly 07, 2009

Quote from: Plugabugz

All The Conduit discussion is banned until it has been released in Europe.

As you were.

Is there even a release date for over there? I know HVS's WiiWare games have yet to go across the Atlantic.

PlugabugzJuly 07, 2009

OOOh! It's this friday apparently....

StratosJuly 07, 2009

Nice turnaround. I hope there is no PAL issues like with Madworld.

PlugabugzJuly 07, 2009

Me too. I'm going to pur-chase it. And check the boxart first.

Mop it upJuly 07, 2009

I hope so too because it sounds like the game has enough issues without a bad conversion.

StratosJuly 07, 2009

Quote from: Mop_it_up

I hope so too because it sounds like the game has enough issues without a bad conversion.

What's that supposed to mean? Just because your AC buddies are obsesed with it and don't play AC with you as much anymore does not constitute a problem with the game. ;)

Mop it upJuly 07, 2009

No local multiplayer, framerate problems, that sort of thing.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 07, 2009

Quote from: Mop_it_up

No local multiplayer, framerate problems, that sort of thing.

The framerate is fine, not sure where people are seeing it as a big issue and this is coming from someone that could not really get into PD because of framerate problems.

kraken613July 07, 2009

Framerate is a very solid 30. I have not played a local multiplayer on a FPS for at least 3 years now. Why would you? Smaller screen, bumped down graphics, and the other person can look at your screen....

StogiJuly 07, 2009

But it's fun. That's why.

plus I got a projector ;)

kraken613July 07, 2009

I would rather play online with a headset any day.... A lot of FPS on other consoles don't have local either...

I have a Sony Bravia projector, 120'' of 1080p goodness..... I still don't want to play local....

Mop it upJuly 07, 2009

Quote from: kraken613

Framerate is a very solid 30. I have not played a local multiplayer on a FPS for at least 3 years now. Why would you? Smaller screen, bumped down graphics, and the other person can look at your screen....

Because then you can play with 4 people without everyone having to own the system and a copy of the game, and you don't have to deal with possible disconnections, poor quality voices, and other problems which can arise from online gaming.

Local multiplayer > online multiplayer. Always has been, always will be. The best games offer both, like Mario Kart Wii.

kraken613July 07, 2009

Local Multiplayer= Limited to playing with people you live by.

Mop it upJuly 07, 2009

That's why games should include both.

StratosJuly 08, 2009

Quote from: Mop_it_up

Quote from: kraken613

Framerate is a very solid 30. I have not played a local multiplayer on a FPS for at least 3 years now. Why would you? Smaller screen, bumped down graphics, and the other person can look at your screen....

Because then you can play with 4 people without everyone having to own the system and a copy of the game, and you don't have to deal with possible disconnections, poor quality voices, and other problems which can arise from online gaming.

Local multiplayer > online multiplayer. Always has been, always will be. The best games offer both, like Mario Kart Wii.

I do second Mop it up's thoughts. Local > Online. Though online is still fun. And I prefer playing without a headset. Less clunky and my ears don't sweat.

Quote from: kraken613

Local Multiplayer= Limited to playing with people you live by.

Local Multiplayer = not being shut in nerds like us and getting real friends ;)

kraken613July 08, 2009

If I play local I play LAN. I do that quite often but I never play a FPS with multiple people on the same console.

StratosJuly 08, 2009

Quote from: kraken613

If I play local I play LAN. I do that quite often but I never play a FPS with multiple people on the same console.

Well, back in my day, you had yer split screen, and only yer split screen. And we were happy. None of this new-fangled world wide web nonsense. Why, on some games, you actually took turns playing! Imagine that!

kraken613July 08, 2009

That was back then though, you don't have to anymore....

GoldenPhoenixJuly 08, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

Quote from: kraken613

If I play local I play LAN. I do that quite often but I never play a FPS with multiple people on the same console.

Well, back in my day, you had yer split screen, and only yer split screen. And we were happy. None of this new-fangled world wide web nonsense. Why, on some games, you actually took turns playing! Imagine that!

Old people are lameo.

StratosJuly 08, 2009

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Quote from: Stratos

Quote from: kraken613

If I play local I play LAN. I do that quite often but I never play a FPS with multiple people on the same console.

Well, back in my day, you had yer split screen, and only yer split screen. And we were happy. None of this new-fangled world wide web nonsense. Why, on some games, you actually took turns playing! Imagine that!

Old people are lameo.

That's funny because you are older than me by a few months. So come join me and Cranky Kong in our rockers and wax over the glory days of games when you could count the different colors on your fingers.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 08, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Quote from: Stratos

Quote from: kraken613

If I play local I play LAN. I do that quite often but I never play a FPS with multiple people on the same console.

Well, back in my day, you had yer split screen, and only yer split screen. And we were happy. None of this new-fangled world wide web nonsense. Why, on some games, you actually took turns playing! Imagine that!

Old people are lameo.

That's funny because you are older than me by a few months. So come join me and Cranky Kong in our rockers and wax over the glory days of games when you could count the different colors on your fingers.

I'm not talking old people stuff. So you are still the old one!

Mop it upJuly 08, 2009

Back in my day the best FPS on the block was FaceBall 2000. It was full of the scariest enemy on the planet, giant killer smiley faces.

Even it had local multiplayer.

broodwarsJuly 08, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

Quote from: kraken613

If I play local I play LAN. I do that quite often but I never play a FPS with multiple people on the same console.

Well, back in my day, you had yer split screen, and only yer split screen. And we were happy. None of this new-fangled world wide web nonsense. Why, on some games, you actually took turns playing! Imagine that!

I remember back in my day, we played FPSs that didn't have lousy level-design in their single-player modes and the experience was varied with multiple tiers of objectives depending on the difficulty level.  Nowadays the only thing the game asks of the player is to decide what weapon to carry with them and how quickly to point it at everyone else.  Young whippersnappers ruining it for everyone...

(Translation: Yeah, I'm playing the Conduit's SP, and I definitely agree with Lindy: it's not very interesting and definitely needed bigger focus from the dev team)

StogiJuly 08, 2009

There's nothing like throwing down on a multiplayer match with your arch-nemesis (your BFF), in order to obtain the rights to the glorious universe. Online maybe fun, but it'll never have the emotional typhoon that engulfs the best split-screen matches.

kraken613July 08, 2009

Well split-screen has already been confirmed for The Grinder. Its even on the menus just watch the NWR direct feed. Even though I will never use it...

GoldenPhoenixJuly 08, 2009

Quote from: broodwars

Quote from: Stratos

Quote from: kraken613

If I play local I play LAN. I do that quite often but I never play a FPS with multiple people on the same console.

Well, back in my day, you had yer split screen, and only yer split screen. And we were happy. None of this new-fangled world wide web nonsense. Why, on some games, you actually took turns playing! Imagine that!

I remember back in my day, we played FPSs that didn't have lousy level-design in their single-player modes and the experience was varied with multiple tiers of objectives depending on the difficulty level.  Nowadays the only thing the game asks of the player is to decide what weapon to carry with them and how quickly to point it at everyone else.  Young whippersnappers ruining it for everyone...

(Translation: Yeah, I'm playing the Conduit's SP, and I definitely agree with Lindy: it's not very interesting and definitely needed bigger focus from the dev team)

Sounds like most FPS games out there, seriously singling Conduit out for it is silly at best. Believe it or not, FPS games are not like Bioshock for the most part. The only thing that separates some from Conduit is prettier visuals, but most are quite linear and require the player to aim and shoot to get through them. Conduit just eliminates most of the excess garbage that many have which is why I enjoyed the single player campaign more in Conduit then most other FPS games I've played.

Some of them "mix things up" by having you aim and shoot in a tank or something but for the most part that is how things work now in the FPS genre. There are exceptions like CoD4 (But really it is pretty much like the previous games in the series), and of course Bioshock. But for every one of those you get FEAR, Resistance, Halo, and a smattering of others.

ShyGuyJuly 08, 2009

Hey Plugabugz, enjoy our glorious national capital. Washington D.C. has amazing architecture which is featured throughout the Conduit.

broodwarsJuly 08, 2009

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Quote from: broodwars

Quote from: Stratos

Quote from: kraken613

If I play local I play LAN. I do that quite often but I never play a FPS with multiple people on the same console.

Well, back in my day, you had yer split screen, and only yer split screen. And we were happy. None of this new-fangled world wide web nonsense. Why, on some games, you actually took turns playing! Imagine that!

I remember back in my day, we played FPSs that didn't have lousy level-design in their single-player modes and the experience was varied with multiple tiers of objectives depending on the difficulty level.  Nowadays the only thing the game asks of the player is to decide what weapon to carry with them and how quickly to point it at everyone else.  Young whippersnappers ruining it for everyone...

(Translation: Yeah, I'm playing the Conduit's SP, and I definitely agree with Lindy: it's not very interesting and definitely needed bigger focus from the dev team)

Sounds like most FPS games out there, seriously singling Conduit out for it is silly at best. Believe it or not, FPS games are not like Bioshock for the most part. The only thing that separates some from Conduit is prettier visuals, but most are quite linear and require the player to aim and shoot to get through them. Conduit just eliminates most of the excess garbage that many have which is why I enjoyed the single player campaign more in Conduit then most other FPS games I've played.

Some of them "mix things up" by having you aim and shoot in a tank or something but for the most part that is how things work now in the FPS genre. There are exceptions like CoD4 (But really it is pretty much like the previous games in the series), and of course Bioshock. But for every one of those you get FEAR, Resistance, Halo, and a smattering of others.

I wasn't looking for Bioshock or (from what I've heard) CoD4 with this game, which are paragons of the genre and so would be difficult to top even if High Voltage was trying for that.  I was looking for a worthy successor to Goldeneye and Perfect Dark (both of which were fairly run-and-gun as well, despite being obstensively "spy games"), but it seems even that sort of level design might just be beyond High Voltage.  I still have hopes for the SP, though...I'm far from finishing it and each level has improved on the last (with the exception, of course, of the end of mission 3).

ShyGuyJuly 08, 2009

Bioshock is not a paragon.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 09, 2009

Quote from: ShyGuy

Bioshock is not a paragon.

Wrong.

ShyGuyJuly 09, 2009

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Quote from: ShyGuy

Bioshock is not a paragon.

Wrong.

Okay, what is it epitome of? FPS? there are better first person shooters. Graphics? nope. Story? this is its strongest point but no, there is better. control? It controls poorly as a shooter. Depth? still nope. Bioschock is overrated. It is a good BUT linear single player fps with gussied up inventory control.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 09, 2009

Quote from: ShyGuy

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Quote from: ShyGuy

Bioshock is not a paragon.

Wrong.

Okay, what is it epitome of? FPS? there are better first person shooters. Graphics? nope. Story? this is its strongest point but no, there is better. control? It controls poorly as a shooter. Depth? still nope. Bioschock is overrated. It is a good BUT linear single player fps with gussied up inventory control.

Bioshock controls fine on the PC. The visuals are some of the artistic and abstract of any FPS out there. The depth is a perfect blend between exploration and a linear path with multiple ways of approaching a situation not to mention a simple, yet emotionally effective moral system. So you are WRONG. I can't think of one FPS after Bioshock that is anything like it in atmosphere, story, morality and depth, not to mention artistic achievement.

ShyGuyJuly 09, 2009

Doom2 surpasses Bioshock in almost every category.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 09, 2009

Quote from: ShyGuy

Doom2 surpasses Bioshock in almost every category.

Don't make me get broodwars in here.

KDR_11kJuly 09, 2009

Bioshock is great and all but I still didn't get into it...

StratosJuly 09, 2009

I'm sorry, but a game that has the option between horrendously evil and disgustingly good does not equal 'emotional effectivness' to me.

broodwarsJuly 09, 2009

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Quote from: ShyGuy

Doom2 surpasses Bioshock in almost every category.

Don't make me get broodwars in here.

*answering machine.*

"Hi, you've reached Broodwars, slayer of sacred cows!  Sorry I can't come to the forums right now to defend a game that was both a critical and commercial success with perfect or nearly perfect review scores, but I'm busy sleeping right now.  If you want to leave a message about how the game's stylized graphics were among the best when the game originally came out (and still hold up well now); the game has a relatively-deep (for an FPS) character customization system based around leveling up your character with photos and plasmids; etc....please do so now, but be aware that I have forgiven the game's main flaw in how the game drops the ball in the relatively lame final couple stages.  Zzzzz....."

CalibanJuly 09, 2009

lol

kraken613July 09, 2009

COD4 is my favorite FPS. What other FPS has the balls to kill a main character then have you play as him as he dies. It was really on of those "Did that really happen" moments in gaming for me.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 09, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

I'm sorry, but a game that has the option between horrendously evil and disgustingly good does not equal 'emotional effectivness' to me.

Wrong part 2.

KDR_11kJuly 09, 2009

Why was there no option to use the little sister as an improvised melee weapon?

StratosJuly 09, 2009

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Quote from: Stratos

I'm sorry, but a game that has the option between horrendously evil and disgustingly good does not equal 'emotional effectivness' to me.

Wrong part 2.

Please unpack that statement.

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The Conduit Box Art

Genre Shooter
Developer High Voltage Software
Players1 - 12

Worldwide Releases

na: The Conduit
Release Jun 23, 2009
PublisherSega
RatingTeen
eu: The Conduit
Release Jul 10, 2009
PublisherSega
Rating16+
aus: The Conduit
Release Jun 25, 2009
PublisherSega
RatingMature

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