High Voltage Software's The Conduit is a stunning first-person action shooter that promises to provide some of the best visuals seen to date on Nintendo's Wii gaming console.
Using their proprietary Quantum 3 Game Engine technology, the team at High Voltage Software is fusing fast and fluid gameplay with an advanced set of visuals intended to squarely establish the Wii as a true next-generation gaming platform. The first-person shooter boasts a competitive online multiplayer component and a thrilling single-player campaign. Advanced graphical features include dynamic environment mapping, interactive water with real-time reflection, and four-stage texture composition including gloss, diffuse, and bump mapping.
Featuring terrifying alien creatures, an advanced Artificial Intelligence System, and a rich, conspiracy-laden story, The Conduit has more than a pretty face. "The Wii has tremendous potential," said Kerry J. Ganofsky, CEO and founder of High Voltage Software. "We've invested heavily in our technology to make certain that potential is realized with The Conduit."
The Conduit will use the new Quantum 3 Gameplay engine developed by High Voltage Software. Said to bring graphics up to that of early 360 games, this revolutionary engine is going to push the hardware capabilities of the Wii.
Eric Nofsinger, chief creative officer at High Voltage Software, had this to say about the Wii being a "casual" platform -
"Most of the games on the Wii look like crap. We want to change that, so we've invested heavily in our Wii tech over the past year. We have real-time normal mapping, reflection and refraction, post process full screen effects, real-time shadows, projected lights and textures, specularity and fresnel effects, emissive and iridescent materials, interactive water, morphing, and much more all running with a rock solid frame rate on the Wii. Our goal is to be the most technically innovative Wii developer on the planet."
If you don't understand what all of that technicle mumbo-jumbo means, I'll sum it up for ya - some pretty darn good-lookin' games for the Wii, closer than ever to that of the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Nofsinger continued,
"There is this pervasive and cyclical argument that Wii consumers don't want mature titles, when there aren't those types of products available to them. And even more frustrating is the claim that Wii consumers only care about great gameplay. Of course they care about gameplay, but we believe if given the choice, they would want great graphics as well. It's just a cop out," says Nofsinger. "With Conduit, we are trying to make a Wii game that looks like a 360 title."
Check out some more screenshots of The Conduit over at IGN.
The Conduit's control scheme was carefully designed from the ground up with the Wii in mind, as were each of the weapons in the extensive armory, providing gameplay not possible on other platforms. As Secret Service Agent Ford, you must learn to master each of these weapons as well as the special "All Seeing Eye" device to defeat enemies, solve puzzles, and unravel the game's mysteries.
If everything High Voltage has said is true, this will truly be the best FPS for the Wii, and will definately showcase the best graphics for the Wii to date. That is "if." Hopefully the new Quantum 3 game engine will be used by other developers, and pretty soon we can be seeing Wii games' graphics on par with the "other" next-gen consoles.
The full articles I got this info from can be read Here, and Here.
Also keep in mind that The Conduit is still in early design stages, Alpha, and does not yet have a publisher.