If this is the best first person shooter offering on Wii, then there isnt much hope for the genre on this console.
Ever since HVS revealed the first footage of the Conduit and the Quantum 3 Engine demo, its visuals was the biggest hook in grabbing gamers and publishers attention alike. The final product is quite impressive, but not enough to impress all. Like some of Wii's better looking games such as Deadly Creatures, character models, guns and other objects that are at focus are rendered with great detail. Also particle and other effects are some of the best seen on Wii. However, the general environments feature far less detail comprised with normal mapping and bland color schemes. Make no mistake, the Conduit is way up there as some of the very best looking titles on Wii, the technology powering this game seems to even best Metroid Prime 3, however Super Mario Galaxy still remains to be the title that showcases the Wii's top performance in visual presentation.
Fans demand more first person shooter offerings on Nintendo's platform and HVS has served a delicious taste of what players have been craving for. This features easily the deepest customizable FPS controls on Wii with a huge advantage over other console FPS's. Every aspect of the pointer controls can be customized: turning speed, sensitivity, both horizontal and vertical dead zone space, you can truly mold the way you shoot to your liking. All this can be done in real-time so players can see their tweaking results. Aiming feels fantastic in single player, though that isn't saying much considering that's the enemies can't qualify as the most robust AI. This is a completely different story in multiplayer, but I'll get back to that in the online portion of my review. The button layout is also customizable. Different from what I expected, players will have to switch the actions of each button; I would have preferred allocating where I want each of the actions freely. But HVS deserves more than enough credit as there have been numerous complaints in the past regarding FPS controls on other consoles not giving players the freedom to customize their controls. The Conduit is the only console shooter I've played that allows this level of customization.
There has been much skepticism about the Conduit after its debut. Some were concerned if their in-house developed Quantum 3 engine would work, and if its controls and online component are as good as HVS boasted; but the one reoccurring criticizing statement was that the Conduit looked "too generic". That never changed since, the Conduit is just as generic as any other shooter released last gen. Everything from the visual style, to the mundane storyline; the Conduit gets lost hazy mountain pile of first person shooters and barely stands out. Compare this across all platforms, and this game can't hope to hold a candle to other titles such as Halo, COD, Killzone and Resistance. Even B titles on other systems can out do the Conduit easily. But on the Wii, this is holds the throne and could very well remain there till either another company makes an ambitious advancement (which unfortunately, I doubt) or until HVS releases a new title. There's little variety in the gameplay, so it's pretty straight forward, just run and gun. The one unique aspect of the Conduit which lies at the base of the story is the All Seeing Eye, or the ASE. This spherical shaped device is the key to Mr. Ford's progression. The ASE has many uses: scanning hidden objects, revealing puzzles (there's not many, so don't get excited), hacking into computers and even revealing hidden enemies and traps. One flawed function of the ASE is revealing the path to you next objective. Pulling out the ASE and activating it will unveil a glowing line which points you in the right direction. This would be a great idea if it worked all the time. I found that in some of the places that I needed it most, no path was shown. As for the main use of the ASE, things can get pretty hectic when you're trying to uncover Ghost Mines and hold off a horde of Grudge at the same time. However, in the end, the ASE isn't enough to make the Conduit stand out as a unique shooter.
In a short developer diary in January, High Voltage tried showing off their so called advanced tactical AI among other features in the Conduit. Unfortunately, the developer's perception of advanced tactical AI is far different from most, as they can only perform the most basic actions. In the final build, the end result isn't so advanced or tactical. Enemies in the Conduit are just about as straight forward as the game itself. They'll rush at you in an absolute offensive fashion, periodically they'll take cover behind walls and crates, and rarely will they lob grenades at you. Something I've experience far too often are dumbfounded enemies that seem more interested in competing in a staring contest rather than shooting you down. This first occurred early in the game which I was climbing a stair case on my way to an elevator. Looking up, I saw a Trust soldier just standing there looking down at me. I put a couple of rounds into him, yet he remained still. Towards the games climax, the difficulty ramps up. The AI isn't so much smarter, but rather far more aggressive. Without giving away any spoilers, reaching the end of the Conduit brings you through what seems to be the Trust headquarters (surprise, surprise). This puts players through a series of indoor shoot-outs with an increased amount of aggressive enemies. Thankfully the AI isn't so terrible that it turns the Conduit into a shooting gallery, but experienced fans will notice the lack of intelligence.
Developers this gen seems to be obsessed with adding scale to their games thanks to new hardware advancements. Most Wii developers on the other hand haven't been too ambitious enough as to set titles at a larger scale. I mentioned that in reaching the campaigns conclusion, there'll be corridor shoot-outs in a Trust facility. Unfortunately, this tight spacing exists throughout the entire game. As I can recall, there was only one chapter that was set in an outdoor environment, which happens to be the desolate streets of Washington. Not much different from the many hallways players will be shooting their way through. Other than that, most of the campaign will take place indoors, only steering away from that in quick boss fights and transitions from one location to another. Now I can't criticize HVS too much for how the game is mapped out; rendering characters, effects and environments at this level of quality, the Quantum 3 engine is pushing a lot of horsepower here. No doubt it would have all fallen apart if the studio tried scale the game into more vast settings rather than its Perfect Dark and Golden Eye looking environments.
Now here's the critique subject that everyone's been waiting for, online play. If I had to describe the Conduits online play in one word, it's unpolished. Now don't take that in the worst way possible, it's definitely playable, but not without a whole host of bugs that plague the experience. Let's start with actually joining the match; when joining a match, it could take up to 5 minutes to join, and yes there will be a few occasions when it will take that long. In some cases, if the connection takes that long, it might fail, prompting that an error has occurred. One horrible experience I had happened while waiting for the connection to be established. Now this isn't an exaggeration, it took 25 minutes and counting for the game to connect. The reason why I say "counting" is that I turned off my system after I lost patients. Don't expect the connection to establish if it takes that long. Once an online game has been connected, players will be brought to a lobby where they'll vote for the game type, weapon set and map. I do see a problem in this however; most of the matches I've played have been on Streets, and far too often that has been combined with the explosive weapon set (which is a horrific combination in my opinion). Streets is a fine map, but I'd rather get a chance to play all the maps instead of being stuck with one during most of my online sessions. It would have been better if HVS implemented a veto system like what most other shooters use where maps will be randomly generated and players will have one chance to veto it, same goes for the weapons.
As for the online play itself, it can be enjoyable, I'll give it that much. There are 4 different modes: your typical deathmatch and team deathmatch, and capture the flag modes which is set up where players will have to capture the opposing team's ASE. The final mode called Assassination, gives each player one target they must assassinate. They'll only be able to identify their target, not their assassins. Players get points for killing their target, 0 for killing their hunter, and lose points for killing a player they're not involved with. Other than the constant frame rate dips and awkward animations, I do have one major gripe about the multiplayer; who out there has ever heard of an online multiplayer shooter that features a lock-on component? This just simply does not exist in most generic and even accomplished first and third person shooters, and will undoubtedly turn off purists of this genre. Don't go thinking the lock-on feature is a complete handicap. Lock-on focuses a bounding box around the opposing player leaving room to aim, hit or miss; so players still have to attempt hitting their target, even head shots can be pulled off. If I had to guess, either lock on was included to cater to the casual audience, or they realized what a mess it was without it in multiplayer. It's difficult to argue that Wii is capable of better FPS controls than dual analog used on PS3 and 360 if players have to rely on lock- on. It isn't required, but it's a necessary evil and I highly suggest using it. After all, can u trust that other players won't use lock on to experience an authentic shooter?
I know I sound overly critical, but it's hard not to be seeing that it is claimed to be the best shooter on Wii. Not using lock-on in multiplayer, the aiming can feel a little sloppy when you're aiming at a human player, and with the frame rate taking a constant hit, you'll be wasting far more bullets and ammo than one should trying to hit an actual human player. There is also a few more control options offered that should have never been implemented into the final product, let alone surfaced as an idea. Along with customizing your turning speed, dead zone etc, there are also aiming styles. These feel more gimmicky rather than strategic options. They can change your color scheme, limiting you to just horizontal turns, and other ridiculous control options...I just can't imagine anyone could possibly want to play the game like this. But the one that really bothered me was the Trust option. This tightens up aiming precision ridding players of the floaty default option, but once you zoom in with this style; your view is actually thrown off where you'll be aiming a bit higher or lower than your initial target. This is just bad game design; it's like HVS wanted players to choose an option knowing that they'll have to sacrifice an advantage. It makes little sense that the developer didn't just comprise all the advantages of both options into a default. Though there are many customizable options, this doesn't top quick, tight and intuitive aiming seen in games using dual analog such as Call of Duty. Nintendo fans r gonna have a riot reading that, but for someone who jumped back and forth playing Call of Duty and the Conduit seeking which controls feel better, this is my honest opinion: other than what was seen in Medal of Honor Heroes 2, dual analog control still tops most of what's seen on Wii. That potential hasn't been fully realized yet. If players can look past the basic, generic feature set, the oddly implemented lock on system, and put up with the occasional online failure, the Conduit can provide a fun online muliplayer option.
So, is the long awaited Conduit a must have? Well, it depends on who you are. Wii only owners shouldn't pass up on this title. It is most certainly the best shooter on Wii, offering controls, visuals and online play like none other on the system. Those who own consoles other than Wii, but still support it should at least give it a try. The controls scheme is different enough to spark some interest in those that have played countless dual analog shooters. As for everyone else, there's absolutely no reason to buy this game. The one saving grace that should separate the Conduit from others, which is the aiming controls, isn't quite here. Other shooters on other consoles better the Conduit in just about every single way… by far. As much as I want this game to sell, my criticism speaks for itself, I can't recommend it to everyone. Hopefully HVS keeps a very close eye on the game's performance and learns from their many mistakes. Don't get me wrong; I highly appreciate and commend what the developer's done. HV raised the bar on so many levels that it's hard not to give them credit. Let's just hope that their ambition fuels for a more refined, more robust and better designed title in the future.