It has potential, but major flaws robs this game of its intended greatness. However i disagree with many critic reviews.
If you're reading this review, chances are you've seen critics bashing this games story and i agree to some extent. The story follows a government conspiracy and secret service agent Micheal Ford is recruited to help fight an alien invasion, there is a plot twist early in the game and then not much else happens. The story is really short, having about 6 hours of gameplay and about 9 missions. However, there is a lot of stuff to do, first a long list of acheivments, concept art and cheats can be unlocked and found. There are also hidden messages to find and radios that tell you about whats happening in the rest of the world. This extends the gameplay value slightly.
The graphics were something that got many people excited and some mistook it for a 360 game at E3. So the graphics from a technical stand point is really impressive, it offers some of the best on the wii. From an artistic standpoint, it's meh. Most of the guns are rather uninspired (with the exception of a few of my faves) and there are not many variety of enemies, which feels a bit repetitive at times. However the graphics as a whole are impressive and deserves credit.
Sound design is pretty average. Music changes with the intensity of battle and does generally add to the immersion. Reload sounds sound like you would expect them to. Enemies sound rather uninspired and dull which is a dissapointment. The voice acting however, in my opinion is rather well done. Both John Adams and Prometheus sound convincing with the exception of the main character Michael Ford which lacks enthusiasm.
The ASE is what the conduit tries to set itself apart from other titles in the genre. It is a floating device that can be used to hack computers, discover secrets, find "ghost mines" and find invisible enemies. It is crucial to the story but in the actual gameplay, it can be frustrating and just isn't that fun to use. Perhaps next time they could implement it a bit better.
Lastly is the online multiplayer. This was a big reason for the hype for this game, and i have to say it is fun. There are a few flaws though, first being it takes FOREVER to join a match (unlike Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, both for the wii) first you have to find people, then after you've found people they have to authenticicate which takes way too long for my liking. Then you vote for a rule set a weapon set and a map. At first i missed the custom weapon set from Call of Duty but i got used to it. Once your finally in a match, it is really fun. The only thing about the gameplay of the multiplayer is that i found people had too much health. All in all the multiplayer is a really enjoyable experience.
Does the conduit deliver as a hardcore FPS for the wii? I can tell you it does. However don't buy this game expecting a revolution in the FPS genre, because you will be dissapointed. This game with its average single player and fun online is a really good game, the few flaws keep this game from being great. However i believe that the sequel will be better, and if you played all the way to the end, you should know they intend to make a sequel if they see support. So if you like this game, don't hesitate to buy it if you want to see a Conduit 2