The Conduit (Hands-On) (Wii) Preview

By Mike Mason 16.02.2009

Review for The Conduit (Hands-On) on Wii

Hidden away at their Guns 'n' Gore 2 event that showcased Madworld and The House of the Dead: Overkill, SEGA also had a copy of High Voltage's FPS The Conduit tucked away. We eagerly accepted the chance to have a quick go...

Before we go any further, it's important to note that I, on behalf of C3, only actually got a couple of minutes of hands-on time with The Conduit - enough to get a feel for the controls, but not much else. However, I did get to see ten or fifteen minutes worth of demonstrations as well. This was due to the focus of the event not really being on the game in particular and the fact that we had to take turns. For further impressions, be sure to look out for the coverage provided by British Gaming Blog in the near future, who were present in the same session as myself and got a little more hands-on time in a more exciting area of the level.

The Conduit isn't out for a few months yet, but it's looking like it has a lot of potential, especially considering it was an old build that we saw. Players take control of Agent Ford as he deals with the panic of a world filling with conduits, alien portals tipping havoc into the world. He's got to keep his wits - and weapons - in good check if he's going to save the planet.

For our setup, sensitivity was very high and there was no noticeable cursor lag. Grenades were hurled by pointing where you wanted them to go and making a throwing motion with the Nunchuk. Reloading was initiated via a click of the minus button (a motion reload, as you might expect, is replaced with a melee attack if you thrust the Wii remote - perfect for those too-close-for-comfort moments). Zooming in on enemies and firing were handled with the B trigger and d-pad respectively. The All Seeing Eye was mapped to the plus button.

The All Seeing Eye is a unique gameplay element that makes things more interesting. It's essentially a useful tool that shows you things you wouldn't see with the naked eye, such as hidden doors (often the presence of these, and other secrets, is indicated with a beep from the remote). In our session we used it to locate a pathway through a wall, hack a computer to open a door and pick our way through a corridor spiked with invisible mines.

The enemies you encounter are quite intelligent too; perhaps not that out of the ordinary nowadays, but it's worth noting that they'll hop in and out of cover to keep themselves as healthy as possible. You'd do well to follow their example given that health doesn't regenerate (except in special areas), forcing you to rely on medipacks. To add an extra level of depth to the game, HVS has included three categories of gun: human, alien and prototype. Our play test was not long enough to see many different weapons, but we assume that each category has equivalent weapons that equal each other. Prototype guns, we were told, are akin to the Golden Guns of Goldeneye - one shot kills all around.

In terms of presentation, The Conduit's feels, in some ways, like the Metroid Prime series, right down to a similar font used for the text. The setting is obviously very different - think sci-fi crossed with Goldeneye for the area we played, including big air locked metal doors looming over dank corridors - but it does look pretty decent for a Wii game even in this early build. Apparently some parts, such as the All Seeing Eye, appear totally differently in other builds.

Final Thoughts

Our hands-on time with it may have been brief, but from what we've seen and messed about with so far The Conduit is looking like a worthy risk for High Voltage to take. We can't be certain just yet that it'll be the saviour of the FPS genre on Wii many are hoping it will be, but the lack of a solid release date - we only heard 'Q3' bandied about somewhat vaguely - implies there's still time to make any necessary improvements.

The Conduit (Wii)

Developer

High Voltage

Publisher

SEGA

Genre

First Person Shooter

Players

C3 Score

7/10

Reader Score

8/10 (30 Votes)

Out now

Out now

Out now

Out now

Comments

«s previous1next »

J4K 16.02.2009#1

This is my most anticipated game of the year for Wii, so I really hope it turns out well. Nice preview, Mike!

rammpeth 16.02.2009#2

why a 3 out of 5 though?

jesusraz 16.02.2009#3

In terms of presentation, The Conduit's feels, in some ways, like the Metroid Prime series

That's why I'm keeping a close eye on this one... Smilie

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

Mason 16.02.2009#4

I didn't get enough time with it to judge it any higher; to me it showed potential, but I couldn't say I found it brilliant and be fair at this point.

Jump_button 16.02.2009#5

only thing i dont like the look they need a better art team

Linkyshinks i know you love me XD

( Edited 16.02.2009 22:20 by Jump_button )

My ART Gallery la la la la!

Mandown 16.02.2009#6

In terms of presentation, The Conduit's feels, in some ways, like the Metroid Prime series

That menu boxes definitely have a Metroid look about them, sadly the seems to lack the same quality of art.

Mandown 16.02.2009#7

I really have to stop reading jumps posts lol, they are effecting my own ^

I would have thought Q2 looking at the build they had at Comic Con.

Zephyr 16.02.2009#8

June 9th, 2009 for the States. Certainly can't wait... The build and Comic Con looked really nice.

.:Zelda Adventures:.
u guys are DNA.

SuperShyGuy62 16.02.2009#9

it looks good, but i doubt that it will be like halo good or metroid good.

Mario, Mega Man and Rayman FTW!!!

Wolvesgod 17.02.2009#10

Mason said:
I didn't get enough time with it to judge it any higher; to me it showed potential, but I couldn't say I found it brilliant and be fair at this point.

I agree with him there. At least he wasn't bias and said it was the best thing out there. Honestly, out of all the console sites out there this one is the least "fanboy" ran site(in my experience) i have an account for PSxtreme but they attacked the other consoles way to much.

When all is bad don't look for a easy way out. Because you wont know what to do once your out

IxisNaugus 17.02.2009#11

Why is this out of 5? That's dreadfully inaccurate. I don't see how people can even use a 1 - 5 system, you don't know what's good and whats not.

Honestly, out of all the console sites out there this one is the least "fanboy" ran site(in my experience) i have an account for PSxtreme but they attacked the other consoles way to much.

Haven't paid much attention to some of the things posted here huh? Wonder where MechaG2 is nowadays...

Bowser. You Booz, you lose.

Wolvesgod 18.02.2009#12

I don't read all the post. I just read the news here.

When all is bad don't look for a easy way out. Because you wont know what to do once your out

Mason 18.02.2009#13

What's wrong with a 1 - 5 system? It tells you very simply, for a preview, if something doesn't seem as if it's worth bothering with (1), would only be interesting if you're a fan of the genre/series (2), has potential (3), is looking good (4) or looking unmissable (5). Anything more than that is simply unnecessary for a preview. I personally feel it's more than an adequate for reviews also, but that's not something that's up for debate currently as we use a 10-point system on that front.

J4K 19.02.2009#14

Just curious, what would you use ixis? Personally, for a quick preview, I do not think it could be possible to truly judge a game on a ten point scale -- and why would you even need to? Its not the review, its the preview. Keep in mind the preview rating is merely a scale to get across to the reader how excited the reviewer is for the game. Going beyond five isn't necessary.

C.B 22.02.2009#15

I dont feel the single player will be revolutionary but i do have high hopes for the online component

Roy6499 28.02.2009#16

in my opinion i dont think this game will be worth it. if u ask me its a failed attempt to a halo game in every way.the conduit will never beat halo!

jb 02.03.2009#17

Roy6499 said:
in my opinion i dont think this game will be worth it. if u ask me its a failed attempt to a halo game in every way.the conduit will never beat halo!

Halo is a top franchise, but it too started from pretty much nothing - I think The Conduit has the same potential, and could hopefully be what Halo was to the Xbox.

Cubed3 Admin/Founder & Designer

Omegasend 04.03.2009#18

Smilie
Halo was the Mario for the xbox system. The so called poster boy. Now can the Conduit surpass it maybe, but remember don't compare it vs Halo3. That's the 3rd version and they have had enough time to refine it. Now if we reach the conduit 3 ,that would be a total different story.

New IP vs established tested and re-tested IP

Imagine telling the halo fanboys, hey look that new game on the wii is better than Halo3... I know the internet would be a blazed with fanboys.

N/A

meowthemouse 06.03.2009#19

I'm not really keeping my hopes VERY HIGH for this game but..
"The Conduit is looking like a worthy risk for High Voltage to take."
that contradicts with the score you gave it. 3/5 = 6/10 = average at best.

"Sony always wins baby.. Sony always wins.." - Chad Warden on pstripple
Brawl FC : 2191 - 6919 - 2772

SAMUSMCLOUD 09.03.2009#20

I'm not giving up on it, but it mostly looks like,, Shooting, shooting, and then, some more shooting. I don't know that there will be that much to be excited about here besides a mindless shooter game. Which personally, does not appeal to me. But we'll see. If it does end up like MP3, I'd be perfectly happy.

Despite the cost of living, its quite popular.

Nin1Od0 09.03.2009#21

i made my comments bout the conduit else where here, just don't remember where lol.

but saw a comment bout halo. i can't agree about halo being xbox's mario. i think it still is in need of a mario.

if halo 3 and it's treatment is any indication, it definitely isn't xbox's mario. and if anything, gears is already pickin up the slack that halo 3 has left behind.

i'd probably rank halo to microsoft as donkey kong to nintendo. their both there...just not in a huge spotlight. (currently speaking)

-make it count- Hey if you wanna play Wii Games with me, check out my game portion of my profile and pm me if you wanna add me so I can add you!