The Conduit easily sets itself apart from the other Wii games out there. This is a game built from the ground up on the Quantum 3 Engine to take advantage of everything the Wii has to offer. High Voltage Software has a lot of expectations for The Conduit. Being touted as the premiere flagship title for the Wii is a lot to live up too. First-person shooters are an excellent fit for the Wii, but does The Conduit fulfill these expectations? Read on to find out.

Gameplay

The Conduit is all about an alien invasion in the nation’s capital, Washington DC, as well as all the conspiracies behind it. You play as Michael Ford, a member of a government organization called The Trust. Almost immediately after beginning the game, Ford starts questioning who’s really behind everything that’s going on. The Trust’s main mission is to stop the alien invasion, however knowing the government there is also something else going on in the background. You’ll immediately begin to wonder who is working for the Government or the Drudge (as the aliens are known as). There are plenty of twists and turns in the yet predictable plot that make keeps your attention to detail. The story never manages to weaken at any point in time or hinder on the gameplay. The story plays out as it should and keep you moving along with updates and commentary along the way.

There are briefing style “cut-scenes” that fill in the end of every chapter that help to keep the otherwise complicated story together. Overall, The Conduit has a nicely woven story that doesn’t weave in and out too much or leave too many loose ends. It’s pretty obvious towards the end that there will no doubt be a sequel in the future. The single-player campaign will last you 9 levels in a strict linear fashion. There are puzzles, though they seem like they were thrown in there at the last minute. There are scattered collectibles and hidden ammo spots for you to locate but that’s about how close you come to actual puzzles. The game takes you by the hand and guides you to each and every firefight leaving you no room to breathe during a rush. The sequences that follow have you clearing corridors or fighting in open area “boss” fights to move on to the next level. There is a variety in environments and the game manages to explore a good part of Washington DC in your quest.

The campaign itself will last you around a good 8 hours or so depending on your difficulty level. There is a final mission that leaves much to be desired. The staged firefights and Drudge encounters feel more like work then an actual challenge. You’ll feel no real attachment to the battle at hand and will just be clearing the room out so you can move on to the next cut scene. There is little reward after completing each mission outside of earning a small achievement that will unlock secrets in the Extras Menu. Thankfully there is a multiplayer mode that will help bring depth to the game after completing the final mission.

Multiplayer surprisingly changes up its online system by disregarding friend codes. However, you’ll still have to use those friend codes if you’re looking for a match between you and your friends on the same console. You’ll still easily be able to jump in a match of Free-For-All or Team Deathmatch with ease. There is compatibility for voice chat with Wii Speak as well. So for The Conduit, the complete online package is here. There are variant modes of Capture the Flag, and Halo’s Oddball. The online matches have been pretty smooth overall with barely noticeable server hiccups. The Conduit populates 12 players in any given match and you can customize the rules to make the game even more interesting. If there’s a solid community behind it, you could see The Conduit having a bright future ahead.

With the intimate customization of the controls, The Conduit manages to hold up well. Aiming and throwing grenades are all managed through motion controls and the small recital that’s your main point of interest. It all feels right and manages to hold itself together under the more intense firefights. However, because of the motion controls it is very easy when aiming grenades to over or under shot your throw. If you jab your Wii remote, it’ll cause your character to jab an enemy in front of you and ends up throwing off your aim, which makes things a bit more realistic. With the puzzles being a bit of a let down, you would think the ASE would be there to pick things up, however, it’s just as bad. The biggest thing you’ll be doing with the ASE is searching out hidden mines and opening doors with hidden locks. Despite that, the ASE is still an intriguing device, however, it would have been nice to have seen it used a little more then it was.

Graphics

Don’t go into The Conduit expecting a master piece comparable to that of Bioshock for instance because you’re just setting your expectations way too high. The Conduit is what it is, a Wii shooter with Playstation 2 like graphics and simple character animations and textures. The camera, when customized properly works well and with the Wii remote basically being the camera, it only goes as far as you are using it. Still, it’s decent compared to what’s already out on the market and at least manages to keep you interested given the plot of the game if nothing else.

Sound

Voice acting is fine up until you start hearing your first Drudge voices. They immediately sound like something out of a broken record that shouldn’t even reach the ears of the public. Nothing ever seems to menacing or feared and just makes everything seem like target practice. Humans are fine in the way that the script is strong and holds up the story thankfully. One could only imagine what the Drudge would sound like if they started acting like the Covenant from the Halo universe. The soundtrack itself is pretty decent and every theme manages to fit with the current situation. There is nothing too oddball about things here.

Plasma Factor

The biggest thing that The Conduit has going for it here is the gameplay customization. There are plenty of options for you to choose from. I managed to play around with the controls and was easily able to find something that fit my style of play. Once you are able to get used to the controls in general you should have no problem getting through the single-player and holding your own on multiplayer. The game is beatable, you just have to figure out if you’re going to last long playing it or just jump straight into the multiplayer without giving it a second though which is another plus to the game.
The online system is a much needed change instead of strictly using friend codes to get anywhere online. With a 12 player match count you can expect to see the map filled with players from around the world. The Conduit holds up well as being a multiplayer shooter as it’s just disappointing that the single-player campaign had to be so short and unfulfilling.

Conclusion

The Conduit isn’t a masterpiece but does manage to hold its own to the market out there today for the Wii. With a solid multiplayer it’ll keep people playing and interested as long someone else is playing online. The customizable controls make the game a little easier to bear. In the long run, The Conduit is a great effort by High Voltage Software to separate itself from the mold of first-person shooters that the Wii was falling into. Hopefully other developers will follow suit and put the amount of effort and quality it took to produce The Conduit. In all honesty it would be a good idea to rent the title first before making your purchase.