The Conduit
Platform: Wii™
Genre: First Person Shooter
ESRB: T (Teen)
Release Date: June 23, 2009
Intro:
The Conduit offers an expansive 9 level story mode - in which you are secret agent Michael Ford.
The campaign storyline focuses on an alien invasion of Washington D.C. in the near future. The invading alien race, known as the Drudge, uses portal-like Conduits to deploy their forces throughout the city. A shady government organization known as the Trust sends Michael Ford, a newly inducted agent, into the area to deal with a terrorist threat, but he soon becomes involved with the fight to stop the alient invasion.
The Conduit also has an online multiplayer feature where up to 12 players can play in a variety of game options. Also, if you have Wii Speak, then you can talk with other players as you play. It is really fun, and it makes you stick with the game long after you've completed the story mode.
Story:
The Conduit features a surprisingly captivating storyline, but it is still nothing to brag about. You play as a former secret service agent (and current secret agent for that matter), Michael Ford. As your allies reveal their true identities, you will find yourself changing roles a few times throughout the story mode.
Most of the missions are somewhat related to the story, but radios scattered throughout the levels provide some much needed information on what is happening in the outside world.
The storyline is not entirely original, as I'm sure you've seen your share of alien shoot em' up games, and it is difficult to completely immerse yourself in the story. With that said, it is still a nice touch.
Gameplay/Controls:
While a blast to play throughout the entire game, after playing through the first few levels, you'll find that you do a LOT of running and shooting, and really not much else. Though there is the occasional puzzle or maze, you will find gameplay getting repetitive very quickly.
The game has two real scenarios that you encounter throughout the game: standard FPS cliches, and extremely frustrating enemy encounters. The stages that you play in are (for the most part) indestructible, and you'll quickly find that not much changes from level to level besides looks and increasingly frustrating enemies. Invisible bombs make for cheap kills, and enemies are constantly re-spawning from alien "egg sacks", making the game very frustrating, as you will usually miss one egg sack, and then be killed by an alien behind you that you completely forgot about.
With all of that said, this is still one of the most fun games to play on the Wii, and if your looking for a hard-core game, this could be for you. Part of what makes the game such a blast is the vast assortment of weapons. You've got your human weapons, your alien weapons, and of course, your top-secret society super-high-tech weapons. You've got bazookas, plasma grenade launchers, shotguns, and of course, the alien weapons that shoot living ammunition.
The controls in the Conduit are easy enough for almost anyone to grasp, and are very intuitive. You'll find yourself pretending to throw grenades with the Nunchuck, and pointing at your targets. If you don't like the default controls, you can choose from a variety of pre-set arrangements, or customize it completely.
Graphics:
The graphics on the Conduit are some of the best on the Wii, and are one of the game's stronger points. High Voltage Studios developed their own 3D engine for the Wii, and it is very impressive. You'll find yourself surprised with how detailed the stages are, and more importantly, the enemies.
You really won't encounter any graphics issues during campain mode, but in the online multiplayer mode, you will encounter your share of graphical glitches, mainly due to lag.
The graphics are part of what makes this game a lot of fun to play, and I can only hope that High Voltage Studios continues to use their 3D engine for future Wii releases.
Music/Sound:
The main music for the game is just taken from the Bourne movie(s), and the sound effects get pretty repetitive throughout the game, especially when you kill lots of enemies with a grenade, as they all make the same sound.
However, in the campaign mode, there are a series of voice actors - all from famous Sci-Fi movies.
This does enhance the gameplay, but this is still nothing special.
Game Score:
1-Story: 7/10
2-Gameplay/Controls: 8.5/10
3-Graphics: 9/10
4-Music/Sound: 6/10
5-Replay Value: 8/10
Total Score: 7.7/10
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