Customer Reviews

The Conduit

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The Conduit is a solid game. It's not perfect, but what game is? You won't see it getting 10/10 or even 9.5/10 on any major review site, but it should get a very solid 8.0-8.9.

It's unfortunate for The Conduit that it suffers from the Wii Syndrome. That is, it is almost automatically docked points for being on the Wii. You see, its graphics can't compete with Killzone 2. Its multiplayer features cannot compete with X-Box Live. Its single-player is average and compared to any other FPS on any other system, it may not stand out in any way.

However, people forget that it was built from the ground up especially for the Wii and has the Wii's limitations in mind. The graphics are amazing for the Wii and some non-gamers may confuse it for an Xbox 360 game (though not a AAA title). It controls fantastically well once you adjust the fully customizable settings (seriously the depth of the customization is insane for ANY console).

The developers of this game (High Voltage Software) made few sacrifices to provide Wii owners with a game that could compete with PS360 titles. It has an achievement system (analogous to 360 Achievements or PS3 Trophies) despite Nintendo's lack of putting in place a console-specific reward system. It has Wii Speak capabilities (the first 3rd party game on the Wii to provide this and perhaps the 2nd or 3rd game on the Wii to provide this).

Truth be told, the game is not perfect. Every once in a while, the frame-rate does hiccup, but it is rare. It does require Friend Codes (only to play with friends and use Wii Speak), but Wii System friends can be imported directly into the game and any friend of a friend can also join the game or speak to you. However, HVS has worked hard to minimize these problems and provide an enjoyable experience for all Wii owners.

All in all, I fully recommend the game to Wii owners who either like First Person Shooters or just want to try it out. "Hardcore" gamers may find The Conduit to be a simple run and gun game. In a sense, it is (until you start playing competitively), but this simplicity may also be a Godsend to people who have never played a FPS before.

Positives
+ Fully customizable controls
+ Great online (12 players, numerous modes, around 20 guns, very little lag)
+ Great graphics for the Wii
+ Great multiplayer (including a lobby system and Wii Speak)
+ Least annoying use of Friend Codes in a non-EA game.
+ Reminds many people of Perfect Dark or GoldenEye.

Negatives
- Single player isn't mind blowing (average to above average)
- Framerate drops every once in a while (not very common even if you throw multiple grenades and have multiple people shooting at the same time)
- No unique, defining feature (besides the All Seeing Eye, but it's underutilized). However, I would argue that it is a great combination of the best features from some of the best FPSs ever.
- As with any game, multiplayer sometimes has lag. Combined with the fact that Nintendo wouldn't allow HVS to kick players that lagged alot, you will encounter some people that seem to teleport.

Final Rating: 8.5/10 -- Solid Game.

The Conduit is one of only a hand-full of games i've bought for full retail in my life, and I gotta say, its SERIOUSLY worth the [...] bucks.

Obviously the Wii has been lackin in good 1st person shooter, and the ps3 and 360 have had WAY too many. High Voltage jumped on this, and im so happy they did. The most recent shooter I've been playing, Killzone 2, absolutely blew me away graphically, hell of a story, but the controls kinda bugged me.
The Conduit, while not being as graphically impressive or having as deep of a story, has got me goin on a couple different levels:

1. The Graphics- Like I said, they aren't Killzone quality (what is..) or Halo quality, but honestly, they are DAMMN good for Wii. It is by far the most polished game presentation I have seen on the Wii, people actually look like people and not moving paintings, good shadow effects, water looks like water, etc.
2. Story- The story is good, not great, not bad. Dont wanna spoil anything, and I honestly haven't played the whole thing, but its your average aliens-attack-you-kill-them-save-the-world etc. It does have lots of unlockables, extra content that makes it fun to go back and try to get.
3. Controls- this games kills with controls! ANYTHING you want to change you are able to, ANY button can be changed, head bob, any sensitivity, it is absolutely awesome to have this level of control.
4. Mutiplayer- For a Wii game, its REALLY good, comparable with many of the better playstation and xbox online games, minus the occasional slow-down you get when playing in a full room.

Conclusion: Overall for [...] dollars this is a no-brainer. The Wii is absolutely a blast to play shooting games on, and having one that actually looks good and comes with impressive mutiplayer is a done-deal. Im absolutely positive this will go down as one of, if not the all-time best Wii shooter ever. Seriously.

EDIT 6-26-09

As I get further with the story, im definitely stickin with my review, this story is VERY good but generic (think of alot of the better 1st person shooters out there) and im still SHOCKED by the graphics. They really REALLY kill any Wii game out there. Honestly, one of the best Teen-rated, if not the best Wii game of all time (as of now).

The Conduit is a solid, long overdue FPS for the Wii. The controls really do make it a bit of a revolution in FPS gaming on consoles, and because of this, it's a game that every gamer should have in his or her library.

The single player mode is decent. The story is your average FPS sci-fi/conspiracy fare, so don't go into the game expecting great writing. That having been said, the voice acting is incredible. Mark Sheppard (Firefly, Battlestar Galactica), his father, William Morgan Sheppard, and Kevin Sorbo (Hercules, Andromeda) really bring their roles to life. The level design for the single player mode is good, but not great, and the enemies aren't super original, but overall, it's still quite fun.

We all know the main reason people play this genre is for the multiplayer and in that area especially The Conduit doesn't disappoint. You will get many hours of entertainment beyond the short story thanks to this. If you're a gamer who has become frustrated with the Wii's online offerings, be sure to give this game a try. Virtually no lag and wii-speak support make this one of the few games on Wii to provide a solid online experience.

One of the unique things (for consoles anyway) that The Conduit brings to the table is the control system. Besides the obvious benefit of using the Wiimote to "point and shoot" (and yes, it works beautifully here), the controls are almost completely customizable, so if the default button mapping and sensitivity aren't to your liking, you can easily change them in real time. After seeing how well this works, I think you'll agree that EVERY console game should have this feature by now. (Yes, PC gamers, we know that such freedom is nothing new for you. )

In summation, this is a must-buy for any gamer, but especially for the core gamer who has been salivating for a strong FPS using Wii controls.

Think my title may be a little strong? I don't think so, after playing this game for about 10hrs already, half online, and half not, I am really enjoying this game! The single player story is great, graphically amazing, the story is good, and the voice acting is great! The controls are amazing since you can make just about any button combination you would like! I have spent sometime tweaking my controls and finally have them were I want them.

The Online mode is very well done as well, supports 12 players, the match making system is well done setting you up with people from around your rank type. Seemingly great ranking system, and XP system in the game as well. Also supporting Wii Speak is awesome! Overall I am very happy with this game, it is definitely a game I think all FPS Fan Wii owners should own! You really cant go wrong.

I really want to say that this is the best first-person shooter that I've ever played, but I can't quite go that far. I followed this game for months ever since it was announced, so I will admit that my expectations were set artifically high by the hype machine. In fact, I have to say that the hype was a little too much. What I can very confidently say is that this game is good. Very, very good. It falters and stumbles in a few places, but still manages to be the best FPS on the Wii, and in my opinion the shooter with the best controls found on any platform.

PROS:
+++ Amazing graphics
+++ 12 player online multi-player with a lot of game modes
+++ Amazing, ridiculously customizable controls.
+++ Voice chat support
+++ Great sound support

CONS:
--- Unstable frame rate at times
--- Some online matches are very laggy.
--- No local multi-player or co-op modes.

STORY: This is probably the game's weakest point (except for Friend Codes, more on that later). You play as Agent Ford. You run and gun through lots of guards and aliens as Washington DC is attacked. The game honestly looks and feels very similar to Perfect Dark (the good one on the N64, not the atrocity that poor XBox 360 customers suffered through). Really, the game doesn't do anything particularly innovative in the storyline department, but how often can we play Humans vs. Aliens before the whole concept starts feeling cliche? Halo, Resistance: Fall of Man, Perfect Dark, Gears of War... each are based mostly the same concept. So is the story in this game. It's decent for what it is.

GAMEPLAY: The gameplay is pretty standard FPS fare. Fight enemies, complete mission objectives, fight more enemies, etc. In terms of gameplay, The Conduit stays safely within the genre and doesn't venture much farther. There are no vehicles but you get the all seeing eye, a device that finds hidden things, decodes alien writings, and stuff like that. It functions a lot like the visors do in the Metroid Prime series. Weapon designs are diverse, but nothing really new or noteworthy shows up that hasn't been done before in the genre. In terms of design of the gameplay elements, The Conduit plays it safe and sticks to tried and true methods that have worked for many FPS games that came before it.

GRAPHICS: Best looking FPS on the Wii. Some environments look kind of plain, but everything looks crisp and sharp. Bump mapping, super nice water effects, motion blur, particle effects, and dynamic lighting are all present. The downside is that sometimes the frame rate takes a nose dive at times, most notably during multi-player. The Wii is really getting pushed hard by this game, which is nice to see a developer take the time to make sure a game actually looks good. It doesn't beat graphical shine of Halo or Gears of War, but this game definitely belongs to this generation of first person shooters.

AUDIO: Very good. Some very clever music was written, my favorite so far being a techno mix that repeatedly announces the baggage guidlines for carry-on luggage while you're blasting soldiers in an airport. The voice acting in the game is also done quite well.

CONTROLS: Simply amazing. Nearly everything can be customized to your taste. Button layout, controller sensitivity, and bounding box are completely customizable. PC gamers have had this luxury for a long time, but even many PC games don't even approach this level of customization. The Conduit has raised the bar. Hands down, this game controls better than any other FPS that I have ever played and I actually like it a little bit better than mouse-and-keyboard on PC. Also, although it isn't part of the controls, the player can also customize the HUD, moving ammo counters, health meters, and whatever else to their liking. Seriously, I have never played anything that gives me this much control. Every game ever made for every console should immitate this level of customization.

MULTI-PLAYER: Really good, but it has some flaws. The conduit offers 12-player matches and a respectable number of game modes make this a must have for competitive gamers on the Wii. And if you happen to own a Wii Speak peripheral that just collects dust, The Conduit supports voice chat! When online matches work (which is usually), this really is the best the Wii has to offer. Matches seem to set up fairly quickly, usually within a minute or two, which isn't bad considering every match I've played has been at least 10 minutes long. As you play, you gain experience and gain ranks, which is a nice way of showing off to other players how great you are at the game. Sometimes matches are very laggy, but you can exit the match and find a smoother one usually. The lobby uses a voting system to set up the game rules, which is nice and seems unbiased.

Here's where the online experience falls apart. Friend codes. Without exchanging Friend Codes, you don't get the benefit of voice chat, which really hurts team play in a big way, especially if you are playing with strangers. Additionally, lets say I play randomly against someone online, decide that they are pretty cool, and I want to add them to my friend list. You aren't allowed to do that. Instead, I have to find some way to track them down in real life and then we have exchange the cumbersome string of numbers. I understand that the idea is to protect children from online predators, but my opinion is that children probably shouldn't be playing a game this violent in the first place. There is nothing friendly about Friend Codes. EA has a much better matchmaking and online experience with their service that just bypasses the use of Friend Codes altogether (Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is a great example).

for (i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
print("I hate friend codes! ");
}

I must apologize for the anti-friend code rant and beating a dead horse, but it really bothers me with this particular game since the experience could have been so much better without that extra hassle. With as much effort that was obviously poured into the online elements, it is a crying shame that some people will probably give up on online play because of the clunky friend code system and a lack of a sense of online community. Basically, the online multi-player rocks, but it isn't a perfect experience. As many complaints as I have about the online play, this is still probably the best online offering the Wii has to offer.

REPLAY VALUE: Very high. The emphasis on multi-player really pushes this game over the top. The single player mode is pretty short, but entertaining. An achievement system is included which gives completionists the incentive to keep replaying previously beaten levels.

So, my final verdict is that every Wii owner who is serious about first person shooters should buy this game. The controls are amazing. While online play isn't as complete or as smooth as many XBox Live offerings, this game steps up to the plate and offers the hardcore crowd something to be excited about. This game definitely showcases what the Wii is capable of and really proves that up until this point, all of the other developers pushing games out on the Wii by the truckload to shame.

This is the first true FPS experience to be found on the Wii besides for Call of Duty: World and War. The Game has much the same feel and Golden Eye and Perfect dark. I still believe to this day that Perfect dark is the best pure FPS Console shooter.

In short: A must have for Wii owners.

Rating: T for Teen - I think this is important to note... this is a hardcore Wii game, but without all the un-necessary bad language and excessive blood. Parents will like this.

Graphics: The graphics are outstanding for a Wii game, Not perfect, but the use of bump maps and lighting (among other special effects) really sets the stage for a great presentation. Another thing I noted was the fluid animation of the enemies. Plays very smoothly at 30FPS in 480p. The subway area is amazing looking with metallic reflections and great visual effects. The downside is that not all of the areas have the same quality. The quality is varied throughout the game and is noticeable uon close inspection. Also, a very noticeable problem is that grenade blasts and smoke go right through walls. But overall this is the best looking FPS on the Wii and second best looking game on Wii (Mario Galaxy has set the bar very high). One may even mistake this game for a Xbox 360 game upon first viewing!

Sound: The music is stunning, although it lacks punch on the Wii. See diego-stocco on google. When listening to the sound track on my PC is sounded higher quality. The sound effects are very good especially the guns and grenades. Very satisfying. This game also rocks with Dolby Pro-Logic II. It works just as expected and sounds great on my Pioneer 5.1 setup. Also has good voice acting.

Gameplay: The controls are the most configurable controls I have ever had on a Console game. This translates into the Best FPS shooter controls of any system (for anyway a person wants to play). It took me about an hour to tweak the controls to my exact liking. The default control settings seem to be a bit slow for a seasoned games. so definitively adjust your control to your liking. But now I can pull off headshots with ease. The single player game seams to be around six or seven hours. High Voltage Studios added lots of little touches, like radio's that can be tuned, computers and interesting posters and the like around the game. The downside to the game play is that it is very linear... very scripted. But is is non the less still very fun. I believe there is to be a sequel. This is a great stepping stone to greatness, but they will to kick it up a notch to achieve this end.

Multiplayer: Very very good. Its like Halo. Supports Wii speak for ingame chat Read the game description for all the modes.

In closing: Great game. Not perfect, but a very good start. I cant wait to see the games that follow from this developer.

+Great Controls - Customizable
+Great Graphics - Effects make the difference
+Great Multiplayer - supports Wii speak.
+Good Sound - Especially the Sound effects and Dolby Pro Logic. Very good sound track, but lacks punch (may be a Wii limitation).

-Weak Story -
-Single Player Game is to short
-Inconsistent level design quality

In short: A must have for Wii owners. BUY THIS GAME!

The Conduit is a game built from the ground-up with the Wii in mind, unlike many other lazy PS2 ports you see almost every other developer go with. High Voltage Software's graphics engine gets some pretty impressive visuals out of the Wii, and the controls are fully customizable, so just about any FPS gamer can enjoy it. While the enemies are a little cookie-cutter for my tastes, the online play's really what makes this a must-have for the Wii. If you like shooters at all, you'll enjoy this one.

+ Amazing fully customizable controls allowing you to adjust cursor sensitivity.
+ good art technology - shaders have normal maps and specular maps (shiny looking stuff)
+ good SFX - glows, blooms, particles

- horrible Art Direction - the game looks like student work. Everything looks very generic especially the environments.
- Level design is dated - most levels play like a typical corridor shooter.
- Multiplayer level design is very basic as well. Only one or two maps are on par with modern day FPS games.
- Online is very laggy, buggy and connection can take upwards of 15 mins.
- Singleplayer is very linear. Story is super generic.
- Multiplayer class system has no affect on gameplay - seems arbitrary and thrown in at the last second.

If you want an FPS that has deep gameplay, great level design, well designed class system, achievments/unlockables that affect gameplay, really good connectivity online then buy COD WAW Wii. Or wait for COD MW Wii this Nov. 11th.

This is a very polished and fun FPS that really pushes how far the wii can go. A lot of published reviews haven't done this game justice, and that's probably because it's a wii game.

For background, I played FPS games since Doom on PC, but never got into the dual-analog console controls and avoided them for consoles. Hearing about this game on the wii interested me and I picked it up.

I was most interested in the wii controls applied to an FPS. Given the ability to completely customize them, they astounded me. The ability to set the dead zone makes it feel like a PC shooter and the wiimote has me questioning the use of a mouse for the genre. There is no defensible way to give the control scheme anything less than a perfect score.

The graphics are excellent for a wii game. A lot of reviewers have attacked these as inferior to games on other consoles. This is a silly comparison; it's like comparing console graphics to a PC shooter (my video card costs more than a PS3). They also ignore that in PC shooters, you keep anti-aliasing off, as this often helps you aim at very long distances without the player models blending into the background. What matters is the graphics are good enough to keep your interest and prompt you to explore the scenery. They do so admirably and at a level proving that most wii third-party developers haven't done enough for this console.

Something I haven't heard much about is how great the audio is. The music is suspenseful and thrilling. I'm at work and have the theme stuck in my head. It's spy music with an electronic basis and adds a lot to the experience. The voice acting is amazing for a video game. Combined with the beeping as you near secrets, this adds another dimension to the depth of the game.

Don't believe what you've read about the AI. Turn the difficulty to severe and you'll realize most professional reviewers have no idea what they're talking about. The enemies take cover, run between cover, pop out and shoot, close the distance for the kill, and know enough to throw grenades when they don't have a clear shot but know you're lurking out of sight. On severe you can hear enemies charge their weapons when you take cover for a while, and if you pop up in expected ways they blast you with them - the warp pistol charged to a head shot is an instadeath. Running and gunning will get you killed here. The AI is incredible for a FPS and to suggest anything less only proves the reviewer didn't play the hardest difficulty. In addition, the reviewers claiming the game lasts only a few hours played on normal. It lasts much, much longer on severe, and some of the levels (8 and 9 in particular) are epic.

The story is great. Familiar enough to recognize, with an interesting arc and plenty of hidden messages to give you backstory in the game. The unique part of the conduit is a device (the ASE) that lets you unlock doors, find hidden rooms, defuse invisible mines, and also reveal hidden messages on the wall connecting the events of the game to American history and conspiracy theory. Google the messages you don't understand (some make references to odd events in real life, conspiracy theories, and others are in latin) and the game improves significantly in depth. It's not straight forward, either. Subtle points (you're wearing the armor of a faction called the trust) add to major plot events in a realistic and satisfying way.

More about the story is learned listening to radios spread throughout the game, which detail what occurs in other parts of D.C. and the nation as you progress. Some of the radio broadcasts are hysterical (a dead on Rush knock-off and birthday salutes to a "brave little girl who's turning eight tomorrow and wants her parents to know she's safe..." These elements add depth to the game and make the story unique.

Don't skip listening to the radio - while it seems silly at first, the radios reveal the most interesting parts of the plot which are not directly presented in game. They were very, very clever with their setup. Get the hidden messages too. It will take a lot of time to listen to the radio, but to speed things up, you only have to listen to the conspiracy theorist. There are numerical messages also that transmit coded information - a number to letter encoding followed by a Caesar cipher.

The ASE is what distinguishes this game from other shooters. While it follows conventions of the genre, it does well in making them new and refreshing enough to hold the interest of the gamer with this device. More could have been done with it and I'd have liked that, but this game has a unique charm that keeps the familiar aspects novel. The feeling of discovery is captured in the actions of the player collecting information, and after having done so I judge this game to have one of the most intriguing single player stories ever. It may not be that unique, but the method of presentation is, and this plays with conventions in a way I've never seen.

Multiplayer is why most people buy this game - I played single player as practice. And it shines. This takes me back to quake 3. You can play regional or worldwide players in a variety of game types and enough maps to make it interesting, but few enough to avoid ignoring an entire set of them (the most played UT2004 levels are demo maps). You have a multiplayer rank that raises and assists in matching you to those around your skill level to avoid boring massacres. And most importantly for a console, the HUD is entirely customizable, with transparency set by the user. These people know and love their FPS games, and by including a little extra programming, allowed the same flexibility of controls and layout on the wii as what you'd only expect on a PC.

Most importantly, the game is fun as hell in any mode. I like it better than Goldeneye, Doom, and any UT I've ever played. And I was sad to see most sites didn't do this game justice. I suggest every fan of the genre buy this game, particularly those who dislike n00bsticks. In my case, I found I like the wii controls better than a mouse, and this has replaced any future FPS I'd play on PC.

I look forward to High Voltage's future releases and will continue to support them, if only because it took an independent, small studio to show the beginning of the wii's potential. A lot of publishers have justified sloppy ports and rushed wii games (due to the system's unexpected success) by blaming the hardware. There's no excuse for less than Gamecube graphics on the wii, a much faster system that plays Gamecube games!

As a programmer, it's lazy, annoying, and ultimately horrific that the industry has adopted this mentality. We have studios depending on the processing power of faster consoles to avoid focusing on clever coding instead of learning the strengths of the hardware and exploiting it. Said simply, Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct for SNES pushed the limits of that system through clever programming, not by upgrading the hardware.

There is no excuse for this, and I'm glad I can explain to my friends why everything they hear is completely wrong by showing them this game. Why it took this long and came from a smaller company like High Voltage is something I will never understand.

I have been eagerly looking forward to The Conduit ever since High Voltage Software revealed the game and started showing their Quantum3 engine. I have been on The Conduit forums, I follow the website, and view anything and everything Conduit-related on the interwebs... so I was surprised at how excited I was to finally get the game in my hands on the day it released. I guess I was really excited to see if this game could live up to the hype that surrounded it... and I am more than pleased to report: Not only has this game lived up to the hype... it actually has exceeded my expectations!

First off, this game looks AMAZING. From the first screens ("SEGA" logo illuminated by the All Seeing Eye), the game is polished and well presented. This is what games for the Wii should have looked like all along! I started off with the single player campaign (so as to appear to know what I am doing by the time I ventured online!), and the game starts off with some really well done story telling. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that the cut scenes and the plot that has revealed itself thus far reminds me of DeusEx combined with The X-Files... and that is a good thing! Several reviewers have bashed this game for having a cliche storyline.. alien invasion... government cover up... one-man army.... but how can you hold that against a game? I saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen last night... and guess what? Alien Invasion...Government cover up... same story!! I am really enjoying the single player campaign so far, and find the story interesting and compelling.

There are going to be plenty of lengthy reviews for this game, so rather than rambling on, here ares some things I love about the game so far:

**PRESENTATION: this game is PRETTY. Lots of cool lighting effects, the enemies are alive and animated, everything looks really detailed. One of my pet peeves for a game in the FPS genre is when your character's hands look weird (See my review for Quantum of Solace for Wii... Bonds hands look like 2 pig hooves!!)... but happily HVS did a wonderful job designing the characters hands, as well as the ASE. The ASE is constantly in motion, and looks REALLY cool... I also really love the way they animated the various character deaths in the game. It feels a lot like Half-Life 2 (my FAVORITE fps of all time), which is quite an achievement on the Wii! Several reviewers have mentioned that the levels look "bland", and it is true... you will never get the wide open feeling that you get in games like Gears of War 2 on the 360/PS3... but this is, hands down, one of the best looking games on the Wii. In fact, the only game on the Wii that can even begin to compare with what I have seen so far on The Conduit is Metroid Prime 3. And that, my friends, is quite a complement!!

**DIFFICULTY/HARDCORE GAMEPLAY: I hate easy games. I started the game off on "Guarded" difficulty, which I assume is Medium, and was pleased with the AI. The controls took some getting used to, so initially I was getting my butt handed to me (by the second level you find yourself surrounded by LOTS of enemies), but once I got the controls and camera configured in a way that suits me (see "Controls" portion of review!), the tides began to turn! One thing that I was glad to see was that the enemy AI is intelligent: they would flank me at every opportunity. I couldn't just crouch and shoot in one direction until all enemies were clear. I tried that once, and out of nowhere: WHAM! I was hit from behind with one-hit melee that killed me! =) Also, the AI is concerned/aware of it's mortality. If an enemy is injured or is alone, it will run or seek cover rather than dumbly running at me, guns blazing. This makes for some interesting fire fights. I will probably be ramping up the difficulty in the future... which brings to mind another nice feature: you can change the difficulty at any time for any level. If I am playing through a level and find it too easy, I can pause the game and change the difficulty on the fly! Very nice.

**CONTROL CUSTOMIZATION: One of the most outstanding features of The Conduit is that the controls, camera, etc are COMPLETELY customizable. This is an awesome features, and all FPS really should follow suit. After all, PC fps have been doing this for some time now. Anyway, I was really impressed with this feature. Typically, I don't change controls. I hate "that guy", who whenever he comes over has to remap all of the controls. That drives me nuts. However, when I started The Conduit, I found that the camera turned a little fast for me, and the aiming reticule was a little too sensitive for my liking... so what the heck!? I decided to try adjusting them.... and WOW. In no time I found myself changing the bounding box size, adjusting my running speed, and making other miscellaneous changes. This feature is wonderful, and also makes the game accessible for people new to the FPS genre. If you find it too difficult to thrust the Wiimote to perform a melee attack... then remap the melee to a button press or something. Simple.

**ONLINE MULTIPLAYER: In a word? SUPERB. The online multiplayer was lag free, and I found PLENTY of people online already on the day of The Conduit's release. There are several modes to choose from... and the much-anticipated "Bounty Hunter" mode was my absolute fave. The maps are surprisingly large, and the various multiplayer modes are tons of fun. I havent had a chance to try out WiiSpeak, but I am sure it will work wonderfully. The online portion of this game is really steals the show. This game is gonna have LONG legs... especially for people like me who are obsessed with ranking and scores. You are given "EX Points" for kills/performance, and when you play online, your ranking is displayed when you are linking with other players. I only had an hour or so to play online, but it was smooth, fun, and intense. A+!!

I really can't say enough good things about this game. I knew it was gonna be good. But, having actually played it, the game is great. This game makes it clear that 3rd party developers can really up their game on the Wii. No more shoddy ports. No more mini games. This game has really raised the bar for gaming on the Wii. So, if you own a Wii, then The Conduit is a MUST BUY for 2 reasons:

1 - The game is AWESOME. My new favorite game on The Wii.
2 - Support QUALITY game development on the Wii!

In closing, here is how I rate the game:

1- Presentation: 10/10
2- Gameplay: 9/10
3- Multiplayer/Online: 9/10 (would be 10/10 if they included LOCAL multiplayer)
4- Sound/Cutscene animation: 9/10
5- Replay value: 10/10

Do yourself a favor: BUY IT!!!!