Reviews: The Conduit Video Review

This was a phenomenal review, Jeff. Thanks.

This was the best review for a Wii game I've ever encountered. I'm glad Jeff brought up how the rest of the world treats the Wii and its games like they're in a vacuum. No other site has talked about this to my knowledge so mad props to Jeff and, by extension, the best game site around. 

Take that wii!

Well, I'm grateful that Jeff seems to have engaged with the game considerably more intently than he did in the Quick Look, and listening to his final thoughts here it seems like he's confirmed for me exactly what, deep down, I expected The Conduit to be. Being a Wii owner and a somewhat serious gamer, I was genuinely hoping that The Conduit would give credence to the hope that all Wii owners have had since the beginning: that you can have serious "hardcore" gaming experiences on what has the potential to be the most interesting and unique console of this generation. Unfortunately, in my heart of hearts, I always suspected that The Conduit would turn out to be a mechanically solid, but artistically average at best shooter. This is, of course, is what we've ended up with, and as it stands, Metroid Prime 3 is still the best "serious" game you can buy for the Wii. I still think the potential is huge, but it seems like we'll have to wait longer for the definitive third-party game. I wish High Voltage could back up their enthusiasm and effort with a truly amazing experience - unfortunately it seems for all their technical know-how and fervent belief that the Wii can be a great gaming console, they lack the innovation to really prove their point.

Nice video review.  I wont be getting this game now.

I was expecting something like this about the Conduit.

This is probably the only honest review I've seen for the game.

Considering the length of the video, it was very informative and on point. Good job as always Jeff.

Great Review Jeff!

Good review.

"This might be their way to make the game appeal to a broader audience, since they have the only 'pure FPS' on the Wii at the moment there is not much point to appeal solely to the hardcore fans as they have little options to run to (besides jumping to another console / sticking to a PC ;)). "

Well said, Jeff. I completely agree that saying a game's "good for a Wii game," just doesn't cut it. A console shouldn't be the bases for a game's quality. That's just being way to forgiving on a game. Which no one should be doing. We should want the best game we can get, not some mediocre attempt just because because it's for a good console.

Again, well said. And great job on the review, too. It's easily one of the best I've seen yet.

nintendo fanboys are so freaking out right lol
for example:
http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=88039#comment-section

Yeah, it became apparent that this game was not for me. As I said before, a fair and honest review. Don't review the console, review the game and that's exactly what was done here.

Great summary of your thoughts Jeff.

did anyone else think jeff's enunciation was a little wierd in this review? lol

" Nice and clear review, however a couple of points that don't sit well with me. Before I continue I'd like to make clear that don't have the game yet (live in Europe), but looking at videos and reading other reviews there are a couple of points I miss in this review.1) One thing that seems to be missing out is the customizable control scheme, although this most definitely does not safe the game for its short comings the reviewer makes it very clear that he did not look into this nor was aware of this. Thus his complaints on this area are diminished and stating that everyone is bound to the same control scheme online is simply not true :).2) While I agree that the art style isn't what you could hope for one of the more beautiful aspects seem to be the enemies and weapons, for me at least, so I was kinda surprised Jeff took these elements as examples to detail the poor art style. From the earlier builds I was a little dissapointed by the blocky level design which, from what I have seen, hasn't changed that much. So that would be a bigger gripe for me than the enemies and weapon designs because I think these look pretty slick.But all in all I think HVS made a smart move not to go over the top with art design and simply offer a solid FPS. Games the hardcore crew generally like tend not to sell very well on the Wii, point in case MadWorld and No More Heroes. This might be their way to make the game appeal to a broader audience, since they have the only 'pure FPS' on the Wii at the moment there is not much point to appeal solely to the hardcore fans as they have little options to run to (besides jumping to another console / sticking to a PC ;)). I hope that this game will spark interest with this extended (or causal) audience so The Conduit 2 can go the extra mile and offer an experience more suited for the traditional gamers and pull people over the line to try some other games rather than Barbies fun house or whatever those game are called.In the eyes of many people this is one of the games that will be used in the industry as a benchmark to see how 'mature' or 'hardcore' games can fare on the Wii and will influence their decisions about future endeavours. And maybe, maybe take the Wii as a serious platform... A man can dream right? :) "

Great review IMO.

You can't force feed content onto the Wii and expect it to work. I love my Wii. It's got a good library of games and an entire back catalog of oldschool games, but it's limited in ways. That doesn't mean it can't have awesome games, or awesome shooters for that matter. I just think High Voltage should have gone down a different path. Shooters on the Wii need more focus on gameplay elements; not pushing the Wii to its limits.

GIANT WALL OF TEXT

Jeff you bring up some great points and I couldn't agree more. Spot on review.

And everyone slammed my "Stop using modifiers" blog post.

I love how Jeff can make a bad game at least sound like it tried.

" I get it. IGN equals WII FANBOYS and GIANTBOMB equals XBOX360 FANBOYS "

You should see the response this is getting on youtube.   This is like a miniature version of the Twilight Princess phenomenon.    I'm surprised Wii fanboys still exist, but I suppose the definition of a fanboy is an irrational supporter.   Anyways, great review, jeff.

great review jeff u actually told it like it is
this game is good for a wii. thats about it.
ign shouldnt have given it an 8.5

" Jesus.... that was the first time i walked into a nintendo forum.... now i feel tainted.

some were actually saying that we should be judging Wii games apart from other consoles, some seem to have some sort of grudge against Jeff, and also, some who seem willing to except that others might not like their console.

"

5 stars for Jeff's usual, logical assessment of a gar-bawge game. 2 Stars for the Conduit for being "the little turd that was polished, but still inherently a turd". And finally, 1 star for anyone who can walk upright and still pretends this type of game will ever work on a Wii with its ridiculously-compromised hardware. If you Wii owners are trully fans of Nintendo (and the Wii), find some realistic perspective. If you vote with your dollar instead of your indifference to reality, Nintendo will stop selling you Diet Mountain Dew when you really wanted a steak.

God damm it that Nintendo forum was horrible

even kevin sorbo cant save this game, and thats saying alot since its KEVIN SORBO.

and kevin sorbo is the man.

First of all, spot on review....second....I WANT THAT SHIRT

Nice review Jeff, as always. The Conduit wasn't that great at all. Glad I'm not adding this crap to my Wii collection.

Wait--what!? Nintendo Fanboys still exist?

Great review, very succinct with some great points.

"Game's garbage. I agree though, we shouldn't be nice to these games just because "well, for a Wii game it's good". No. This is 2009, a game needs to be good no matter what console it's on."

no mention of the customizable controls? I DEMAND A RE-REVIEW

Good reveiw Jeff.

lol noice shirt jeff where did u get it?

The Conduit? More like the Can't-Do-It, AMIRITE?!

Fantastic review Jeff, infact probably the best review of the game anywhere. Very true to the point having played this myself.

"Nah, I have to say, even if there is customizable controls, there is a limit to what you will get out of the control scheme itself. You aren't going to get mouse/keyboard or controller level of immediate and precise controls. Hell, a lot of FPSs already give customizable controls, that isn't really new feature, just one that's on the check list. If the art style is bland, its bland. There isn't an excuse for uninspired and mundane art. When there are games that do it better, why play the one thats totally average?It's a decent game but nothing more. I don't think this game needs to do well at all. It's not the benchmark, its just another shooter. Just because it is on the Wii doesn't mean it should get special treatment,A lot of Wii owners like, or want, to say something nice to a game that tries to cater to the more dedicated gamer. However, I don't understand this mentality at all. The Wii has plenty of games that are excellent, why focus on the average and uninteresting ones just because it caters to your taste?The Wii is a serious platform. If you think an FPS is nesessary for it to become one, you bought the wrong console. "

Awesome video review Jeff!

You hit on a lot of points that most other reviewers missed1 Good show 'ol bean!

I haven't played the game so I can't comment on that but it does look incredibly bland and nothing is really convincing me to purchase it right now. I would like to pick up this post though:

@TheFrostedGamer said:

" 5 stars for Jeff's usual, logical assessment of a gar-bawge game. 2 Stars for the Conduit for being "the little turd that was polished, but still inherently a turd". And finally, 1 star for anyone who can walk upright and still pretends this type of game will ever work on a Wii with its ridiculously-compromised hardware. If you Wii owners are trully fans of Nintendo (and the Wii), find some realistic perspective. If you vote with your dollar instead of your indifference to reality, Nintendo will stop selling you Diet Mountain Dew when you really wanted a steak. "

I own a Wii and a 360 and probably more games for the 360. The 360 gets infinitely more play time right now cos I wanna go online with my friends and yes, there hasn't been a killer Wii game in an effing while. However, saying that an FPS will NEVER work on the Wii because of the hardware of the console seems completely incorrect to me. If Crytek rereleased Timesplitters: Future Perfect with the controls of Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 bolted on, that would be an FPS on Wii working well for me. The hardware isn't the limitation considering the Gamecube hardware could run better FPS games than the Wii has now, it's the developers.

And apparantly, to have this viewpoint I have to choose between being able to walk upright and only being worth one star.

Great review Jeff, I'll be forcing as many people away as possible from this.

Saw this coming. It's a great way to put it. There has been so much emphasis on the technical side of this game, that every single video that comes around shows off shaders and effects, while people have sort of glossed over how derivative the art style and story has been. I simply don't feel like shooting aliens and government agents again.

It's a damn shame really. I hope this game becomes sort of like a Quake title where the game itself is an engine tech demo, and licensees really put it to more interesting use.

Great review as always. After renting this game this review pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Oooh. I just checked this out. Superb review.

Great and fair video review.

I may buy this if I find it cheap, but it has nothing going for it except for the controls for me (I like playing fps on wii so...)^^ I kinda see Red Steel being for fun than this^^

Totally agree with this review. Really well said.

Nice video review. Feels better polished than the written review (which was still of course good).
=( Really had my hopes set high for this game, especially with the promised Random Opponent Wii Speak compatibility. I don't have a renting account anywhere anymore; but maybe it's time to get one so I can check this out for myself.
I still want to believe...