Hey folks, Valkor here. To quote a song by Ice Cube, “Today was a good day”. Not only was the weather perfect, but I was able to spend such a splendid day trekking the streets of NYC, making my way to the Royalton Hotel, where I was able to hang with the folks of High Voltage and Sega. The team unveiled an incredible game that’s exclusive to the Wii system called “The Conduit”. I was allowed full hands on, on a near complete version of the game, so that I may give you guys the full scoop as to whether this game is purchase… and it is.
The Conduit is a first person shooter (FPS) that takes place in Washington D.C. and puts you in the role of Michael Ford (Voiced by Mark Shepard) whose part of an organization called “The Trust”. Michael is new to the job and his first task is to uncover the reasoning behind a secret alien attack, from creatures called “The Drudge”. The story unfolds mostly through cut-scenes and transmissions from other characters who will aid you in your quest such as John Adams (Voiced by William Morgan Sheppard) and Prometheus (voiced by Kevin Sorbo). Wide varieties of weapons are at your disposable; earth and alien alike. I have an affinity for the Strike rifle, which fires hot bursts of flames that can be charged to turn enemies into a white hot mess. And you also have a unique tool called the ASE. This ASE is an orb like object, covered in symbols (obvious alien tech) and has multiple uses such as finding and translating hidden alien text, find locks to open alien doors, revealing a trail to show where you need to go, acts as a flashlight, detonates alien bombs, and can even act as binoculars allowing you to see ahead.
The game’s gimmick is that it’s customizable and what that means is it allows you to customize the controls to fit your needs precisely. If you’re new to FPS gaming or hardcore, there’s a setting that’s just right for you and you can adjust the settings as you play and see how it affects gameplay; this way you get the gameplay you want, not how the developers want you to play it. But in there defense, default mode is no slouch and in just a few minutes you’ll be rockin in no time. Yes it’s that easy to get in. The game requires the use of both Wii controls (The nunchuks) and every button, which are also customizable to fit your needs. Mind you I don’t own a Wii and rarely play Wii games, but this game’s controls are easy to get into.
Another cool gimmick about the game is the enemy A.I.; they’re pretty smart. If you point your weapon at them, the enemy will dip past your shots, duck for cover or run and hide, peeking out to see if it’s safe for them to strike. When you have to reload they’ll pounce on you. And if you think there’s a pattern to them… think again. First time you meet they might charge, next time shoot you from a distance, and the next they will simply toss a grenade at you.
Overall the game is pretty intense and it’s so gratifying when you get off the perfect shot. I loved it when I hit a guy directly with a grenade and his body exploded everywhere. Mmmmm…. After a hard days night I can see how this can relieve some tension. The game has nine missions and 13 multiplayer modes. One mode, The Bounty Hunter has me most intrigued. From how it was explained, you’re given a target and you must seek out that target, but at the same time someone will be targeting you. You gain points if you hit your target, but you lose points if you hit anyone else. This will make for some extremely delicate gameplay, because how can resist filling a guy full of hot plasma… wait I don’t mean that as bad as it sounds.
I’ll have more of “The Conduit” as we get closer to its release, plus I’ll get more hands on with the game and the multiplayer facets at E3. So stay tuned for more coverage of this very unique title. But if you ask me, I think High Voltage has a hit on their hands.