Metareview: The Conduit (Wii)
by Ben Gilbert 
{ Jun 24th 2009 at 1:31PM } 
- GamePro (70): "The Conduit is the closest you will get to recapturing the magic of Goldeneye ... To be blunt, The Conduit is a by the numbers shooter that offers a couple of thrills but ultimately doesn't make much of an impact ... anyone who loved Goldeneye will want to give a look as well if only to get a nice dose of nostalgia, but the rest of you shouldn't feel a need to abandon your favorite next-gen shooter for this one."
- GamesRadar (80): "The Conduit is fun, controls well, and is, at times, quite beautiful ... Both humans and alien drones are animated with competent physics and personality that puts High Voltage Software's Quantum3 engine outside the realm of the "GameCube 1.5" criticisms ... The truth is you probably wouldn't bat an eye at The Conduit had it appeared on PC, PS3 or Xbox 360 ... The solid, yet unremarkable single-player won't win any awards, but The Conduit still features the most finely honed online outings available on Wii."
- IGN (86): "The Conduit is not a revolutionary first-person shooter, but it's a damned good one ... the title features the tightest, most comfortable control scheme of any console-based first-person shooter to date ... The Conduit features a robust list of modes and maps to play online and nearly 20 weapons to use as you rip through arenas blasting foes ... it's not revolutionary, but The Conduit is a great first-person shooter designed just for Wii owners."
Gallery: The Conduit
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Bainge @ Jun 24th 2009 1:36PM
Tightest most comfortable control scheme of any console FPS? I must have wimpy wrists cause I couldn't play Call of Duty: World at War for more than 30 minutes at a time, pointing the Remote at the screen was just killer
Dirty @ Jun 24th 2009 1:41PM
It was Casamassina, he has a wiimote in his ass at all times and he finds that comfortable.
NaeemTHM @ Jun 24th 2009 1:45PM
Casamassina does seem to be something of a Nintendo fanboy. I mean look at the second opinion on the Ghostbusters Wii review:
"I have to disagree with Greg's assertion that gamers would be better served if Ghostbusters' aiming system was influenced more by Resident Evil 4. I really like the control setup in this game and think it's much better than the one Capcom used to power its survival-horror Wii port."
Or course you do Matt. If they asked you to bark like a dog to fire your gun you would totally say it was a great game innovation.
Girugamuk (Moptimus Slimed) @ Jun 24th 2009 1:46PM
yeah, that thing must weigh like a bajillion pounds or something
Girugamuk (Moptimus Slimed) @ Jun 24th 2009 1:57PM
wait, someone whose is comfortable using the Wiimote to aim likes doing it better than someone who doesn't?
STOP THE PRESSES, I GOT BREAKING NEWZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111
Storm Eagle @ Jun 24th 2009 1:58PM
When it comes to Cassmassina, it would seem to make sense that he's some sort of Nintendo fanboy. He's been the Editor in Chief of the IGN [Nintendo] site for the last...3 console generations? Nintendo is all he deals in over there. It wouldn't make sense for him to be a PS3 fanboy, reviewing Wii games. Then he'd just say that they all sucked...oh...wait.
sony boy @ Jun 24th 2009 1:59PM
so is greg miller. he's a real psp fanboy, like me. he gave patapon 2 a 9.5 and it was a bit biased.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 24th 2009 2:03PM
The IGN nintendo team as a whole raises my suspicions, things like giving one of those Imagine Babiez games like a 7.5. The only person from the team I know of well is Matt and he definitely comes off like a huge nintendo fanboy. He was drooling all over the Conduit well before it was out, so his mind was relatively made up beforehand.
Squoze @ Jun 24th 2009 2:07PM
@Storm Eagle, If the guy is a huge Nintendo fanboy who'll tolerate anything so long as it's a licensed Nintendo product, then having him review nothing but Nintendo games is not a good idea. Too much bias. Better to have neutral reviewers.
mr nimblewick @ Jun 24th 2009 2:07PM
Perhaps Imagine Babiez was a decent game for its demographic. Why shouldn't it get a decent rating with the caveat "This is not for core gamers"?
Bainge @ Jun 24th 2009 2:08PM
Shit Girugamuk calm down up there sir, I'm still getting it later today. I just made an observation, but the funny thing is not that I think about it I never seemed to notice and wrist problems while playing RE4 or UC. Hm. Anywho, with this and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite I'm set for a long while
Girugamuk (Moptimus Slimed) @ Jun 24th 2009 2:09PM
"He was drooling all over the Conduit well before it was out, so his mind was relatively made up beforehand."
Confirmed: Matt is teh biased
Mr Khan @ Jun 24th 2009 2:10PM
Please. Real Nintendo fanboys disdain Matt C. Go around to GoNintendo or VGChartz, his name is mud over there
tuunicopapi @ Jun 24th 2009 3:01PM
"Tightest most comfortable control scheme of any console FPS? I must have wimpy wrists cause I couldn't play Call of Duty: World at War for more than 30 minutes at a time, pointing the Remote at the screen was just killer"
that's called "lack of exercise" my friend. you might wanna get off of you lazy tush and get some of it. it can benefit you in many ways. i exercise all the time and i can hold my arm out all day!
Bainge @ Jun 24th 2009 2:25PM
Wrist exercises? Well I can only think of one and generally that is frowned upon at the gym
Alistair Azimuth PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Jun 24th 2009 2:25PM
I love it ... if someone has trouble using the wii mote for shooters he must be a fat lazy bastard? You guys are throwing one of your own under the bus for expressing his opinion. It's probably easier to make fun of him and make him look like a troll instead of considering if what he is saying has validity.
Mark @ Jun 24th 2009 2:39PM
Amen brother. I was weary of my Wii for a while now and then last week, I decided to give No More Heroes a shot. After 20 min, my wrist was aching from being all crooked-up and that's when I decided to place my Wii up for auction. Sold on ebay in less than half a day. Hopefully it found a good home with someone with strong, sturdy wrists.
Really though, the Wiimote is not very ergonomically correct for first/third person shooters. Sad because it has so much potential.
Sly @ Jun 24th 2009 2:40PM
yeah, who knows, he might have one of those conditions where your wrists are weaker than average. or he might be OLD and have ARTHRITIS.
redjack @ Jun 24th 2009 2:41PM
"Wrist exercises? Well I can only think of one and generally that is frowned upon at the gym"
Wrestlers will tie a weight to a dowel with a rope and then wind the rope up slowly on the dowel and then let it down just as slow. Its one of the best ways to strengthen your wrists and your grip.
You can also just use a set of small weights and do wrist curls as well.
Your way would rub your shit raw in no time.
mr nimblewick @ Jun 24th 2009 2:41PM
Can you people post a video of yourself playing a wii game? I want to see what you are doing to hurt your wrists so badly. I've had sore muscles after Wii Sports and Boom Blox, but never any wrist problems.
Bainge @ Jun 24th 2009 2:51PM
Maybe my problem is that I am usually playing sitting up on a bed with my arms out pointing at the TV, there is no back support and nowhere to rest any part of my arm or elbow. With a regular controller or a non-pointy at screen Wii game I rest it in my lap, a mouse and keyboard I'm resting on a desk, with my arcade stick I am resting it on the massive bulk of wood that makes that sucker weigh like 10 pounds.
But I digress, I am neither old (18) or a fat bastard (5'10" 155 Pounds), I think I just need to start playing in an armchair because at least then I'd have somewhere to put my elbows.
NoughtSoClever @ Jun 24th 2009 2:56PM
Here is the problem. You guys keep comparing 'The Conduit' to 'your favorite next-gen shooter'. This is like comparing a golf cart to a Ferrari. All these guys are saying is that, as far as golf carts go, this is a really nice one! All my Nintendo peeps have is golf carts and go karts. Let them have their nice ass golf cart!
mr nimblewick @ Jun 24th 2009 2:57PM
Yeah, just holding up my arms would fatigue them pretty fast. I would recommend sitting cross-legged and resting your elbows on your knees.
redjack @ Jun 24th 2009 2:57PM
That's really your problem. No place for your elbows. What you're doing will of course fatigue you. Its really similar to what monks do to keep in shape with Chi-Gong exercises.
Foetoid @ Jun 24th 2009 7:08PM
Wow Bainge you must have like, broken hands to not play COD:WAW for more than half an hour. Remember, your not pointing at the screen, your pointing at the sensor bar. So what you do it, have the sensor bar below the TV, sit on the couch facing the TV, put the Wiimote hand on your knee and then do whatever you have to with your other hand. From that angle, you should be able to aim at the sensor bar without any wrist complaints and still be perfectly accurate.
Storm Eagle @ Jun 24th 2009 1:37PM
Just watched the video review at IGN. It looks damn beautiful for a Wii game. You can tell the gameplay isn't the deepest thing though. It's very attributable to Goldeneye or Perfect Dark. 11 players online and the experience will depend on your connection. Definitely looks like it's worth a look. Especially if you're looking for a Wii FPS. Oh, and you can customize EVERYTHING as it pertains to controls...
sony boy @ Jun 24th 2009 2:06PM
this is probably the game that actually provest that the wii has better graphics than the psp.
KaBob799 @ Jun 24th 2009 2:18PM
You mean aside from all the other games with better than psp graphics? Including games from the gamecube?
Dante G @ Jun 24th 2009 1:42PM
It seems to me like they reduced the score of the game because it is not in beautiful HD graphics... but if you think about it, if it had HD graphics it wouldn't have the pointer controls... so I think reviewers, when writing about a Wii exclusive, should drop their comparisons with the PS3 and 360 graphics, simply because there isn't a version on those to compare it to, and even if it was it wouldn't control the same.
Jack_Jackington @ Jun 24th 2009 1:45PM
Where do you get your facts from?
WINterfang @ Jun 24th 2009 1:52PM
Of course you get to compare them, they are games of the same genre on the same generation of rival consoles.
Jack Spicer PSN: watsuke @ Jun 24th 2009 1:57PM
They never said the graphics were a point breaker. They talked about the gameplay and the lack of.
Try reading the actual review and not just the score.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 24th 2009 2:00PM
Dante
So you're one of those "looks good for a wii game" people? Do you want the system to be treated equally and fairly, or do you want people to say that quote and treat it like an inferior?
The Baron @ Jun 24th 2009 2:01PM
So you're saying that this game, if it was on PC/PS3/360, competing with games by Infinity Ward, Bungie, DICE, Crytek and Valve, it would have scored higher?
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 24th 2009 2:16PM
I believe the complain here is that it doesn't do anything new for shooters,is just an Eff Pea Ess for the Wii.
Like Killzone 2,it has beatiful graphics but it doesn't do anything for the FPS genre graphics are just its thing,in this case the Wii mote scheme is conduit thing.
Dante G @ Jun 24th 2009 2:23PM
@Jack_Jackington
I said: "It seems to me..." as in it's my opinion.
@WINterfang
Fair enough, but ask yourself this: would it matter to a reader who only owns a Wii and enjoys playing with the remote rather than with a classic controller?
@Jack Spicer PSN: watsuke
They don't need to say they're a point breaker.
@tmacairjordan87
I'm one of those guys that plays games to have fun. If it looks nice it's always a plus, but since I've been playing video games since the Atari I can honestly say I enjoy games even if they don't look super realistic with thousands of shades of brown.
@The Baron
That's hard to tell since it wouldn't be the same game if it looked and controlled differently. Now, if it was made for the PS3 or 360 with the same amount of money they used for this version of course it wouldn't measure up with the big guys like halo, cod or kz.
@Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC)
Ok, but why do they mention stuff like this: "but the rest of you shouldn't feel a need to abandon your favorite next-gen shooter for this one."? What if their favorite FPS is Haze?
Viney @ Jun 24th 2009 2:31PM
Bottom line is, if I walked into a store right now, the Wii games are in the same store on the same shelves as the PS3 and 360 games also competing for my money at the same time. I don't care what each console does different, they all want my money right now and a comparison is more than justified.
BigD145 @ Jun 24th 2009 2:41PM
If I walked into a Gamestop right now, the 360, PS3, SNES, PSone, etc games are all on the same shelf and a comparison is more than justified.
Huey2k2 @ Jun 24th 2009 3:13PM
"It seems to me like they reduced the score of the game because it is not in beautiful HD graphics..."
As they should, I have a big assed TV and if when I play video games on it, I want them to look really good, this is why I paid $3000 for a TV.
My 360 and my PS3 look fantastic on a big HD set, why is it wrong of me to assume that my Wii should too?
redjack @ Jun 24th 2009 3:30PM
"So you're one of those "looks good for a wii game" people? Do you want the system to be treated equally and fairly, or do you want people to say that quote and treat it like an inferior?"
Do the PS3 and 360 get docked for not having motion controls? There's only a 6 point difference on metacritic between the Wii and 360/PS3 versions of the new Tiger Woods. Isn't that a game where the HD systems should suffer significantly especially with MotionPlus? And last year they were almost dead even in scores.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 24th 2009 8:32PM
"Ok, but why do they mention stuff like this: "but the rest of you shouldn't feel a need to abandon your favorite next-gen shooter for this one."? What if their favorite FPS is Haze?"
I think the games they had in mind are like Call of Duty,Resistance or Halo.Haze ,c'mon.
Is just a good shooter taylor made for the Wii,if you play it you might enjoy it but if you didn't you aren't missing much,that is all.
NaeemTHM @ Jun 24th 2009 1:42PM
You know, I hear the argument made against this game that if it were a PS3 or 360 game no one would even pay attention. However we're not paying attention because it's an M-rated shooter, we care because this may very well be the evolution of the FPS genre.
I know people here swear by the mouse and keyboard, but I fully believe that this is a step beyond that. Analog control and mouse like aiming it the way to go!
Nook @ Jun 24th 2009 3:08PM
the copy I managed to find today says it's rated T.
:)
WINterfang @ Jun 24th 2009 1:50PM
Another one for SEGA.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 24th 2009 2:22PM
Is published by Sega like Condemend 2 or developed by Sega?
If sega created this awesome,is good to know they got it.
Mr. Fister @ Jun 24th 2009 2:26PM
SEGA didn't develop The Conduit. High Voltage Software, the team that is also working on Gladiator A.D. and The Grinder, developed it. SEGA only published it, like with MadWorld and House of the Dead: Overkill.
WINterfang @ Jun 24th 2009 9:44PM
Yes it's published by SEGA, who is AWESOME at publishing hidden gems.
Girugamuk (Moptimus Slimed) @ Jun 24th 2009 1:52PM
I like how the Gamepro reviewer says he didn't like the controls, even though earlier he acknowledged that he could change them but chose not to.
"What I couldn't stand, however, was the use of motion controls; for whatever reason, High Voltage mapped two critical functions -- grenade throwing and melee-to motion controls but even my grandmother knows that that was a dumb move"
"The funny thing is, after wrestling with the terrible controls for the five hours, thirteen minutes and eleven seconds it took me to beat the game"
"Turning your viewpoint is smooth and there are menu options that let you customize pretty much every aspect of the interface that you could want. I played with the default and was absolutely happy with it."
whylekat @ Jun 24th 2009 2:00PM
Maybe he wanted to play it how the developers intended. Either way motion controls are dumb and make you look like a fool.
Girugamuk (Moptimus Slimed) @ Jun 24th 2009 2:02PM
"Maybe he wanted to play it how the developers intended."
If he did, he would've used the customization options. You know, LIKE THE DEVELOPERS INTENDED