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Review: The Conduit

by Justin McElroy { Jun 30th 2009 at 12:45PM }

The problem with reviewing High Voltage's The Conduit is that it's impossible to do in a vacuum. Depending on where you're coming from, you're going to have vastly different reactions to this game, so I'm going to do my best to talk to everyone.

Gallery: The Conduit

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Metareview: The Conduit (Wii)

by Ben Gilbert { Jun 24th 2009 at 1:31PM }

While you're patiently waiting for the end of the week so you can cash that paycheck and pick up High Voltage Software's The Conduit for your Nintendo Wii, why not take a gander at what the rest of the interweb had to say about the game? Considering the lack of correlation between Metacritic scores and the sales numbers of Wii games, though -- at least according to Peter Moore -- you probably shouldn't let these numbers get to you too much.

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

This Week on the Nintendo Channel: E3 interviews

by David Hinkle { Jun 22nd 2009 at 2:15PM }

This week, the Nintendo Channel has been flooded with a variety of interviews about big upcoming Wii titles. There are interviews with the folks behind FFCC: The Crystal Bearers, Red Steel 2, Cave Story, and, as you can see above, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. So, hit up the video above, then if you want more E3 interview goodness, be sure to boot up your Wii and check out what's on the Nintendo Channel.

Gallery: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (Wii)

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The Conduit delayed in Europe, Australia [update]

by JC Fletcher { Jun 17th 2009 at 11:00AM }

[Update: Sega has confirmed that the US release date remains June 23.]

Sega has announced that the European release of The Conduit has been delayed from its original June 26 date to July 10. According to CVG, unspecified issues with the game's multi-language European localization are responsible for the holdup.

VOOKS has also confirmed a delay for the Australian release of High Voltage's FPS. Once given a June 25 release date, the game has been pushed back to July 16. Neither Sega nor VOOKS offered any reason for this version's delay, and the Australian release shouldn't be affected by the same localization problems. At this point, your best shot at playing The Conduit next week remains the "living in North America" strategy, or the slightly less drastic "importing from North America" strategy.

Gallery: The Conduit

Impressions: Gladiator A.D. (Wii)

by David Hinkle { Jun 5th 2009 at 4:15PM }

The second title that High Voltage showed off behind closed doors at this year's E3 was none other than Gladiator A.D., its aptly titled gladiatorial combat game. We were able to witness several battles take place across two different stages. The High Voltage rep that demoed the game for us said the company was really going for that stylized 300 look and feel. While we can't comment on the latter, we will say the former was pretty evident.

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Impressions: Astro Boy (Wii)

by David Hinkle { Jun 5th 2009 at 1:15PM }

Many of you likely remember the punishing gameplay of Astro Boy: Omega Factor. In fact, our first question to the High Voltage rep that demoed the game at the D3 Publisher booth was just that, if they played the game and whether they planned to follow in its footsteps. The good news is that High Voltage indeed did play through Omega Factor and took inspiration from the game, evident in the 2.5D approach of the Wii game and simplistic combat. The bad news is that this seemed less like a game inspired by Omega Factor and more a watered down version of one of the better GBA games out there.

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Impressions: The Grinder (Wii)

by David Hinkle { Jun 3rd 2009 at 11:15PM }

The Grinder is the first of the two new Wii projects from High Voltage that were revealed just prior to E3, and we got to check it out at the company's booth. It's a game that takes the cheesy grindhouse pictures of old and converts them into an FPS experience. The result is a game full of frenetic monsters and tension.

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See Gladiator A.D. in bloody action

by Justin McElroy { May 28th 2009 at 4:00PM }

We know that it's not fair to pass judgment on a game when its at an early stage of development, but we're having a problem with this first trailer for High Voltage's new Gladiator A.D. Namely: It doesn't look very good. It's not that it doesn't look fun, there's no way of knowing that, but it just looks really ... homely.

We're going to cross out fingers and hope that this is just a super-early clip and the finished product is going to knock our sandals off in Q1 of 2010. Agreed?

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High Voltage follows The Conduit with Gladiator A.D.

by JC Fletcher { May 26th 2009 at 9:10AM }

Having already established itself as a leading developer of mature Wii games about guys shooting stuff with The Conduit, High Voltage Software has revealed its latest Wii project using the Quantum3 engine: a game about guys swording stuff. Gladiator A.D. is a bloody fighting game that puts players in the role of (obviously) a Roman gladiator.

The 300-inspired fighter allows players to choose from a selection of gladiators from different backgrounds, each with his or her own story and rival characters. The fighting takes place from an over-the-shoulder perspective, with each Wii controller representing one of the fighter's hands. Optional MotionPlus compatibility allows players to control the angle at which their swords cut into their opponents.

Gladiator A.D. is currently slated for a Q1 2010 release. High Voltage told IGN that it would also announce another title before E3.

[Thanks, KEENMACHINE]

Astro Boy movie adaptation coming to Wii, DS, PSP, PS2

by Griffin McElroy { May 7th 2009 at 11:45AM }

It appears that High Voltage Software's unannounced non-FPS title has been revealed, and ... it's only wearing underpants. According to a recent press release, the Conduit developer, along with D3Publisher, will be bringing Imagi Studios' upcoming CGI-infused Astro Boy film to the Wii, PSP and PS2 -- but in the form of a video game. How very clever! We'll see how well this bold experiment pans out when the game drops this Fall, probably around the film's October 23 release date.

The title will also be developed for the DS by Art Co. Ltd., who also adapted Coraline for D3Publisher. That doesn't exactly fill us with confidence, but hey -- it's pretty tough to screw up "Finger Lasers, Arm Cannons, and Butt Machine Guns."

Check out The Conduit's packaging, and the game as well

by JC Fletcher { May 6th 2009 at 5:05PM }

Sega released a bunch of cool media for The Conduit, including this new trailer, titled "Trouble in the Metro." It's somewhat debatable as to what causes more trouble in this game's version of the Washington, D.C. Metro system: all the alien guys running around, or the player character discharging a bunch of weapons in there.

Sega also released images of the special edition boxes for both the UK and North America. Sega has yet to announce anything about the UK special edition, but we feel pretty confident in saying that there will be a hint book included.

Gallery: The Conduit

Joystiq interview: High Voltage Software on The Conduit

by Jason Dobson { Apr 30th 2009 at 11:00AM }

While the Wii can often become a minigame jukebox, games like House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld prove that there's still room on Nintendo's console for players hungry for more than just another party. Despite Nintendo's preaching that it has not abandoned core gamers, others, like Illinois-based High Voltage Software, are doing something about it.

High Voltage's upcoming shooter, The Conduit, was positioned early on as the studio's effort to prove that the Wii could handle a hardcore FPS. Now, with it set to release in June, we cornered High Voltage creative director Matt Corso and spoke at length on the Wii, its perception with the hardcore crowd, and how his game's graphics size up to other titles like Gears of War.

Gallery: The Conduit

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New trailer examines The Conduit's literary side

by Richard Mitchell { Apr 29th 2009 at 7:00PM }

Sure, we all know that The Conduit looks to be one of the premiere first-person shooters on the Wii. We've all read about how it looks fantastic, it's going to revolutionize FPS controls on Wii, all that jazz. But what is it about? Seriously, without a well-written, heartfelt story about love, loss and lost love, then the only thing left is gameplay.

Knowing that you, dear readers, want more than blood, aliens and explosions -- that you are sophisticated -- we have embedded a new story trailer for The Conduit above. Put on your smoking jacket, pour the Courvoisier and take in some culture.

Compare The Conduit's graphics to other Wii FPS titles [update]

by David Hinkle { Apr 29th 2009 at 4:00PM }

Update: Apparently neither Sega or High Voltage approved this video, and it was uploaded by accident. At the request of Sega and High Voltage, we've removed it from the post.

High Voltage dares you. This isn't some kind of silly kid's dare, though. No, this is a triple dog-dare, the coup de grace of all dares. And, after watching the video past the break, which compares The Conduit to the likes of other Wii FPS games such as Metroid Prime 3, Red Steel, and Call of Duty: World at War, we'd say High Voltage has certainly made its case. What do you all think?

[Via Go Nintendo]

The Conduit channeled into retail on June 23

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 16th 2009 at 2:25PM }

Representatives for High Voltage Software and Sega have informed Joystiq that The Conduit will reach retail on June 23. There was some confusion this morning about The Conduit's development status, following a Eurogamer story indicating that Sega had "pushed ambitious Wii first-person shooter The Conduit back from spring to summer." This is technically accurate -- The Conduit was originally scheduled to release June 9 (spring), but will now release June 23, two days after summer begins.

High Voltage Software's Eric Nofsinger assured us that the game's development hadn't slipped at all, but that pushing the "Nintendo networking beyond its usual transfer of data and taking full use of the WiiSpeak" is "good for the game and gamer," even if it lengthens the time taken for testing and approval.