I received The Conduit yesterday in the mail. The moment when I first picked up the long awaited package was vaguely reminiscent of Christmas morning as a child. Upon first hearing about the title it looked as if High Voltage was struggling to find a publisher, petitions were going around the internet and it looked as if the title might have joined Sadness, Project Hammer and Winter in the Promising Wii Games That Never Were Club. Being able to put this in my system and play it was a great feeling. Did all this anticipating lead to disappointment or was it as great as I thought it would be?

The answer lies somewhere in between. Truth be told I was expecting almost universal acclaim for the title and having seen many reviews for The Conduit it looks like the average consensus is that it is a good title, if not a little typical for the genre. While I would never let game reviewers influence my opinion it was nice to know going into the experience that it was not going to be the be all and end all of FPS on the Wii.

I was first struck by the graphics. They are far better on my television than stills and trailers I had previously seen on my PC. Specifically the weapon and hand detail is phenomenal. The character models look great. Weapons effects like muzzle flair are superb as well. The only thing visually the presentation does poorly with is on occasion you’ll look at things like wheels to open doors and release steam and they’ll look a tad dull and lacking texture.

The sound and music are both superb and set the mood wonderfully. Visuals are never satisfying without great auditory accompaniment and The Conduit does not disappoint. I am especially fond of the tracks in the game and online multiplayer menus.

I am playing on the difficulty level that sits just above standard and the game seems to be going great, the enemies take cover, seem to coordinate attacks well and pose a general challenge compared to a few previous Wii FPS games I’ve played ...*hack, cough* Medal of Honour: Heroes 2 *cough*... where I have found them running into walls, allowing me to run by them without pursuing me or waiting to get shot. I still have yet to find the perfect control scheme, but that is probably because I’ve been jumping into multiplayer for that amazing experience rather than tinkering around with the controls. I cannot decide whether Bounty Hunter or Team Reaper is more fun, they’re both a blast. I really should get on that, but the multiplayer is ever so tempting after having suffered through some much more lacklustre Wii FPS title online experiences.

That brings me to the voice acting and the story. Thus far I am not a huge fan of the voice acting and in between mission briefings. Hopefully as I get further through the story I will stop thinking that Hercules is instructing me to do this and that on my missions. I always prefer unknown actors in films as I can’t base the character on my opinion or preconceived notions of them. I enjoy when story is delivered in the game as Ford is on the move. Picking up the cryptic messages written on the walls with the ASE and hearing radio transmissions is a great way to deliver back story. So many games try to force such things down your throat with cutscenes that carry the games. It is nice to see that the game can deliver the story and 3 to 5 minute films are not needed after every twenty to thirty minutes of game play to string the story along. As far as the actual story goes I am enjoying it a lot, the X-Files being one of my favourite television shows and having an interest in government conspiracy theories probably helps.

Overall I am very pleased and I can easily see The Conduit devouring my free time in the near future...sorry Okami. If anyone is interested in playing online here’s my friend code: 0947-0184-3870. I have Wii Speak and you can reach me on Skype at “cadtalfryn”. Hope to be playing with some of you soon.