Sega treated their ‘Guns & Gore II’ guests to a welcomed surprise in the shape of High Voltage Software’s upcoming first-person shooter game The Conduit. The game is High Voltage Software’s pet project as it were; having developed a portfolio, and importantly profits, from licensed titles they set about making a game for the Wii that would cater toward the “hardcore” audience. Sega recently made a deal with High Voltage Software to publish this game and while there is no set release date at present it is expected to hit shops around summer.

The first thing that strikes you about this game is the way in which it is reminiscent of GoldenEye, but for no discernable reason. Several people I spoke to that day who played it all said the same, it feels like GoldenEye in some way but nobody could quite put their finger on it. Regardless, this is obviously a good thing. I’m sure everyone reading this has played GoldenEye and I can’t recall anyone ever say anything too bad about it. Essentially what this means is this game filled me with optimism that it could be something special, an AAA title as they say.

However the game had to live up to this immediate feeling I gathered while watching others play it and I’m pleased to say it did. While my time was shorter than I would have liked (although in all fairness I would have liked to have owned it and played it all) what I did play certainly filled me with confidence.

For those who don’t know anything about the game here is a quick run down of its storyline; in the near future an alien invasion takes place in Washington D.C. in which aliens use Conduits, portals, to deploy their forces throughout the city. While most of the storyline is being kept under wraps Sega did promise us an intense storyline with a deep conspiracy at its heart. In the game you play a new agent by the name of Mr. Ford (voiced by Mark Sheppard who you’re likely to have seen in something) who is able to use a piece of alien technology that has been discovered. The spherical-shaped ASE (All-Seeing Eye) is the source of the game’s puzzle elements as it has many different uses during the game.

Obviously an important factor in any first-person shooter is the weaponry and The Conduit certainly delivers. There are three types of weapons in the game; man-made, alien and experimental. The weapon types are all slightly different in terms of style and mechanics, with the biggest noticeable difference being the organic nature of the alien weaponry. Only a few guns were shown but they showed a range of potential as to what to expect from the weapons; from the golden gun inspired one-shot-kills gun through to the alien gun they all handled uniquely. This is all obviously just scratching the surface of the weapons on offer in the final game.

The aforementioned ASE was used in several ways during the course of my play through. At one stage an alien lock was preventing me from progressing and I had to find two switches to get through. These switches however were not visible to the human eye and that’s where the ASE came in as using that it is possible to find these switches. Similarly at one point invisible alien mines were littered across the ground and the ASE had to be used to identify and destroy these mines. There will be many uses for the ASE in the final game and looks set to add a rewarding puzzle element to this FPS.

The enemies in the game were adequately difficult and intelligent. At one point of the play through we entered an area in which alien objects are attached to the walls that regain the health of those around it, both yourself and of the enemies. Thus, while it is possible for you to shoot them to easily take out the enemies they are still beneficial to you so it is good to keep them around. Furthermore the enemies can’t be teased out of this safety net, they hold their ground knowing that they can keep getting healed. This is only one example of what I’m sure will be many instances in which the AI will prove to be a credit to the game.

Speaking of the enemies, every time you kill one of them they leave behind some health and their weapons. While some people may see this as potentially making the game too easy the enemies you do come across are likely to put a dent in your health, particularly if you are new to the game. While we’ll have to see if ultimately it becomes too easy to constantly regain your health I feel confident that High Voltage Software won’t let you glide through the game so smoothly. When the enemies do overturn you and shoot you dead the camera will fall to the ground and you will see your own hand lying in front of you. This little touch really adds to the game’s sense of ‘realism’.

The game offers a high degree of customisation in how you play it. The controller itself comes preset but you can map it out however you want. While the controllers I played with had you swinging your nunchuck to throw a grenade you can just as easily set it so you swing the nunchuck to shoot, if you wanted to give your arm a serious work out. Furthermore the HUD (on-screen display of your ammo, health etc) can be fully customised so you can put your health in the middle of the screen, your ammo at the top and so forth. If you prefer a completely immersive first-person perspective you can turn them all off too. This attention to detail really sets The Conduit apart from other FPS games.

Overall I was surprisingly pleased with The Conduit. I will admit I didn’t know much about the game before going but I had looked into it beforehand and while it looked interesting it wasn’t until I saw it first hand that I became really excited about it. Speaking to the other people who attended ‘Guns & Gore II’ they agreed; this game could be a real system seller and while we played an early build it still managed to impress us all. This game has the potential to be huge…if it sells. Unfortunately it could enter a catch 22 situation; there are no games like it on the Wii and while this may make some people interested in The Conduit it could just as equally mean people won’t pick it up. While we’ll have to wait until we get a chance to play the final version it is highly possible that this game will become a must buy.