The Conduit Preview

With its June 23 release date just around the corner, The Conduit was hardly a new or shocking property at this year’s E3.  But I just couldn’t help stopping by to get some hands-on experience with the final build of High Voltage Studio’s killer app.

Though it has been stated many times before, The Conduit’s graphics cannot be done justice by screenshots alone.  Playing the game in person can be quite deceiving, and I had to constantly remind myself (as well as our senior editor, Christiaan) that I wasn’t playing a PS3 or Xbox 360 title.  The game’s Quantum 3 engine utilizes a variety of graphical features such as pixel shaders, bump mapping, and a ton of other terms I don’t fully comprehend.  The result is what I can honestly label one of the most beautiful games on the Wii.

Going hands-on with the controls was mostly what I expected.  The game controls and feels much like Metroid Prime 3’s refined scheme, but rather than leaving players with a default, non-adjustable control setup, The Conduit allows full controller customization in real time.  With a little help from nearby High Voltage assistants I was able to move the cursor and scroll left or right while adjusting the sensitivity in real time to see the effects of my changes as I made them.  My High Voltage helper even showed me how I could enlarge or shrink the dead zone (the square area in the center of your screen that determines when your character will start turning) to fit my style.