Conduit 2 Review

The adventure began in 2009 and now it continues, The Conduit was first realized in 2009 as the first big shooter for Wii. The game came out of nowhere and surprised gamers everywhere with its unique story telling, perfect fps console controls and a tailored game engine. The Conduit changed a lot for Wii introducing the likes of amazing tech never before seen on the system and a bold online approach that worked. This game did not go without fault though as the game suffered from deja vu level design mediocre voice acting and a Holst of online bugs. The Conduit came and gone and as many people loved or hated it there still was anticipation for the sequel. The desire to see a sequel to fix a the grips with the first game that would make The Conduit a true epic Wii franchise; So how does Conduit 2 excel?



Conduit 2 stars agent Michael Ford the lead character from the first game beginning on an oil rig which takes place directly after the original Conduit. Right from the start of the game a huge change is noticed with the shimmering rain showers and dreary industrial landscape plagued with mad scientist and evil npc soldiers. The beginning refreshes your brain that John Adams the villain from the first game is no laughing matter and will do anything to get the All Seeing Eye from you. Conduit 2 does a decent job of showing how sinister John Adams is in his attempts but doesn't give any incentive to fear him not that you might need it anyway. Conduit really makes its self know as it completely sells you on its atmosphere right from the beginning. Rain puddles,Thunderous backgrounds drench in endless oceans complimented with an entrancing industrial score you truly feel a sense of being there and dread for whats to come. This does not end here for Conduit 2 spans about 10 hours the first time granted you play on normal, as you proceed back to Washington, then to China, Siberia and many other places.

Conduit 2 story may be a mixed bag for some people, for those who loved the first games tone may feel a bit down seeing as Conduit 2 aims for laughs. While it does still have many of the radio stations scattered through out the game including one with an Easter egg Drudge Rap the game still feels to loose to completely engross you with its plot. A big improvement with Conduit 2 over the first game is the very cinematic approach that was taken this time around, this isn't just said because theirs cutscences now but more so how the game flows. Conduit 2 creates a cinematic presence like no other wii game and this is entirely to think because of the increased art aesthetics and the incredible sound design. The sound in Conduit 2 does a very good job of correctly placing ambiance at the right situations to further enhance whats going on around you, you now feel every impact with deep bass. You can thank High Voltage software for finding away to include 48khz audio into Conduit 2 which made it such an incredible experience, everything is crisper, and louder than another wii game before it and features more pronounced reverbs not previously noticed. Conduit 2's excellent sound design even allows for better precision mainly in telling the difference of voices when in or outside, when Adams speaks to you while walking down a tunnel or hallway it actually sound as such now. To finish off the sound High Voltage has also done an excellent job of distinguishing the weapon sounds for now you can tell exactly what weapon is being fired just by how it sounds and even tell how far away its shooting.

Now Conduit 2 single play is not without faults or the entire game for that matter as it has some re-occurring issues that plagued the first game.For the most part Conduit 2 runs at 60fps and then other times its drop to 30 and I have even had a random occasion were it slowed form 60 to 2 fps for about 10 minutes. These framerate issues happen way too often in conduit 2 for it to be forgivable and while I do love the fact that in some levels i can play at 60fps with no problem others are just to rigged.


On the multiplayer side Conduit 2 Does have a better framerate as the 60fps is much more solid, but as stated before re-occurring issues from the first game rear there ugly faces in this game. If your playing online in Conduit 2 in a online match with more than 8 people the game will take a noticeable performance hit mainly with the framerate creating more lag. Still Conduit 2's online is pretty amazing While its a bummer that they could not include a party system or voice chat with anyone High Voltage does a good job of making up for this by allowing for a rivals system, friend to friend chat and patch support. One of the biggest improvements to Conduit 2 has been its online info-structure, you now earn medals and achievements in signal player that can be carried over to multiplayer and shown to your friends online, this is definitely a much needed addition. Conduit 2 also follows in the footsteps of the likes of Halo Reach by including the ability to create and customize your online avatar for you to fight as with a full fledged online store for it. It doesn't just end there as this store can be used to upgraded your characters attributes for both online and offline so if there was a weapon not achieved in single player do to not finding the blueprint you can actually buy the weapon granted you have the credits . Perks really help better the multiplayer from the original game especially with perks that compliment the amazing weapons this game has and still manages to the keep balance.

Conduit 2 has some amazing weapons that really make the game stand out from the Call Of Duty's and Halo's. The game features human, alien and Atlantis weapons one of the weapons which is my favorite is the dark star which allows you to shoot black holes at your opponents. While there are other weapons in the game that repels bullets and another that turns you invisible there all uniquely balanced and will have a liking by everyone. Conduit 2 offers a lot for the money, I was almost over whelmed by the amount of content this game has to offer. The game features extra levels that can be unlocked by finding and scanting objects throughout the single player along with newly implemented split screen support and an invasion mode. Invasion Mode will keep you coming back a lot if you ever get bored of multiplayer as it allows up to 4 other players to join you in taking out hordes of enemies. Its a let down though that invasion mode does not feature any online, but the fact that they even implemented this mode is a defined plus and they could always patch in online support (one can dream). All the extra content does come at a risk though for the single and multiplayer can feel a bit unpolished at times with all the bugs and glitches. There are 2 in particular that really irked me and really takes you out of the experience which was an ASE glitch when every time you take the ASE out to scan something the sound effect lingers in the background, it may not seem like a problem to some but it will be if your playing in 5.1 Surround like I was. Also there was a weird online glitch were if you weren't able to connect to a friend or rivals match in multiplayer you would be immediately backed out to the main menu.

Now on to the best part of Conduit 2, This game is downright gorgeous to look at, one of the biggest criticisms from the first game which was the art direction has been greatly addressed. Those who loved retro for there hand crafted level of detail put in to the Metroid games will love Conduit 2's stellar look for every single texture was hand crafted and it certainly shows especially in the China level.When you see conduit 2 running in 480p widescreen you will say wow, there is so much to look at in conduit 2 with myriads of detail and care you while want to just stop and stare much of the time.Some levels may be better than others though as the the Siberia level looks very generic in the outside segments compared to the rest of the game. Conduit 2 also maintain its beauty online with the inclusion of revamped levels from the first game that looks a lot better with the better aesthetics. Still as good as the textures are the lighting is what really steals the show here as it creates such a realistic look for the game adding to this the real time shadows which is rarely seen on Wii and the reflections on everything in the environment. Also I must give props to High Voltage for making such good looking water on Wii in regards to the first level, I have never seen a large body of water look that good on Wii or many games on the other systems for that matter except for Killzone 3, its really stunning to look at.

Conduit 2 while with still many flaws manages to better its predecessor and create an amazing fan service full of cool Easter eggs, fancy one liners and horrible but intentionally funny voice acting from John St. John(voice of Duke nukem) and many others. Conduit 2 is definitely worth a purchase as many will be able able to look past the many bugs and comical main story, and towards its amazing audio, graphics gameplay, online and damn near perfect fully customizable control scheme. Go out and buy Conduit 2 now for it deserves your praise especially with such a climatic but epic ending. "Bigger, Better and Bolder", epic cutscences, tons of content, big maps,bosses and an epic soundtrack from beginning to end conduit 2 aims to please.

Gameplay- 8/10
Story -7.5/10
Audio-10/10
Graphics -9.5/10
Replay Value-9.5/10

Final Verdict 9/10