But we don’t review games in a vacuum. The truth is you probably wouldn’t bat an eye at The Conduit had it appeared on PC, PS3 or Xbox 360. But there are millions of Wii owners out there starved for a classic FPS experience, and it’s beyond fair to say that hardcore hopes ride high upon the game’s success. The scores will undoubtedly differ, but rest assured we all want see the Wii become a system where traditional genres proliferate even if we can’t reflect that in the score. So, taking a page from The Conduit itself, we’re giving you the option to adjust our review score:

That leaves a possibility of an unprecedented 12 score! You go, Conduit!

Is it better than...?

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Nah. The controls are on par, but the lifeless corridors of Washington DC have nothing on the cosmic scope of ‘Troid. There’s just more to do in Nintendo’s FPS, and most of it is more interesting, even without multiplayer. Worst of all, The Conduit didn’t have presence of mind to launch its franchise into our hearts two decades ago. Shame!

Red Steel
Of course! Built on a promise, Red Steel was essentially a game designed on spec that failed to deliver due to technology it didn’t yet understand. Motion controlled shots are leagues ahead of this forgettable launch title. Even if the sequel rights previous wrongs, it’s still pretty astounding what The Conduit pulled off without Wii Motion Plus.

Killzone 2/Halo 3
No

Just for you, Metacritic!

Few developers bother to utilize Nintendo’s aging guts and motion controls to churn out exclusive, traditional content, and fewer still refine that into anything resembling a meaningful experience. 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, thus making it supremely worthy of our third highest score. We can’t wait to see what else the Quantum 3 engine has in store.

Jun 23, 2009