GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

High Voltage opens The Conduit

Leisure Suit Larry: Magnum Cum Laude studio readying Wii-exclusive first-person shooter, due Q1 2009.

86 Comments

Headquartered in suburban Chicago, High Voltage Software is best known as the developer of the 2004 revival Leisure Suit Larry: Magnum Cum Laude, the 2006 Family Guy game, and this year's Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. Today, the company unveiled an all-new IP for a change: The Conduit for the Nintendo Wii.

The Conduit will center on a "conspiracy-laden story" involving shady government shenanigans and "terrifying aliens." Players will portray Ford, a Secret Service agent armed with an array of futuristic weaponry and aided by a Sauron-esque intelligence-gathering device simply called the "All-Seeing Eye."

Though The Conduit's story sounds reminiscent of Deus Ex and The X-Files, High Voltage is hoping its technology will be truly groundbreaking. Using its self-developed Quantum 3 engine, the studio is hoping to dispel the perception that Wii games are visually substandard when compared to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The Conduit is also notable for the fact that it is one of a somewhat rare breed: a Wii first-person shooter. Its developers are touting the fact that they are aiming to avoid the pitfalls that have befallen some previous first-person shooters for Nintendo's console, which is best known for its party games and host of first-party titles.

"Too many Wii owners have been told that the Wii is a casual platform with no room for serious games or top-tier graphics," High Voltage Chief Creative Officer Eric Nofsinger said in a statement. "With The Conduit, we intend to prove that theory wrong by providing gamers with the kind of title they imagined back when the platform was first announced."

The Conduit is currently slated for release during the first quarter of 2009.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are 86 comments about this story