The Conduit Updated Hands-On

High Voltage has been making heads turn with its upcoming first-person shooter that pushes the Nintendo Wii's limits in terms of graphics and gameplay. The Conduit is still in pre-alpha, but ever since September's Penny Arcade Expo, High Voltage has been taking feedback from players who have had a chance to play the game. At the recent Nintendo Media Summit in San Francisco, we saw a noticeable difference between the build we played at PAX and the new version.

The Conduit's story is set in the near future, where Washington, DC, is attacked by an alien force known as the Drudge. You play as Mr. Ford, a former Secret Service agent who is now working for the Trust, a shadow organization led by a mysterious man by the name of John Adams. Ford is recruited to discover who is behind the attack. We were able to start off in the game's third level, which High Voltage has described as a Cold War-era bunker, a sharp contrast from the outdoor environment that we've seen before. The atmosphere feels very different this time around, especially because we spent our time navigating through hallways that would occasionally rumble, causing debris to fall. We dodged in and out of empty rooms and opened steel doors, only to get shot at by resurrected Trust agents. The demo at PAX had us navigating through city streets, jumping through rubble, and blowing up aliens, so this was an interesting change of pace.

We were told that slight tweaks were made to the controls so that Ford runs a bit faster, and the turning speed has also been adjusted. Even though the game already supports full customization of the controls, the developer wanted the defaults to be solid for those who begin the game. We played around with the sensitivity last time and felt that controls were still too sensitive, even after turning it down. This time, after a few quick adjustments the controls felt just right, so the gameplay went a lot more smoothly.

The game is still in pre-alpha, but the textures, material effects, and lighting have improved. So where you might've noticed blurry walls before, this time you can walk right up to them and still see the fine detail in the concrete. Other details that have been added include depth of field for added effect, as well as interaction with water that features reflection and ripples.

We also had the opportunity to play around with the All Seeing Eye, a fancy, glowing gizmo that works like an all-purpose flashlight. It not only reveals invisible geometry in the game, but also helps you pick locks. The eye also helps you find hidden objects and, eventually, invisible enemies, so it's a handy tool that breaks up the gameplay a bit and gives you some light puzzle-solving.

The developer has taken a closer look at the Wii Motion Plus to decide how to incorporate it, but we were told that it wasn't going to change the gameplay drastically. It will still be supported, but the core gameplay can still be enjoyed fully with a regular Wii Remote. The remote is ideal for shooters, especially since you can easily point at your target as if you were using a computer mouse. There's also nothing like launching a grenade into a horde of enemies with a swing of the Nunchuk. Wii Speak is still going to be supported, and the developer is currently working on multiplayer that can accommodate up to 16 players online. Unfortunately, split-screen co-op play is not supported.

We look forward to spending more time with this Wii shooter as it progresses. The ship date is still scheduled for March 2009, so be sure to take a look at the latest demo and stay tuned for more updates.