I question your inclusion of certain bullet points in the "What Should Stay The Same?" heading, namely "Varied Weapons", "There Will Be Cheats", and "It's On The Wii". Commenting on weapons and cheats that you did not get a chance to see seems rather moot. How do you know what the rest of the weapons will play like? Maybe they'll suck. Likewise with the cheats. In terms of The Conduit being on the Wii I think you make a valid point, but it doesn't say anything about what should stay the same about the game itself. All the aforementioned bullet points make it seem like you were trying to be nice to the developers and balance the pros with the cons.
On another note, though you briefly mentioned texture quality I would have liked to hear more about the graphics. High Voltage has put together several tech demos and gameplay videos to tout The Conduit's graphical prowess. Are the graphics all they're cracked up to be (despite ongoing changes)?
@businessbard: Most of your concerns about what goes in bullet points are questions for my editors to decide.
As to the graphics, I think I was pretty clear that what I saw wasn't representative of what High Voltage intends the game to be and didn't look that fabulous. Check out my other previews on The Conduit if you want to hear more about what they're trying to implement (blur effects, etc.).
"The biggest problem I foresee for The Conduit comes from shooter fans that are too used to games on PS3 and 360. It takes a lot of work to unlearn the dual analog stick system of moving and shooting;"
I don't see shooter fans having problems with the controls, Wii controls are perfect for FPS games, far more intuitive and precise than analog sticks. I see they having problems with graphics..
@CockroachMan: They'll bitch about both. Confirmed.
But seriously, hardcore dual analog shooter fans will likely never play this, but they'll talk about how bad it was.
I plan to pick it up. I'm hopeful, but I recognize there are some initial hurdles that have to be overcome. Like the fact that the dev is not known for major titles with good review scores for one. But still, I'm hopeful. We'll see. I'll give it every chance to succeed for me and to that, it only has to be fun and entertaining and include free online multiplayer.
It's pretty much a straight-forward run n' gun shooter with some slight puzzle-solving. If people are expecting something else, then they'll be disappointed.
Mr. Glasser, do you know what difficulty setting you played on? There's supposed to be around 5. If you were still on an easy setting, then HVS should probably make it more balanced.
I'd like to hear some impressions about the music. It's perhaps the only thing left that has hardly been covered in previews but I suppose its hard to do in a convention given the amount of background noise.
@Killer7: The default mode is called "Guarded" and it's smack in the middle of the 5 difficulties. Also, couldn't hear the music -- 10 consoles and 30+ people makes for a noisy environment not fit to judge a game's audio.
And, yes, I am a chick; but I'm used to the confusion.
@Who wants toast?: Could anyone tell my exactly why Haze sucked? I heard that the MP wasnt bad, and that was the only part i didnt play(cause i rented it for a couple days). But I managed to beat and go through the entire campaign, and from what I remember, it wasnt much worse than that of most of the more recent FPS games. I admit that the ending was utter bullshit, but it had a story, it had some guns, it had some good gameplay elements, it had some good graphics (from what i remember). What may I have forgotten over the year and a half that mde the game suck?
@bableebooblah-new and improved.: The Wii's Halo? Not even close. I'm no Halo fan, but I'd be surprised if The Conduit was even 1/10th as successful as Halo.
This game's greatest problem, in the end, is that only the vocal Internet forum-dwellers are excited about it. And sadly, MadWorld has shown just how little that means. I doubt The Conduit will do much better than MW (possibly worse, for several reasons). Here's hoping I'll be proven wrong.
@bableebooblah-new and improved.: Look for Metroid Prime on the wii, then think of how many people on kotaku like it, then measue out the size for your new flamesuit.
@Antiterra: Considering there are no other shooters it doesn't matter if its only on the radar of "Teh hardcorez" at the moment. It'll quickly spread if there are enough people looking for a good shooter on the Wii.
Especially 12 year old kids who can con their parents into getting it... Just like I did my parents for goldeneye.
@Combine: The problem is that "hardcore" Wii owners more than likely also have a 360 or a PS3.
In order to convince those gamers (who have access to many excellent FPS on the other consoles) The Conduit will need to be very good in more than one area.
If the only thing that sets it apart is a good control scheme, it will struggle attracting gamers who could just as easily play COD4-5, Halo 3 or Killzone 2.
There's a good chance The Conduit will outshine them in the controls department, but what about Multiplayer? Level design? Pacing? To me, those are the big (unanswered) questions.
The reason Metroid Prime 3 was such a great game is that it was unlike any other FPS available on the HD consoles. The Conduit needs to bring that same uniqueness to the table.
@Antiterra: agreed. The controls are one of my biggest points of interest. I played a shitload of Killzone2 and even when I finally got used to the controls there were still points where I just could aim as well as I wanted too (since when does a pistol weigh so much that a soldier can't do a quick 90 degree with it?) The Conduit has me interested because I can leave the shackles of dual analog for a time (minus the stellar Titan Pack with m/kb support on UT3 on PS3...awesome) and get back to the business of actually hitting what I aim at without auto aim.
Of course, level design, modes of play, weapon loadouts, framerate etc are all important as well but I'd be more than happy to leave Killzone 2 for a while to play the Conduit for the superior Wii controls alone...
@eddienoteddy: hey dude, Wii can handle SDHC cards. 32GBs of goodness. Technically, HV could do it. but the way it sounds from the impressions, a beta and a delay may be in order. At least a delay
I think Batman was the biggest (pleasant) surprise for me. I'll most certainly keep my eyes on that title, and I don't have to think twice about getting Punch Out.
What amazed me the most was the Batman game. I never expected it to look this good. And judging from the other things I've read and seen, they also got the "feel" of Batman just right.
No more mindless-brawling Batman. No more side scrolling Batman with weird enemies and most of all, no more Bat-nipples!
That was the best thing to come out from GDC for me at least. It reaffirms my hope for the game. Maybe we're finally getting a good Batman game after all this years...
@excaliburps: I'm not going to get my hopes up for Arkham. My hearts been broken too many times. I'll just sit back and wait for a playable demo to be released.
As for what I'm most excited about, I'd have to say Battlefield 1943. So many good memories with D.I.C.E. I just hope that it lives up to 1943.
@rayne117 - Banjo Lootathon Survivor: Yeah. Having a dose of skepticism in check is also recommended. I mean Eidos' recent games aren't exactly triple-A material...
But from what we've seen and read so far. They have a very good chance in making this a solid game...I mean I know a lot of people have been clamoring for a stealth-type Batman game for years now. Add the detective mode and the fighting as long as it's not crudely done and they have a winner.
I know this wasn't in the article, but I'm hoping you guys don't place numbers and stuff to grade the game. The grading system is practically useless at this point (i.e. if someone rates something 1 to 10 and rates a 5 or a 6, people seems to assume it sucks already and don't realize that it IS an average).
I for one don't want to see moaners in the comments blasting at a review just because the grade given wasn't exceptional.
One thing I would like to see is little to no spoilers. And I don't just mean story but outlining events of a level (eg: writing how at point x an enemy burst through the wall was very exciting to you, but it's no longer going to be exciting for anyone else).
I've actually stopped reading most previews because I had started knowing everything that was going to happen in the game before I played it and that made most games far less enjoyable. I know it's a very fine line between good info in a preview and spoiler territory. I just ask for discretion and ask yourself if you would have enjoyed a certain part of the game if you already knew what would happen. (this is not a dig at Kotaku specifically by the way, but previews at large)
I like the inclusion of remarking on the framerate. Although to me anything below 60 unacceptable...you guys may be more forgiving.
Please don't bore me too much with a game's story or characters either. I'm really about the gameplay, so make sure you focus on that.
And lastly, please don't fall into the fanboy/enthusiast trap of sounding like your trying to sell a game. Even if a game is amazing, make sure to keep a professional tone that is unbiased and somewhat distanced. Also, please don't go the other way and hate on a game because of some petty flaw (like a weak story) either.
@AncientUnknown1: In other words, you would like them to review the games from your subjective point of view? That doesn't totally subvert exactly WHAT IT IS they are trying to do here.
To some people story and character are the ehart and soul of why they play video games.*
*Not I, but your argument sucked and I had to point that out.
I absolutely love the review system, guys. There's nothing more aggravating to me than trying to assign some type of score to something that is completey, 100%, subjective.
Even worse are the commenters that read a Kotaku review and say, "That sounds like an X out of Y.". Not the place, people... I would suggest that be a bannable offense.
@Omnimon: Add on to that with the preview system, people that think they should be assigning a score to something that is wholely subjective AND is not even complete. Holy head explosion.
@Omnimon: fair enough. i define arbitrary as in relation to the norm of acceptable internet commenting. even you have to admit some of the disemvowels were questionable, not all, but some.
all i'm saying is, lets not get bogged down by a trifle annoyance.
@Sutekh_Slain: I'm not reading your dictionary just so I can understand you talk. Not my responsibility, I'm just dealing with the English as it is.
And I don't find it to be a trifle annoyance, or trivial, that someone comments in exact opposition of what (the CREDO, the MISSION) is trying to be accomplished with the review system on this site. It's like saying, "Let's not mind the murder going on outside of the house we're in with small children." ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but doneso for literary dramatic purpose. :p
Say, I was thinking that if you guys know for sure that youre gonna preview some game, then you guys let us know and we post shit we would like to see previewed/asked to the developer, publisher or whatever.
Like if you know you're getting some hands-on with new Batman game you post "you guys we'll be testing new Batman at comic-con (or whatever)" and then we reply with "be sure to test the camera controls" "ask about the achievements/trophies" "ask if we're getting some Nightwing" you know basically like the bestest questions ever.
Seriously most of the time it will be ordinary stuff and the same shit over and over (its a given you'll pay attention to gameplay I guess, no need for us to say so) but now and then we could come up with interesting stuff.
@Silenced: I somewhat agree with the general spirit of your idea.
Too many previews pussy foot around issues and can almost be blindingly optimistic. It's very disconcerting to see how 'fantastic a game is shaping up to be' and see the same people trash it upon release for being a bad game.
Same goes for interviews really. Too many publications chicken out of asking the hard questions that we the consumers would love to have answered.
Needs to be more actual journalism in "video game journalism"
@DarkSonic999: proof-reading isn't really that big of a deal. I only just started realizing how much of a pain in the ass it is to be fixing minor grammar errors, almost worse than debugging pointers.
but your second point is truth. although it doesn't really apply to previews, in general kotaku has a history of presenting the information in a questionable way: for example, yesterday's story about the abc coverage of a wannabe boxer girl, that was atrocious.
@Sutekh_Slain: Well, I have no idea what point you were trying to make about proof-reading. Especially in light of this being a professionally-run journalistic endeavor.
And how you tied that in to the presentation of the ABC boxer article completely boggles my mind.
To be frank, I'd rather just end the discussion. One thread of comments with you and I'm calling it quits. No offense. :p
04/15/09
I question your inclusion of certain bullet points in the "What Should Stay The Same?" heading, namely "Varied Weapons", "There Will Be Cheats", and "It's On The Wii". Commenting on weapons and cheats that you did not get a chance to see seems rather moot. How do you know what the rest of the weapons will play like? Maybe they'll suck. Likewise with the cheats. In terms of The Conduit being on the Wii I think you make a valid point, but it doesn't say anything about what should stay the same about the game itself. All the aforementioned bullet points make it seem like you were trying to be nice to the developers and balance the pros with the cons.
On another note, though you briefly mentioned texture quality I would have liked to hear more about the graphics. High Voltage has put together several tech demos and gameplay videos to tout The Conduit's graphical prowess. Are the graphics all they're cracked up to be (despite ongoing changes)?
04/16/09
As to the graphics, I think I was pretty clear that what I saw wasn't representative of what High Voltage intends the game to be and didn't look that fabulous. Check out my other previews on The Conduit if you want to hear more about what they're trying to implement (blur effects, etc.).
04/15/09
04/15/09
04/15/09
I don't see shooter fans having problems with the controls, Wii controls are perfect for FPS games, far more intuitive and precise than analog sticks. I see they having problems with graphics..
04/15/09
But seriously, hardcore dual analog shooter fans will likely never play this, but they'll talk about how bad it was.
I plan to pick it up. I'm hopeful, but I recognize there are some initial hurdles that have to be overcome. Like the fact that the dev is not known for major titles with good review scores for one. But still, I'm hopeful. We'll see. I'll give it every chance to succeed for me and to that, it only has to be fun and entertaining and include free online multiplayer.
04/15/09
04/15/09
Mr. Glasser, do you know what difficulty setting you played on? There's supposed to be around 5. If you were still on an easy setting, then HVS should probably make it more balanced.
I'd like to hear some impressions about the music. It's perhaps the only thing left that has hardly been covered in previews but I suppose its hard to do in a convention given the amount of background noise.
04/15/09
04/15/09
And, yes, I am a chick; but I'm used to the confusion.
04/15/09
My money's on the latter, though. If only for the the overhype or the fact that it won't redefine console FPS games.
04/15/09
04/15/09
and probably the only fps on the wii that i know of.
04/15/09
Oh dear.
04/15/09
plese tell me what you mean, i hope i didn't offend nobody.
04/15/09
This game's greatest problem, in the end, is that only the vocal Internet forum-dwellers are excited about it. And sadly, MadWorld has shown just how little that means. I doubt The Conduit will do much better than MW (possibly worse, for several reasons). Here's hoping I'll be proven wrong.
04/15/09
04/15/09
Especially 12 year old kids who can con their parents into getting it... Just like I did my parents for goldeneye.
04/15/09
04/15/09
In order to convince those gamers (who have access to many excellent FPS on the other consoles) The Conduit will need to be very good in more than one area.
If the only thing that sets it apart is a good control scheme, it will struggle attracting gamers who could just as easily play COD4-5, Halo 3 or Killzone 2.
There's a good chance The Conduit will outshine them in the controls department, but what about Multiplayer? Level design? Pacing? To me, those are the big (unanswered) questions.
The reason Metroid Prime 3 was such a great game is that it was unlike any other FPS available on the HD consoles. The Conduit needs to bring that same uniqueness to the table.
04/15/09
04/15/09
Of course, level design, modes of play, weapon loadouts, framerate etc are all important as well but I'd be more than happy to leave Killzone 2 for a while to play the Conduit for the superior Wii controls alone...
04/15/09
Oh it really was that bad, but knowing how bad it was while you played just made it that much more fun. It's one of those games.
04/15/09
04/15/09
04/15/09
04/02/09
04/02/09
04/02/09
04/02/09
No more mindless-brawling Batman. No more side scrolling Batman with weird enemies and most of all, no more Bat-nipples!
That was the best thing to come out from GDC for me at least. It reaffirms my hope for the game. Maybe we're finally getting a good Batman game after all this years...
04/02/09
As for what I'm most excited about, I'd have to say Battlefield 1943. So many good memories with D.I.C.E. I just hope that it lives up to 1943.
04/02/09
But from what we've seen and read so far. They have a very good chance in making this a solid game...I mean I know a lot of people have been clamoring for a stealth-type Batman game for years now. Add the detective mode and the fighting as long as it's not crudely done and they have a winner.
04/02/09
02/05/09
I for one don't want to see moaners in the comments blasting at a review just because the grade given wasn't exceptional.
02/05/09
02/05/09
Sorry, it's just one of those things for me.
02/05/09
Thanks!
02/05/09
I've actually stopped reading most previews because I had started knowing everything that was going to happen in the game before I played it and that made most games far less enjoyable. I know it's a very fine line between good info in a preview and spoiler territory. I just ask for discretion and ask yourself if you would have enjoyed a certain part of the game if you already knew what would happen. (this is not a dig at Kotaku specifically by the way, but previews at large)
02/05/09
02/05/09
Please don't bore me too much with a game's story or characters either. I'm really about the gameplay, so make sure you focus on that.
And lastly, please don't fall into the fanboy/enthusiast trap of sounding like your trying to sell a game. Even if a game is amazing, make sure to keep a professional tone that is unbiased and somewhat distanced. Also, please don't go the other way and hate on a game because of some petty flaw (like a weak story) either.
02/05/09
To some people story and character are the ehart and soul of why they play video games.*
*Not I, but your argument sucked and I had to point that out.
02/05/09
02/05/09
02/05/09
Even worse are the commenters that read a Kotaku review and say, "That sounds like an X out of Y.". Not the place, people... I would suggest that be a bannable offense.
02/05/09
02/05/09
02/05/09
Sounds like someone has felt the swiftness. QQ
02/05/09
all i'm saying is, lets not get bogged down by a trifle annoyance.
02/05/09
And I don't find it to be a trifle annoyance, or trivial, that someone comments in exact opposition of what (the CREDO, the MISSION) is trying to be accomplished with the review system on this site. It's like saying, "Let's not mind the murder going on outside of the house we're in with small children." ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but doneso for literary dramatic purpose. :p
02/05/09
Like if you know you're getting some hands-on with new Batman game you post "you guys we'll be testing new Batman at comic-con (or whatever)" and then we reply with "be sure to test the camera controls" "ask about the achievements/trophies" "ask if we're getting some Nightwing" you know basically like the bestest questions ever.
Seriously most of the time it will be ordinary stuff and the same shit over and over (its a given you'll pay attention to gameplay I guess, no need for us to say so) but now and then we could come up with interesting stuff.
02/05/09
02/05/09
Too many previews pussy foot around issues and can almost be blindingly optimistic. It's very disconcerting to see how 'fantastic a game is shaping up to be' and see the same people trash it upon release for being a bad game.
Same goes for interviews really. Too many publications chicken out of asking the hard questions that we the consumers would love to have answered.
Needs to be more actual journalism in "video game journalism"
02/05/09
02/05/09
02/05/09
02/05/09
but your second point is truth. although it doesn't really apply to previews, in general kotaku has a history of presenting the information in a questionable way: for example, yesterday's story about the abc coverage of a wannabe boxer girl, that was atrocious.
02/05/09
02/05/09
02/05/09
02/05/09
And how you tied that in to the presentation of the ABC boxer article completely boggles my mind.
To be frank, I'd rather just end the discussion. One thread of comments with you and I'm calling it quits. No offense. :p