Forums

Topic: Why I'm Selling The Conduit

Posts 1 to 20 of 88

AURainman

I've taken the "IGN pill" before. I frothed at the mouth for Zack and Wiki largely due to their excessive hype over the game. Z&W was a fun game at times, but it was dripping with Japanese cutesy and ever changing "rules of play" that left me scrambling for a FAQ. The game was difficult for no reason other than some developer decided to flip the way things work when they felt like it. Still, I beat Z&W and liked it okay.

Now, I feel burned again by IGN's love affair with a game. The Conduit simply isn't that great. I'm not trying to flame. I REALLY WANT it to be good. As a Nintendo "lifer" I desperately want hardcore titles to appear on the platform. In fact, there IS a lot to like with The Conduit. For a Wii game, the graphics aren't that bad. They certainly aren't as good as hyped, but not bad. The controls ABSOLUTELY are the best on any FPS I've ever played. That's big stuff right there. So, why don't I like it?

1. Single player = cliche'. Generic gov't agents. Generic masked suit guy. Generic bug-like alien. Generic shock trooper alien. Generic conspiracy. (edit) Generic subway level. Generic sewer level. Generic corridor after corridor. edit Everything about this game SCREAMS cliche'. I read this on the reviews, but I just didn't realize HOW deep the cliche's really run.
2. Multiplayer = glitchy. Why does it take 5 minutes to find a match against someone? Why am I rewarded after my 5 minute wait in queue with a spawn point in the middle of a wall, left with only the option of restarting my Wii? Why do certain players phase in and out while I play leaving only a shadow running around? Wait, HOW did they kill me? They weren't really there!
3. Multiplayer = no options. Sure, I can do DM, Team DM, and Objective, but why can't I just select ASE football from the menu? Why can't I just choose Bounty Hunter from the menu? Those are modes I was dying to play, but they don't come up on the random selector, so I'm SOL. Also, I don't want to play marathon games with bazookas only. I want quick games with tactical weapons that require some skill, yet the "random selector" like Mario Kart only allows you to put your vote in and then randomly selects. Since the odd group I'm paired with by The Conduit wants bazookas on a small map for 20 minutes I'm forced to play their way, OR take the chance on waiting another 5 minutes for The Conduit to pair me with another 11 players, in hopes that THEY don't want to play "Explosion in close quarters lolz!"

Play COD: W@W. You don't have to add "for a Wii game" to it's review. It's multiplayer is quick, pain free, and is probably where The Conduit should have been aiming. If I'd known how buggy the multiplayer would be, I never would've jumped in for The Conduit. (I suppose reviewers never had the chance to experience the bugs, as they were given the game early. OR, it's perfectly reasonable that I am one of the few experiencing these bugs.) As it stands now, I've got a game I desperately want to be good, but can't stand to suffer through because of the multiplayer headaches.

Anyone wanna buy my copy?

[Edited by AURainman]

AURainman

Adam

Haha, I like how you list all the games faults then ask if anyone wants to buy it. Not exactly good persuasive technique. XD

But kidding aside, that's exactly what I expected from the game. If it had local play, it'd be a different story since you could choose your options and it'd be less glitchy. Oh well. Sorry to hear you were bitten by the IGN bug.

[Edited by Adam]

Come on, friends,
To the bear arcades again.

Machu

AURainman, I wish I could say you were talking ****, but you're not. I've completely fallen out of love with this game, due to single-player crashes, multi-player crashes, and the realization that I played much better games ten years ago. It's a real shame because I absolutely adore the controls, and respect those guys for the effort they put in, but can't forgive them for some of the horribly lazy levels I had to slog through.

I NEVER thought I would think badly of The Conduit.

Rawr!

AlexSays

Machu wrote:

I NEVER thought I would think badly of The Conduit.

I... told..

AH I HAVE TO HOLD IT BACK!

AlexSays

mrmicawber

IGN does that all the time, at least you see the light and are honest. I have run into IGN fans who would take a bullet for Matt, lol.

They way they hyped Kid Icarus was pretty sad as well......and then kicked Wii Music around as 'revenge' for the 'no show' of a non Nintendo game that obviously wasn't ready and that they ALONE had hyped like it was going to be the E-3 showcase...'teh hardcore kid icarus think Metroid Prime with pawnsome graphics because factor 5 is working on it!

I have never seen so much hype for a game tha had zero offical confirmation, no screnshots, no gameplay, no nothing.

[Edited by mrmicawber]

IGN: The holiday Wii lineup looks thin for the hardcore crowd. We see this. Gamers see this. What, if anything, is Nintendo planning to address it?

Oh good, I am neither a gamer or hardcore. Saves me from having to be IGNorant.
Right, Down, A, Down, Right, Up

Adam

Their continued faith in a 3D Retro-developed Kid Icarus is beyond me. Either Retro leaked some info to them early on and are now playing a huge practical joke on them by never announcing it, or IGN is completely delusional. I'd love to imagine the former being true for poops and giggles, but it's more likely the latter.

Come on, friends,
To the bear arcades again.

Lugas

Back to the Conduit: I disagree with many of the things you have said. With the multiplayer, I think you have had rotten luck with the glitchiness and the way you have to play by other people's rules. I'm not sure, but it may be different with friend battles. But I'm not going to have long debate about friend codes.

Also, The Conduit may be generic, but that doesn't automatically translate into bad. Furthermore, maybe the Wii needs a generic shooter, rather than shooters which are either crap or amazing with no inbetweens.

I can appreciate frustrations when it comes to following other people's rules. I've yet to play SSBB, but the army of Final Destinationers (is that even a word?) may be a cause of frustration.

Try to look on the bright side: if you're selling it, that means someone else can enjoy it. If you want to get rid of it, and someone else wants it: everyone wins!

Currently playing:
Red Steel 2
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
Pokemon HeartGold

Cryptonic

Adam is right LOL!
why would you say that its bad but then say do you still wanna buy it? lol

Wii :6638 - 2205 - 3294 - 3850
SSBB: 4812 - 5583 - 8961
3DS: 4038 - 6000 - 1698
"Tiger Man was wise"

AURainman

Lugas wrote:

Back to the Conduit: I disagree with many of the things you have said. With the multiplayer, I think you have had rotten luck with the glitchiness and the way you have to play by other people's rules. I'm not sure, but it may be different with friend battles. But I'm not going to have long debate about friend codes.

In a modern online game, you should never spawn inside a wall. That's just crazy.

Lugas wrote:

Also, The Conduit may be generic, but that doesn't automatically translate into bad. Furthermore, maybe the Wii needs a generic shooter, rather than shooters which are either crap or amazing with no inbetweens.

Yeah, but this day and age repeating the same library hallway OVER and OVER and OVER again is just lazy. Sure, you can sprinkle some mines in there to "shake things up" but it just reeks of laziness to me.

Lugas wrote:

I can appreciate frustrations when it comes to following other people's rules. I've yet to play SSBB, but the army of Final Destinationers (is that even a word?) may be a cause of frustration.

Yeah, the "other peoples' rules" thing is just HVS's choice, and the voting system has worked on other online software before. It's just not my preference. I don't mind it when I play Mario Kart, because it only changes the level. Changing the weapons changes the gameplay drastically, and it isn't my cup of tea. Still, there's no reason to lump Bounty Hunter and ASE football into Free-for-All. That's a bad decision.

Lugas wrote:

Try to look on the bright side: if you're selling it, that means someone else can enjoy it. If you want to get rid of it, and someone else wants it: everyone wins!

Agreed. While my post was probably the worst sales pitch you could imagine, I really do want someone else to enjoy it. Someone will buy it, and I certainly hope they like it more than I did. The point of my post was not to flame the Conduit, nor was it to ACTUALLY drum up a sale. I posted my message to inform people of the headaches involved.

[Edited by AURainman]

AURainman

Alan

I have to agree with all the comments, the game is nowhere near what its been hyped up to be and the glitches are real, there not rotten luck... i've noticed if your stuck in a wall (which just sounds stupid!) you can wait out the match an you join the rest of the group, its just annoying 'cos you cant tell how long you have to wait. an by gum there's alot of waiting with the conduit.
i completed the Single Player on medium difficulty, then cos my wifi was playing up thought i'd try for kicks to do the insane difficulty, 1st level in the subway then also at the air port, agents 1 shot kills with the pistol (i thought they were suppoesed to be harder to kill an i'm not that good to get head shots each time). The single player lacks the thrill factor even the difficulty factor.

Appolagies aurrainman, i for some strang reason enjoy the explosives weapon set on the streets level, think i just got used to it so i select it every now an again.

The game seriously reminds me of the N64's perfect dark, I do adore the controls and is the single good part to the game, however the game play and multiplayer being poor do not do the game any justice. I suppose their is a good point to the game... they'll hopefully use the controls anf the lessons learned from the gameplay to make a splendid game for the gemers out the (me included). fingers crossed

Wii Code:
Conduit Code: 5156-0995-5450
COD5: 4769-3549-3308
Mario Kart:
SSBB:
Guitar hero world tour:
Smash hits:
unknown codes on request or as soon as i get round to it :)

Carb

Unfortunately, I have to agree with this thread too.

Yesterday when I read this thread, I thought, "No way! Too harsh! Yeah, The Conduit's not perfect but with so little true hardcore games for the Wii, this is good fun!"

Well, I changed my mind. Last night I had two back-to-back disappointing and ridiculous situations while playing The Conduit. The first was in single player. I'm about 60% in, on the second-to-last difficulty level, and there are some really hard situations. This one area has a long open street with badguys in the windows and coming out of portals hidden at the end of the block. Oh, and there's invisible mines everywhere. Okay, great. Actually, one of the more interesting parts of the game so far. So I take my time, sniping, healing, throwing grenades and blowing up the mines with the ASE. After like fifteen minutes of great action, I move on to next area only to die and get thrown back to where I started.

WHY would they not put a checkpoint at the end of a difficult area?? That is basic, day 1, level design on a console FPS. Seriously. After that, I lost all interest in continuing and quit the game.

But I still had a hankering for some more action, so I loaded it up again and logged onto Multiplayer. After ten minutes of waiting, I finally found a game with good weapons and good opponents. I played for maybe ten minutes before lag started preventing anyone from getting a kill and then I was unceremoniously kicked out.

That, in a nutshell, is The Conduit. Great potential, but lacking in almost every really important aspect. The weapons, the aliens, the look and feel, the customization is all wonderful but the boring level design and glitchy multiplayer dampen the game from a Must Buy to a "Pass."

Unlike the original poster, I won't be selling this game. I will hold onto it and continue to try to squeeze as much fun out of it as I could, but I have a feeling it's going to start gathering some major dust.

(my first post!)

[Edited by Carb]

Carb

Vendetta

Welcome to the forums, Carb.
How long had you had The Conduit at that point? How much enjoyment had you gotten from it? How many other times did this happen?
Just checking in to be sure that you're not just reacting to one incident. A swing from "must buy" to "pass" is a long way, and skips over several interim steps like, highly recommended, recommended, above average, meh, and rental. It sounds to me like you just got frustrated as hell. Been there. I was like that after the Jefferson Memorial, and am there again with the start of Mission 8. But I'm enjoying the hell out of this game!

Vendetta

clicketyclick

AlexSays wrote:

Machu wrote:

I NEVER thought I would think badly of The Conduit.

I... told..

AH I HAVE TO HOLD IT BACK!

I think you shouldn't have to at this point.

Honestly, I don't understand how anyone can blame their own short-sightedness on IGN. There will always be people who like the games you don't like. At some point, you have to be able to look at a game and think for yourself about it rather than adopting the opinions of other people, who may be those who like the games that you don't.

The people who desperately want a game to be good will always be the most bitterly disappointed ones because they blocked out all bad omens during development, and so the bad results are a complete revelation and shock to them. Others knew it before release.

[Edited by clicketyclick]

Now Playing: Bioshock

Chatham

@OP
I hate to say it, but I feel that way too. The single player was so generic I haven't gone back to finish it 80% of the way through... And the only reason I have this game at all is for private matches with WiiSpeak (with the rare Wii friends I have who know how to adjust their settings in-game so I can actually hear them!).

Email: mallrat425@hotmail.com
PSN N...

clicketyclick

"I wish I could say you were talking ****"
"Unfortunately, I have to agree with this thread too."
"I hate to say it, but I feel that way too."

lol why do people start off their posts like this? It's perfectly ok to dislike a game. It doesn't make you traitors or anything.

Ohhhh, and btw, the Kid Icarus thing was real.

Now Playing: Bioshock

Carb

Vendetta wrote:

Welcome to the forums, Carb.
How long had you had The Conduit at that point? How much enjoyment had you gotten from it? How many other times did this happen?
Just checking in to be sure that you're not just reacting to one incident. A swing from "must buy" to "pass" is a long way, and skips over several interim steps like, highly recommended, recommended, above average, meh, and rental. It sounds to me like you just got frustrated as hell. Been there. I was like that after the Jefferson Memorial, and am there again with the start of Mission 8. But I'm enjoying the hell out of this game!

Hello V.

I've had the Conduit since about a week after it's release, so I'd say a month. And I've gotten my 50 bucks worth, so I'm not complaining about that. My main reason for posting is because I feel disappointed because this game has SO MUCH potential and a lot of the tech aspect of the game is SO perfect but the pedestrian design, pointless story, and glitchy multiplayer really gut the game of its true potential.

I've put in a good amount of time with the single player game so far. I've found it to be quite difficult, I had tried that Jefferson Memorial part like six or seven times before I got it! Since I knew the game would be short, I haven't played it as much as I would have if I didn't think the end would come soon. So when I do sit down to play it, it's a big deal and I want to enjoy it. But if I find myself more frustrated than enjoying, I am constantly wondering, "what's the fun?"

You make a good point about my leap from "Must Buy" to "Pass" and the main reason for that is because I had such high hopes, partially because of IGN's previews and all the beautiful screenshots that I poured over for the last six or seven months. I feel like when I first bought the game, I tried to persuade my friends to buy it so we can all play mutliplayer together but now I'm actively telling them, "No. Don't buy it. Save your money for Wii Sports Resort."

I'm glad you posted your similar experience because it's nice to know I'm not the only one who is getting stuck and frustrated. The idea of the portals that spew endless enemies is a nice way to add difficulty to an area of a game and I don't mind dying a dozen times to get it right, but I also like being rewarded for good gaming and this game doesn't deliver the kind of rewards I expect

I'm hoping High Voltage hires some new people for their next games because they look great and it would be sad to see more wasted potential.

Carb

Knux

Tell me, have you tried private matches yet? I think the public matches have a lot more glitches then the private matches.

Knux

Carb

no, not yet. but that's a good idea.

Carb

Machu

I'm trading my copy in tomorrow, I doubt I will ever play it again. Don't get me wrong I'd like to, but there's only so many times you can jump out of your seat to yank the power cable out, then wait ten minutes before having to do it again. And the single player whilst fun to begin with, ending up being short and sour.

I'd say I'm looking forward to the sequel, but it seems HVS are looking to developer for 'the others', so don't even know what the future holds for the franchise. Infernal Engine

Let's hope The Grinder learns from The Conduit's unfortunate mistakes. I'm still looking forward to that one's arrival, but shall ignore any hype this time.

Rawr!

This topic has been archived, no further posts can be added.