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All Reviews by nigoleman

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The Conduit - Wii

Pros Cons
Amazing visuals Poor storytelling
Intense action Not enough content
Tight controls Doesn't live up to expectations
Fantastic multiplayer Repetitive gameplay
Was it Worth the Wait?

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that The Conduit is an average shooter for the Wii with a cliche story, and repetitive gameplay. This information is mostly correct, but The Conduit does have some redeeming qualities. The story follows Mr. Ford and his fight to stop The Drudge from taking over Washington D.C., and all under a conspiracy theme. However, it can be predictable at points and feels all too familiar. The story does have some unexpected plot twists, but Mr. Ford just doesn't have enough character to him for the player to really care about his situation. The other characters in the story are more interesting, but not many background details are given about them, some of it to fuel a sequel. The story could have been much deeper had more background been given to the characters and if Mr. Ford had an actual personality. More cinematic cut scenes would have helped give life to the story. The acting is good, and the story serves its purpose as reason to kill things but doesn't do much else. The Conduits visuals are above average, but don't beat the likes of Metroid Prime 3. Guns and enemies are detailed, but environments are a little bland in some areas, primarily backgrounds and repeating hallways/corridors. Water and particle effects are great, and lighting is used in real time with the ASE. The music provides a good bit of atmosphere, and fits the action heavy gameplay. The main theme is very catchy but in a good way. Gameplay is pretty straight forward, you move through the levels alone shooting enemies and using the ASE to solve "puzzles" that don't usually amount to more than find the hidden switch(es). It's somewhat disappointing that the ASE wasn't used more creatively especially since it's a universal cipher and hacking device. Its importance to the story isn't revealed. Enemies are smart enough and use cover, but won't exactly bewilder the player with their strategic prowess and plan their moves carefully.Enemies continually spawn from conduits and egg sacs forcing players to get their priorities straight. Unfortunately, there aren't many enemy types which doesn't help the game seem less repetitive. The weapon selection is nice, and very balanced with no "garbage weapons" to be had. Everything in the arsenal is useful. The controls are excellent if time is spent to calibrate everything till it feels right; it took me about an hour to find a control scheme and settings I was absolutely comfortable with. Practically everything can be adjusted and customized with a few exceptions. The multiplayer supports up to twelve playes and is excellent-when it works. Like most Wii games it uses friend codes and getting friends to join you in random matches can be a hassle. There is little lag, but oftentimes I found myself being dropped from the match or getting caught in the crescent of death, a glitch that forces you to reset your console to escape or wait up to 20 minutes for the match to end. It is important to note that the connection at my home is almost always busy with something else along with online gaming. There are seven maps and quite a few game types including the standards like TDM and CTF, along with others like Shared Stock and Bounty Hunter. Wiispeak is compatible with The Conduit, but as of right now I have yet to test it. Players can earn XP and rank up to a maximum level of twenty-four and more XP is rewarded for kill streaks. Without leader boards to keep track of stats in the multiplayer there isn't much reason to come back back once reaching level twenty-four. However, those twenty-four levels should still provide quite a few good hours of entertainment. If you're a Wii only owner then The Conduit is most definitely worth a look, otherwise ignore it or give it rent.

Call of Duty: World at War - DS

Pros Cons
Amazing visuals Braindead computer AI
Awesome audio  
Intense action  
Addictive gameplay  
Tight controls  
Fantastic multiplayer  
WaW on the go.

The DS version of CoD:WaW is a solid, entertaining, and challenging experience. The game follows three campaigns: American, Britsh, and Russian with the Americans fighting the Japanese, while the other two fend off Nazis. The single player gameplay is standard take cover and shoot fair, but the precise controls help to make the experience greater. Aiming is done by sliding the stylus across the touch screen, while movement is set to the d-pad and shooting to the L trigger (or a,b,x,y buttons and R trigger for leftys). The d-pad is also used to sprint by double tapping up and crouch by double tapping down. All other controls such as changing weapons, reloading, and aiming down the sights are done by touching panels on the touch screen. The touch screen controls are responsive, but mantling over obstacles and picking up weapons can be annoying as the panel to do so is placed in the upper left corner and requires proper positioning to work. Precision shooting is simple with the touch screen aiming and very satisfying, but playing for long periods of time can leave the hand holding the DS with cramps. The campaign is challenging even on the normal difficulty, but not too challenging and is filled with plenty of intense, flashy, moments. The A. I. can be a little air headed sometimes. Allies will occasionally get in the way of your shots or fail to throw grenades properly (usually putting you in jeopardy). Enemies, for the most, are pretty smart. They'll use cover to their advantage, and can throw your own grenades back at you.However, when hiding behind cover if you inch you way out enemies don't seem to notice, and will just stand there as you send a fatal dose of lead through their faces. There will be many occasions where the player will have to help an injured soldier, send a morse code message,and disarm landmines. These events take place as touch screen mini games, and are fun but don't do too much to add to the experience. Firing anti-aircraft guns and mortars are done with the touch screen as well, but these vary much more than the other minigames. The graphics are detailed, especially the guns, and the game runs smoothly even with large numbers of enemies on screen all at once. The multiplayer works well, but may take a try or two to find a game. When playing online there is no lag, however, players have a tendency to just randomly drop from a game due to lost connections. There are eleven maps, and almost all the weapons are available for use. Aside from the multiplayer there are also thirty challenges available which add objectives to the campaign and a strict time limit making them worthy of the name. The campaign takes about five-six hours to complete, and there's plenty to come back to with multiplayer and challenges. For $30.00 CoD:WaW on DS is a steal.