Review by mode333

"An amazing sequel, but not quite perfect."

I know that the last game may have left a bad taste in your and many other people's mouths, but believe me when I say, this game is so much more improved from the first. Not only does it have new modes such as competitive split-screen and invasion, the online multiplayer feature from the first game has returned and has been improved. With this introduction out of the way, let's split up the sections of the game and get on with the review.

I'll start with the story. The story of Conduit 2 takes place after the first game and eventually you will be chasing a certain someone around the globe, and that is all I'm going to reveal of the actual story. I will say though that the tone has changed; in the first game, it was a more serious tone which developed in a linear fashion. While this game does develop in a similar way, the tone of the game has changed. It still has a serious tone in there, but overall, it is more comedic than the first game. Some people like it, others don't. Personally, I do, but that's just my opinion and should not be influenced in your decision to get this game. Overall the story has taken a overhaul and has many more things to do than the first. None of the voice actors from the first game have returned unfortunately, but again, some people like it, others don't.
Rating: 8/10 - Good enough, but can be improved upon.

The music for Conduit 2 is actually very similar to the first game, but not so similar where you think it's the exact same things. Honestly though, I don't tend to pay attention to it very much, but if I do, I overall enjoy it. As for the sound effects, almost all the sounds from the first game are back, from the guns that returned from the first game to the reloading, explosions and almost any other sound effect. They are very good and have amazing sound quality. The voice acting, as I said earlier, has changed because of the fact that no voice actors have returned from the first one, but to a lot of people, this is a good thing. The voice actors here in Conduit 2 are actually very good and you can tell they tried to put their best performance into making the characters come to life.
Rating: 9/10 - Near perfect

For this section, I will be listing all types of multiplayer, which includes online, invasion mode and competitive split-screen. I will start with the online. This time around, you can make your own load-outs and choose which one to use before the match starts, before you go into matchmaking, you can edit your character model, just like the first game, but now you can customize it even more. Once you get online you can go to regular or hardcore matches. Regular is just a grab bag mode where a random online mode is chosen by the players in a vote just like the first one, but this time you choose from only two different modes instead of all of them. In hardcore, it's pretty much the same thing, except there is no lock-on and no radar, as many people wanted a more hardcore experience. The online matchmaking is still slow and there are glitches being found every day, but luckily, High Voltage Software can update the game and fix any glitches the players find. In the last game, the only way to talk to other players was to have the wii speak, which not many people liked. This time, there is the superior Headbanger Headset, which drains out noise that isn't necessary, but just like the first game, you can only talk to friends, but that is the price to pay for dealing with Nintendo. Now I'll move onto split-screen, it can be played with up to four people and there are two separate things you can choose. The first is Invasion mode where you and up to three friends can battle hordes of enemies in three different maps, getting supplies often and you can even choose which load-out you want to use. And finally, there is competitive split-screen which has all the content from the online features, including all the online modes and even the ability to choose kill limit, time limit and respawn time. However, the controls are only customizable for first player, while the other players use first players or select their own controls from a very limited selection. Overall it is a very good part of the game and the main reason most people buy it, it is a First Person Shooter, after all.
Rating: 8/10 - Very fun, but glitches are found and some other small problems

This will just be a short explanation of the extras. Basically, you can buy things from the in-game store with credits that you earn from playing the story mode or doing invasion mode. There are many different things to buy such as weapons, armor upgrades and even special perks that give you that extra ability. Not to mention the extra eye of ra ASE skin and Online Golden Destroyer armor that you can get by getting the limited edition of the game. Also, I have to mention the achievements and medals you can earn from doing specific things within the game, there truly is a lot of extras to unlock and will keep you busy for a while. This extras section won't influence the score, but I thought it was nice that High Voltage Software included so many extras.
Rating (doesn't influence overall score): 8/10 - Many extras to unlock, will keep you busy if you like completing everything.

Uh-oh, glitches, the major killing point of the first game, and they're back. This is the one gripe I truly have with this game. High Voltage Software delayed this game for about 5 months total and I was thinking that they were fixing all the glitches and just tightening some loose ends, as did everyone, but we were wrong. The glitches are back and they are all throughout the game, whether it's the story, split-screen, and of course online. Glitches are everywhere and people find them by the dozens. I wish I could say that I'm exaggerating, but unfortunately, I'm not. The glitches really are everywhere and can ruin the game experience just like the first game. However, there is hope this time. As I mentioned earlier, High Voltage Software has made it so they can fix the glitches and other things that player's experience. This is very welcomed because the first game is almost unplayable today, and it could have benefited from the patching that this game offers. I know many players like the game to be complete before it's shipped out to us, but High Voltage Software is a small company, they don't have that many people to actually bug test thoroughly. Some people say that High Voltage Software didn't test the game at all and make us the bug testers, but if that were the case, the game would be much worse than it already is, in terms of glitches anyway. Unfortunately, due to the fact it seems they delayed this game for almost no reason, I have to make this influence the score, but I'm not going to give it a rating because of the fact it's not an intentional part of the game.

This game is by no means a bad game; in fact I dare say it is a great game that many wii First Person Shooter fans have been waiting for. The game isn't perfect but there is a lot to do and much to be seen. Even if you can't go online, I still think this is a full price purchase, unless you can get it cheaper, then by all means get it cheaper. I would say rent it to see if you like it, even if you played the first one because the overall feel of the game has changed and even if you loved the first game, you may actually not like this one at all.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10 | Originally Posted: 05/02/11


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