Ever since The Conduit was announced back in mid-2008, developer High Voltage was put right on center stage, with every Wii developer taking note on what they were doing, and how they were achieving it. For the first time in the console’s lifetime, it seems that Wii owners would be getting a fully-equipped “next-gen” (term used VERY loosely) shooter experience that wasn’t behind in terms of tech or online capabilities. Hype for The Conduit was so huge that it seemed nearly impossible for the game to truly deliver what was being idealized, and, as it turns out, it didn’t. The game released in summer of 2009, sold a measly 400,000 copies to this date, average critics scores usually congregating around 70%. No, surely High Voltage Software did not entirely deliver with The Conduit, but for having developed the engine alongside the game, it’s not as bad as one may think. Regardless, a mediocre game is a mediocre game, and The Conduit is no exception.
Now, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with all of this mindless introductory blither blather, and I’ll just tell you right now without all the bells and whistles of a segue: Why do Wii owners put up with High Voltage Software?
Before you get out the torches and pitchforks, hear me out for just one moment. It all began with the disappointment of The Conduit; I was looking for something to latch onto in the game, and there were many things worth being impressed about. The online was okay, if buggy. The graphics, technically anyway, were alright. The weapon and map design were both top-notch. Even so, something about The Conduit felt very… stale. It was something that people who have played games this generation have come to know very well with the flurry of mindless shooters that have been released, but something Wii owners are relatively new to. Point being that they hyped something up beyond what it was, and disappointed us. No big deal, of course, but it’s how their progression as a company after the game came out that is really beginning to get on my nerves.
Shortly after The Conduit came 2 new game announcements from High Voltage; Gladiator A.D. (now known as Tournament of Legends) and The Grinder. Both of these games showed a lot of promise, and fans of the company (including myself at first) bought a one-way ticket right on into the hype train. Destination: Disappointment.
Okay, maybe it’s not going to be THAT bad, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to flesh out my metaphor a little more. After a few months of screens and videos every so often, things went quiet on the two titles, and we didn’t hear much about them until much later, when a few things drastically changed, starting with Gladiator A.D.
To start, the game… completely changed. The name, the atmosphere, the characters, the setting; all changed. Instead of bloody Roman battles, we have minotaurs and birds with clothes fighting it out, and instead of “Gladiator A.D.” we have “Tournament of Legends.” I was definitely interested in Gladiator, because it looked very Punch-Out-with-lots-of-blood-like, but when they switched it to Tournament of Legends, something just de-clicked with me. The settings and characters got a little less interesting, and the dialogue between the fighters now is just terrible. Watch a video of a fight and you’ll know exactly what I mean. But hey, Gladiator wasn’t the big one I was looking forward to, that game was The Grinder.
I was looking forward to The Grinder for one reason: It was Left for Dead on Wii. I am a huge fan of Left 4 Dead, and melding that same style of gameplay with Wii controls would be an instant buy for me. Then, as all of you know, High Voltage software announced that the game would also be coming to PS360, which is understandable and doesn’t really bother me all that much. What does bother me is the change from FPS to TDS (top-down shooter), and the lack of knowledge on what the Wii version will come out to be. Not only that, but in a recent interview, Joshua Olson (producer) has said that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions would be getting most of the attention, which makes it seem like even The Grinder, a once Wii-exclusive title with promise, will turn out to be another half-baked Wii version to a big title. Great.
So, what exactly is the deal? Why do we really put up with High Voltage? Twice now they’ve promised one thing and then completely changed a game around on their fans. Some people put up with it, and some people don’t, but even as far back as The Conduit they were doing this. Remember when they said they would have 32 players online? Then it dropped to 16? Then it was 12? High Voltage has a great way of jumping the gun on their tech, and I really hope it pays off because I really love the guys that work over there for their great enthusiasm, but for now they’re just another game company with a 7-some track record and a whole lot of promise. Maybe we’ll get The Conduit 2 sooner than we think, and it’ll really be good, but for now we’ll just have to sit back and pick through the hype to what we can really look forward to.
