Out of Control!

It hasn't escaped my attention that reviewers these days can't seem to mention a new FPS title without mentioning "Call of Duty" in the same sentence. Don't get me wrong, I love the CoD games and the amount of hours I have clocked up online with these games is frankly obscene, but I think enough is enough.

I've heard a few comments on The Conduit's reviews in the last few weeks and a couple of them mentioning CoD, and having now played the game for myself, I can see that these comparisons are frankly ridiculous. Let's make one thing clear, anyone with half a brain can see that this game was never intended to go up against CoD, in fact I don't think High Voltage could care less about Activision's franchise. Never in Call of Duty have I heard a seductive female voice say "respawn in 3...2...1", there is no Middle East in The Conduit, no sand, no nukes and no marines. This is old school fragging plain and simple, this game almost pays homage to the likes of Quake and Unreal Tournament. I mean, if you're going to compare FPS titles it should be done like for like, would they compare Forza Motorsport to Outrun?? I highly doubt it!

But here's the problem with games on the Wii, if a developer releases a party or 'family' game it gets bad reviews due to it being "yet another party game", however if a developer releases a more serious type of game it gets the "this game isn't right for Wii and is better on PS3 or XBox due to the graphics". You're basically damned if you do and damned if you don't!

Let's cut to the chase, yes The Conduit is linear but then so is CoD, yes the graphics aren't as good as a 360 game but it still looks great so who really cares, yes the storyline isn't exactly original but then neither is a war game set in the Middle East with nukes and an evil dicatator!!!

It's about time reviewers got out of their CoD rut that they seem to be stuck in and see things for the way they really are. The Conduit is old school fragging at it's best, it's time to embrace it not slate it!

Water Warfare

Water Warfare is a different beast to Onslaught. They might both be FPS Wiiware downloads released by Hudson and their controls are very similar, they may even use a great deal of the same code for all I know, but the tactics of the game are very different indeed.

Where to start?

Before you can begin you have to create your own avatar by selecting, gender, hair styles, clothes and facial expressions from the selection on offer and then on to the tutorial levels which are reasonably simple to complete. Learn how to jump (Z), shoot (B), use an item (C), pick up new weapons (B), run around (nunchuk), use the rifle zoom (A) in a safe learning zone before going out into the one player game.

The one player options are mission, where you have to complete set tasks against the clock, or battle royale which can be either a single player deathmatch or a team deathmatch. The reviews I've read suggest that completing the missions unlocks new items for your avatar, a subtle way to brag of your achievements. But all of this is really just a warm up for the main reason you spent 800 Wii Points on this game - the online battles. Compete in either single player deathmatches or team events (CTF or Deathmatch) against random other players or, if you've exchanged friend codes, a room full of your mates. Up to 8 people at any time can play in each of the 4 different arenas and in the few games I played online so far that had up to 6 players the smaller maps can feel quite crowded and frenetic.

Graphically Water Warfare is worlds apart from Onslaught. No grim barren alien biosphere for this game; instead a cutesy playpark and a Delfino Square style harbour area are joined by two others to make up the different play areas. But don't be fooled into thinking this is a shovelware title because of it's appearance. Underneath the childish graphics lies a competent game that rewards the brave and tactically astute and punishes the timid or foolish player. The controls are well executed and the frame rate didn't falter even in the most frantic moments online. If I was being picky then the camera angle is a little too high but not so much that it spoils the game.

The weapons are scattered around the area and you pick them up by pointing your target at them and pressing B. Each one has it's own characteristics from the basic water pistol that you start with through to the water bazooka and sniper rifle. You can even, by finding a second identical weapon to the one that you are using, double up and have two water pistols at the same time! Each weapon has a water gauge that is displayed at the bottom right of the screen. When it is empty you need to find a new weapon or fill up the one you are holding from one of the water sources that are scattered around. Filling your weapon takes time so keep an eye out for other players who might ambush you while you do it! I lost track of the number of times I tried to refill my weapons by shaking the wiimote. At the top of the screen you have a t-shirt that gets wetter when other players squirt you. If it is totally soaked you lose a life and respawn although in most games you are limited to 2 respawns and then when you get soaked the third time you are out.

Here's a video of the game to help you visualise the action



Overall then?

I like this game. It might be cutesy but it's tough because of the way that the weapons are designed. Just like in a real water fight you are constantly thinking about where the next refill will come from as someone bears down on you trying to soak you to the core. Mirroring my performance with Onslaught I've already hit the top 20 ranked players in the country (top 500 in the world) because of the low uptake of this title. I think that many people won't buy into it as they wait for The Conduit to be released which is a shame because this is a lot of fun for £5.60

If you like the look of the game why not come and splash around on the Gameov3r Forum