There is definitely a lot of hype for The Conduit. Even when we were simply shown a handful of screenshots and a short demo in its early stage of development the hype began to gather. If it wasn’t because of its superb graphics engine or excellent controls, it was for its dedicated online multiplayer component or the fact it was built from the ground up solely for the hardcore gamers on the Wii. Whatever the reason it had a lot to live up to which comes as no surprise that it didn’t quite live up to those expectations.

The Conduit is all about conspiracies, aliens, the government and betrayal... Well that’s what I got from finishing the short and pretty average single player mode. You play as Agent Ford, a member of a secret group called The Trust looking to investigate a terrorist attack on Washington DC by a group called The Drudge. While it can become confusing as to what’s going on at times, there’s enough here for those looking for an interesting tale as you play through the nine levels on offer.

One of the areas that The Conduit absolutely nails better than any other shooter out there is the control system. While the default set up is pretty good, you can change pretty much anything to your heart’s desire. From the sensitivity and speed of turning, to the layout of the buttons on both the remote and nunchuck. You can even change the layout of your information (health, ammo etc...) to something that is more pleasing. It’s pretty much perfect and something to be looked at for any future shooters coming out on the Wii.

Everything is very linear in The Conduit with little option given to you on exploration or choice of how to tackle obstacles. You’ll often find yourself wondering corridors before entering a bigger room full of enemies in which you need to take down and then moving on to do the same again. I’m not saying it’s awful, just uninspired and that some variety would have been nice with varying mission types or more open environments. Here you’re basically going from point A to B killing aliens and mind controlled humans along the way.

“Trying” to separate itself from other shooters, you will use a device called the All Seeing Eye (a floating metal ball) which acts as a way of locating secrets and solving puzzles. A good idea in theory, but when it’s simply used as a glorified key to open doors most of the time, it becomes more pointless to use than anything else.

The single player is very short, even for a shooter clocking in at only around six or seven hours, but it’s just as well, as any longer and it would have likely outstayed its welcome. If you feel the need there are hidden messages and disks to find and achievements to complete (not too unlike the Xbox 360 and PS3 ones) that see you using each gun a certain amount of times or killing so many enemies. It’s good to add a little lifespan and I’d love to see other games include these sort of achievements, but it’s likely you won’t want to bother. Unless you have online access I wouldn’t advise picking this up as online is where you’ll want to be.

So we now move onto the main course that is the multiplayer and this definitely lives up to what was offered. Complete with a whole host of options and modes this is one of the most enjoyable online experiences on the Wii. I guess the best way to describe it is to imagine if Perfect Dark had been playable online. It does feel very similar. Under a username and character of your choice, you take to the seven or so levels shooting in teams, alone or trying to grab the All Seeing Eye for as long as possible. There are more options but these three are really the main modes you’ll find yourself in and to me the most enjoyable. Some simply don’t work well such as Bounty Hunter where you have no idea who you are meant to be shooting and often get penalised for it. There may be the odd drop in connection here and there, but when it works, it flows very smoothly indeed. And perhaps a nod to the Call Of Duty series, you can progress through a ranking system the more you play and the more kills you get. A good addition nonetheless.

The Conduit is technically very impressive. The detail in certain areas is excellent especially some of the weapons and the All Seeing Eye. However what let’s it down is the complete lack of art design. Everything is so bland and visually unappealing it’s a shame all these graphical tricks weren’t put to better use. You'll find yourself navigating the same looking corridors and rooms, it's just a shame that the rare outside areas aren't used more as they look and feel a lot better. The music however is great and matches the “Protect The Earth/ X-Files” style of the game. The gunfire, explosions and voice acting are all also surprisingly good.

Normally I wouldn’t talk about the casing, but with this game you get a cardboard sleeve with a nice matt-like finish and a twenty page booklet full of concept art and some hints. Looks nice and gives it a “Collector’s Item” sort of feel.

So is this the visually stunning, mind-blowing experience that was expected? No it’s not. While it isn’t a bad game, it just feels very bland and paint-by-numbers with nothing that really makes it stand out. The story is okay and the multiplayer a lot of fun but this isn’t the killer exclusive we thought it’d be.