Yep
But I have a feeling those placeholder textures are going to be covered over with shaders. These resemble the first pics from the first game before they had effects and post processing applied.
For me, buying this game is going to be very difficult. I like the developer, but I paid full-price fo rthe first one, and in retrospect, taking the long-view that game was creatively broken. It functioned fine, but offered nothing new at all.
I don't know why they are bothering with a sequel. Everyone is saying good things about it (even EDGE) but I just can't risk throwing more money away on them at this point.
gamingeek said:Yep
But I have a feeling those placeholder textures are going to be covered over with shaders. These resemble the first pics from the first game before they had effects and post processing applied.
Why would they release those images though?
It's baffling.
I hear that so far the new game looks much better. I mean the controls and actual gameplay, AI etc and even most of the visuals were solid. It was just unbalanced and boring level design. From what I've seen of the second game, they seem to have addressed that. If you go to gametrailers, watch the e3 interview footage, it already looks much better than the first game.
Some of those look fairly solid, the last batch was awful.
i never did play the first game but after all the pointless hate it has makes me worry over 2
Destructoid Conduit 2 hands onhttp://www.destructoid.com/hands-on-with-conduit-2
All of the problems of the first game seems to be fixed with Conduit 2. It may go on to be known as the Evil Dead 2 of videogames, as it feels like both a sequel and a remake of the original at the same time.
As soon as you boot up the game, you're treated to a big budget CGI recreation of the last moments of the original Conduit, giving us the climactic ending that the first game should have had. Then you're dumped onto an oil rig; a cooler looking, more exciting battlefield than just about any place in the original game. That would have been enough for me, but right after that, a giant, laser breathing sea serpent popped up and started destroying everything. VIDEO HERE This is a boss fight; a real boss fight against a force many times larger than the player, with an old-fashioned health bar an everything. These are the blockbuster videogame moments that I waited for the entire time I was playing Conduit 1. Almost like an apology, Conduit 2 gave me all of that right away. Less than ten minutes in, and I could already tell that Conduit 2 wont be just a sequel. It's a reparation.The game has so many additions and improvements, it's hard to even know where to begin. Just looking at my notes on is overwhelming. First off, High Voltage actually rewrote the way that the Wii outputs sound in order to make the Conduit 2 sound better than any other Wii title. Then there's the little style tweaks, like the additon of the ever popular "healing factor" health regeneration and universal ammo systems found in many of today's FPSs. Then there's the previously reported, but still awesome, news that the game will addition of Wii Motion Plus and Classic Controller support. Then there's the plan for headset support; a first for a Wii game. Also, the enemies A.I. has been re-written to include multiple new attack and defense maneuvers, there are over 100 different death screams for fallen enemies, there is an entirely new set of voice actors; the list goes on and on.
I wanted to spit those little details out before they got swallowed up by Conduit 2's bigger changes and upgrades. For instance, the game's whole structure has changed. There is now a central hub where you select your missions, create new weapons, and interact with non-playable characters. Mr Ford is no longer alone in his battle. Now he's got a home base, in the middle of Atlantis no less. That's where he gets help from an attractive, armor clad super model-looking lady who also wants to keep us safe from aliens and politicians. When Hamza Aziz first saw her, he let out an audible "Whoa...", a sound that the HD loving Halo fanatic rarely makes when checking out a Wii game.Thanks to the hub zone, we now have the option for non-linear progression. Sometimes you can choose what mission you want to take on next (Mega Man style), while other times you're given the option to back-track to previous levels. Returning to old places may open up new areas, weapons, and missions. High Voltage is planning on piling on tons of additional content beyond the approximately 12 hour long campaign mode. This isn't just to give you more bang for your buck. High Voltage's real goal with this feature, and the game in general, is to make the world of the Conduit feel like a, real, tangible place. In the real world, there is never just one "mission" or just one problem to solve. The same goes for Conduit 2. No matter the situation, there's always options.
This time, those options will take you all over the world. In my play-through, I got to see a level that takes place in China (complete with creepy alien statues that come to life) that introductory level (with the gigantic, laser breathing sea monster and destructible environments), and Washington D.C. stage (which has become a war zone between aliens and humans, with you caught in the middle). I'm told that's just a fraction of the new areas that the game has in store.
I have very distasteful memories of the level design of the first. But from the previews they have improved everything. The critics said that Red Steel 2 was the most improved sequel ever, I wonder if HV can do the same for this game.
Gamepro previewHigh Voltage's shooter sequel, Conduit 2, learns from the mistakes of the original and builds on its core strengths.
What we're talking about: Conduit 2, High Voltage's follow-up to their generally well-received 2009 shooter for the Wii, which drops the "The" from its title.
Where we saw it: GamePro's "demo room" in San Francisco, California.
What you need to know:
- A number of popular science-fiction films including The Fifth Element and District 9 inspired Conduit 2's development team, which is particularly evident from the weapons featured in the sequel. One of the most remarkable new sci-fi-themed guns is called the Hive Cannon, a gelatinous organism the player shoves their fist into and wears as a living gun. Players load the weapon by feeding eggs into the front of the creature, which are then converted into deadly alien insect projectiles (similarly to the BioShock's Insect Swarm plasmid). Another interesting new device featured in Conduit 2 is the Arc Eclipse, which renders the player temporarily invisible, an effect High Voltage's chief creative officer Eric Nofsinger likens to the cloaking tech from the movie Predator.
- Eric Nofsinger explains the team received a tremendous amount of useful feedback from gamers at PAX where a demo of Conduit 2 was playable. This influenced many design decisions. "I filled multiple notebooks with suggestions, ideas, and tweaks from fans," he says.
- High Voltage focused on integrating non-playable characters with complex A.I. into Conduit 2's campaign, which Nofsinger says helped "bring the world of Conduit 2 to life." He adds that NPC factions will fight each other or fight alongside each other, and generally help populate the game's settings in a way that makes them feel more authentic.
- A lack of variety within environments was one of the chief complaints about the original game. Nofsinger notes they've spent a lot of time ensuring there's a rich assortment of settings for you to explore in Conduit 2. One of these settings is the China level, which features symmetrical architectural design. Nofsinger says people have commented the level is reminiscent of scenes from Christopher Nolan's Inception. Conduit 2's team also designed levels so there are multiple possible paths you can take, though Nofsinger says the experience is not open-world by any means.
- The designers put an emphasis on cinematics in Conduit 2 to tell some of the story. In the first game, your mission briefing did much of the "scene-setting," but they've moved away from that in order to achieve a more immersive experience.
- Nofsinger admits the team was a bit inexperienced while developing the original game. Now they've become more confident as a developer and are focusing on building on The Conduit's biggest strengths. "With the first game, we were really trying to work it all out," Nofsinger says. "We wanted to make a game and get it done. This time around, we had a game that worked pretty well and sold decently. So we're making sure we are delivering on its strong foundations with Conduit 2."
- Collectible blueprints in Conduit 2 can be taken to the hub, which unlocks certain special weapons. Other items scattered throughout the campaign can even unlock entire new levels. All of this was done to ensure players have a lot of incentive to explore every inch of the game if they want to.
- Conduit 2 includes a mode where players destroy endless waves of enemies, which become progressive more difficult to kill the longer you stay alive. The mode's very much in the vein of Gears of War 2's popular Horde Mode.
Point in development cycle: Conduit 2 ships February 2011.
My take: While I enjoyed the original game, High Voltage's The Conduit fell a bit short of expectations for myself and a lot of people looking forward to experiencing the definitive Wii shooter. It's refreshing to hear that Nofsinger and his team are honest about some of the drawbacks of the previous game and are already well on their way to improving on most aspects of that game. As far as lasting impressions I had from my demonstration of Conduit 2, I was particularly impressed by how colorful and vibrant the game is. This really is one of the prettiest games I've seen on the Wii.
Washington DC Footage and interview
Kotaku preview
http://kotaku.com/5672980/the-wii-game-that-was-briefly-mistaken-for-an-xbox-360-game
"It wont be just a sequel. It's a reparation."
Awesome, so I'm getting my money back?
aspro said:"It wont be just a sequel. It's a reparation."
Awesome, so I'm getting my money back?
Wait, you didn't resell the first game like I did? Hell, I made a profit
gamingeek said:Wait, you didn't resell the first game like I did? Hell, I made a profit
I can't sell my games even if I wanted since I import them all. The GAME stores here can spot an NTSC a mile away. They won't even take my DS or PSP stuff (understandably).
Just posting these here because I had to re-host them from this bloody flash site.
They are obviously in an unfinished state, because the textures were better in the first game even.