GhaudePhaede010 said:
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I would say that, as of now, High Voltage is about the only company trying as hard as they are for the Wii. I mean, come on. Where's Resident Evil 5? Street Fighter IV? Bionic Commando Rearmed? New Splatterhouse? Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe? Devil May Cry? If they're not willing to put top franchises on the system, they aren't giving it they're all. Too many games still like like mid-generation PS2 titles when the Wii is far more capable than that. High Voltage built a powerful new graphics engine--and aside from Nintendo, who else has? Retro only revamped their old Metroid Prime engine for MP3. The only game that actually appears to be running on a new graphics engine with any sort of push at all is Super Mario Galaxy.
Now, I love the stark style of MadWorld, but little if anything in it appears to actually be pushing the Wii's GPU. That could easily be done on the PS2 or GameCube from what I've seen. It's just a slight revamp of Viewtiful Joe's overall style, set in highly contrasting black and white... and red all over. Cursed Mountain is another title that looks promising as the environments seem to be coming along nicely, but again, we have washed out colors and bland character models. Where's the dynamic lighting? Where are the real-time shadows? Where's the damn love? Look at the effort the guys at High Voltage are cramming into The Conduit. The graphics are such a leap over what everyone else is doing on the Wii that people are apt to not even believe that it is a Wii title. It may be pretty standard FPS gameplay with streamlined Wii control style, but damn if they aren't going the extra mile that everyone else stops short of two miles before. No one else is even reaching the point where they have the option to go the extra mile. They just give up that easily.
Even on the Wii, blurry muddy textures, flat circular shadows, ugly low-poly characters, and bland lifeless lighting are all things we shouldn't be seeing any more. And yet, look at everyone else--that's what you get. In The Conduit, the textures are generally a step above, the character modelling is two steps above, and the lighting and shadow is four steps above what everyone else is even bothering to do on the Wii. So yes, I think the guys as HVS are working a lot harder than everyone else. If they're smart, they'll wait six months after the game's release and then they'll license that graphics engine to anyone else that wants to make FPS titles on Wii. Wait six months so that The Conduit looks better longer, and to give other devs the time to want it. With it sold, they'll have the money to recraft that engine so the sequel to The Conduit once again resets what people expect on a Wii game.
The level of push in the graphics alone is proof that these guys are working harder than most other devs. That's not to say that MadWorld's devs aren't giving it they're all, but point out one other Wii game that is being pushed as hard as The Conduit. By 2010, there will be no excuse for anything on the Wii looking as out-dated as even titles like Resident Evil 4.
So, to recap, there are two solid proofs that 3rd party devs still aren't working as hard as the guys at High Voltage for Wii titles:
1. No other game has a graphics engine that can yet rival The Conduit.
2. Third party companies still aren't putting enough of their AAA franchises on the thing.
I'm sure The Conduit will be overall somewhat average for an FPS, but I'm also sure it will be polished and very enjoyable. If they're focusing as much on the rest of the game as they are the graphics, then we're in for a real treat. And based on the graphics alone, no one is working as hard as these guys on the Wii.
