The Conduit Portal - Reviews

Welcome to The Conduit Portal Reviews!

2010-08-18T11:26:00.001-05:00

Once more as an ever expanding way to bring you news and entertainment. The Conduit Portal is now bringing you reviews, news, and impressions on games, movies, gadgets and more! So there will always be something to see down at The Conduit Portal than just Conduit news. We will still be using our original blogspot for all Conduit News but we will now be using this hub as a place for everything else. So be sure to keep your eyes on both sites!

I hope you enjoy this site and all it has to offer!

-The_Noah

Scott Pilgrim vs The World Review

2010-08-18T11:15:00.002-05:00

An epic of epic epicness.

As the summer winds down there seems like less and less to do as we prepare for school. What other way to enjoy the summer than going to watch a movie. For all the gamers and fans of awesome animation. There is Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

Let the battle begin.

Scott Pilgrim is dating a High Schooler. A little ambiguous of an intro but it leads us into a realm that throws so many quirky fight scenes and stylistic animations that it is well worth discovering out what they are talking about. (even if it is explained no more than 5 seconds later into the movie.) Meet charming and jobless Scott Pilgrim. A bass guitarist for garage band Sex Bob-omb, the 22-year-old has just met the girl of his dreams... literally. The only catch to winning Ramona Flowers? Her seven evil exes are coming to kill him, and he must defeat them to date Romona. But I'm glad Scott did, if made for a very entertaining film.

Taking its inspiration from the comic series, the film is structured like a videogame, with each ex representing a boss at the end of a level. My personal favorite being a Bass Battle with a vegan. They each have special powers and turn into coins when they are defeated. It even incorporates sound bytes from actual games like Zelda, Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog and Street Fighter. Needless to say, realism isn't really a concern here, but once you're in the groove, even the most outlandish elements flow naturally from the storytelling. I truly wish my life were similar to Scott's, it seems like so much fun. Scenes where he has a "pee meter" and animations every time he jams out just make me wonder why I don't have that.

Fire sword fights, you know its cool.

The movie does lag a bit in the middle and the final battle isn't something you would expect, but nonetheless it is an amazing film. Yet, there are awesome scenes where the story goes through multiple frames as he is spaced out an only thinking about Romona. So basically there are many more memorable parts of the film over boring parts (which are few and far between).

As a film it is an amazing piece of art that would amaze the younger generations. Parents and those who grew up without Nintendo would find this film entertaining but nothing special. So overall I highly recommend Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

4/5 - 9/10

PDP Headbanger Headset Impression

2010-08-18T10:42:00.001-05:00

One major flaw in The Conduit was not something HVS themselves could really do anything about. Wii Speak in my eyes is a lame attempt at giving Wii gamers a way to chat online. Having to use a microphone (that wasn't very great quality) and listen to the output through the TV was not only awkward, but I often found myself not using my $30.00 peripheral because I did not want others to hear what my friends were saying. In fact, at this very moment it is unhooked and stashed away in a drawer in my room. We all know Nintendo is very strict on rules and I thought that I would never see a true headset on my gaming console of choice.

Looking Good

Enter the PDP Headbanger headset. I first heard about the headset on an article someone linked to me at The Portal. My first thought was salvation and freedom from Wii Speak. Then I heard HVS announced it was going to be compatible with Conduit 2. Even better news, things was seriously looking up for the Conduit online faithful. Yet, how does such a headset look thus far? Will it be everything I and others hoped for so far?

Well first off I do love the aesthetic of the design. I really like simplicity and PDP got everything right on the design. Everything is on the headpiece, volume control, mute button, etc. Furthermore, it seems to be a one size fits all and that usually works out. I say usually be.cause someone out there will have a hard time with the headset but we won't be sure until the headset hits the market. I do have to admit this seems like a great long term fix for online communications. Although madcatz does have a model coming out as well for Call of Duty Black Ops, no word if either headset is cross compatible. So if you buy by looks this one should really be a no brainer.

I really only have one major gripe with the headset. It's wired. I'm sure that the cord is long enough to have a comfortable sitting distance, but the fact that its wired makes me feel too tied down and restricted. Why not have it bluetooth and hook up as a second Wii Remote? Sort of like how the Wii Fit balance board hooks up. My guess is its either the first gen and it will be produced later or Nintendo restricts third party developers from doing so. If its the first option then it would be amazing to see a wireless headset one day, if its the later I'm once more angered by Nintendo and their many restrictions. Whatever the case, I do have to reiterate that it is 100% wired so that may be a turnoff for many of you. Although in my eyes anything is better than Wii Speak (Which was also wired).

Because we all need two, right?

I would still one day hope that the Wii gets a serious headset like one made from BOSE (I'm not even sure if BOSE makes headsets for consoles but I do love their headphones.) or some other third party developer. Still, I admire that PDP is making this headset, I admire HVS for making it compatible with Conduit 2, and I admire the fact that they are both coming out at the same time. Which begs me to ask the question. Will there be a bundle of Conduit 2 and the Headbanger Headset? I would be more than happy to dish out an extra $10+ for such a bundle, and hey it would also give people who've never played The Conduit before to pick up Conduit 2, a little incentive tends to go a long way. Be sure to check out the PDP Headbanger Headset along side Conduit 2 when they both come out later this year (Q4).

Check out a video of the PDP Headbanger Headset here.

Written By: The_Noah