Publisher: Konami
Ages: twelve & up
Parental
Advisory:
Violence
Konami's Lifeline, a decent title, stands apart as the first voice-controlled action-adventure console game. Through the use of a USB headset microphone (not included with the game), players control Rio, the main character, through verbal communication and guide her through battles with various space creatures.
Lifeline takes players to a futuristic space station hotel where they find themselves trapped in the structure's control room after a massive attack. The only sign of life is a woman named Rio - voiced by Kristen Miller of the "She Spies" TV show - with whom players must use verbal communication to solve the mystery of the attack and save their respective skins. Trapped in the control room, players view the action through the hotel's many security cameras.
Throughout, players utter voice commands such as "shoot," "reload," "dodge to the left," "flee," "look behind you," and countless others to solve puzzles and battle creatures. According to Konami, Lifeline's voice technology recognizes more than 5,000 words and 100,000 phrases. Interestingly, with all of its technology, the game plays like a voice-activated version of those old text adventure games for the PC such as "Leisure Suit Larry" or "Space Quest."
While the voice-recognition technology is generally impressive, the game has definite weak points. Searching for key objects involves guessing what an object is. For example, in one room near the beginning, there's a glimmering suitcase that indicates a key object may be found. After saying endless variations on "suitcase" and "luggage," I finally discovered that the game was looking for "trunk." This guessing, particularly when it involves putting things together for puzzles, makes the game frustrating at times.
The voice-recognition technology is often amazing, and it's astounding what Rio, the virtual character, understands. At times, players may feel as if they are conversing with a real character. On the other hand, there are many times when the technology gets the command wrong and sends Rio off in a different direction.
Another downside is that Rio doesn't think for herself. For example, when creatures attack, Rio waits for players to command her to fight. Any person in such a situation would immediately protect themselves. Perhaps the game should have starred a robot that accepted voice commands. And speaking of battle, controlling a fight using voice commands is clumsy and results in only so so battles.
The graphics are tremendous and Rio, the other characters and the environments look great. The game features lots of violence and is not for kids, and most youngsters will probably lack the patience to control the main character using their voices. On the other hand, because there are many puzzles, groups of people can effectively play the game together.
I recognize Konami for pushing the envelope and creating a technically impressive game. On the other hand, all of the technology in the world can't make a fair game an excellent one.
3/16/04 Wayne N. Kawamoto, managing editor
