Customer Reviews

Life Line

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ok, I won't say this game is absolutely good or absolutely bad. It is just that the voice recognition is not that profound. What you say has to be right on for Rio to check it. For example I came across a table and asked her to check the papers. All she said was,"there are lots of paper which one?" It had to be broken down to words like newspaper or report for her to react. Getting her to do things is not that easy. Some objects look like something else. A newspaper may look like a monitor. A telephone may look like a can of spray. I found that to get her to look at a computer monitor I had to say "PC"
The combat system is much easier but Rio won't do anything on her own. She won't turn around on her own to face an enemy which I thought was funny because she talks back to you like your stupid but she is the one who has to be talked through everything. the game can be fun but the vocabulary is not that indebth. There are many words for an object but rio really only recognizes one or two words. This game is like playing sharades.

Lifeline is a voice controlled video game for the PS2. You help a waitress investigate a space station, killing aliens and rescuing guests.

For most Playstation 2 users, this is the first time they'll need to buy a microphone/headset. While many XBox games (especially XBox Live) use a microphone extensively, few PS2 games have taken this step.

On first glance this seems a REALLY cool idea. You "are" a male in the game. But as a guest trapped in a monitor room, you are really "controlling" a woman, telling her what to shoot, where to check and what to do. The female character is spunky and alert, handling her gun with ease and bantering with the people she meets along the way.

The graphics are reasonably well done - the Honeymoon Suite has floor to ceiling windows that give you a nice view of earth, the rooms have an elegant, posh hotel look. There aren't rich details as in many current XBox games, but you do get a sense that you're in a space-hotel of the future.

The sounds that exist have attention to detail. As you walk across various surfaces, your footsteps change. However, usually you are just walking through an empty space-hotel so there aren't many ambient sounds, which is a shame.

But when you actually start to PLAY the game, you realize immediately the huge limitations of the voice recognition software. Your entire interface with the game is the way you speak. They begin with a tutorial which is maddening. All they say is "Good" (or "excellent") if you say the word properly, or "BAD!" if you don't say it well. They don't tell you HOW you missed - too loud? Too soft? Too high? Too low? Too fast? Too slow? I have tried this game with many different people and certain phrases - specifically "shoot shoot shoot" and another "shoot reload" sequence - could get people stuck for 10 minutes or more. The game just keeps saying "BAD" "BAD" "BAD" which gets frustrating to no end. The game seems geared towards kids' voices, if we raised the pitch of our commands and spoke quickly it eventually caught on. But the frustration level was at a pitch by then. There was no way to 'skip' a word or phrase.

This gets even worse during actual gameplay. I do admit the game is addictive so I would literally sit there for 20 minutes trying to investigate a given item on a table. "Check book" I'd say. "Leave room?" she'd say and start leaving. There's a 3 second delay where you can't say anything, and then you say "CHECK TABLE!" to get her back to the table area. Then you try again. "Check books" - and now she's heading to the bathroom.

Half of the problem is her poor ability to understand what you're saying, even if you're being extremely clear and distinct. The other half of the problem is that you don't KNOW what the things on the screen are. Case in point. At one point you're in a living area and can see various items, including a blue, striped box. You can try "check box" or "check blue box" or "check striped box" or anything else - and either she'll say "Huh?" or she'll misinterpret your phrase and go wandering off elsewhere in the room. It turns out this thing you're looking at is a RATIONS and unless you say that, she won't actually look at it.

This problem happens EVERYWHERE. On one chair is a curved object. It's a "helmet" but unless you make that leap of logic, you're doomed. In another room, a white square lays next to a bed. You can try "document" or "paper" or "report" or any other combination of words to no avail. You can try "look under bed" or "look by bed" or "white rectangle" or "white square", and either she'll look at you in glazed non-understanding or mis-interpret your command to go elsewhere. Eventually you figure out this thing is a "laptop" and she does actually try to look at it - but she can't!!

I keep playing because I want to find out if things get better. But they never do. There are "category games" where you take turns naming things - astrology signs, islands in the caribbean, cities that have football teams. But no matter how clearly you say your chosen category choices - "Capricorn!" "Aries!" "Virgo!" she says "sorry you lose! Ha ha, I win!" It is just amazingly frustrating.

Maybe someday a game will be developed that DOES understand what you are saying - and that has good enough graphics that you can see what you're trying to do in the first place. But when you combine poor graphics, no ability to zoom ON AN ITEM (the zoom just zooms to a random spot in the center of the screen), combat issues where half the time you can't see what you are fighting, and a voice recognition system that wastes 20 minutes on an unimportant object in a room, the game tests even the most patient of adventure-game lovers' nerves.

A good game to play to see the direction that adventure game is heading in. But this is NOT quick to play. Allocate many, many days to get through this one.

Life Line is the first game played entirely by speaking to the character via usb headsets. Does that mean you don't need a controller to play? Nope--you need a controller to know WHAT you can say.

The graphics are pretty good. Nothing flashy, but quite good. Pretty realistic backgrounds. Objects are detailed.

There is almost no sound going through the game. No music during walking around, and some minimal music during a battle. The music is unimportant--it's good sometimes to have it quiet to hear what the main character (Rio) is saying.

The voice recognition technology is the part we're most interested in, and at the same time, is the worst part of the game. Simply put--the recognition doesn't work!!!!!

About 8 out of 10 times, your voice WILL be heard incorrectly in the game. I said "Look at the papers on the table," and the girl responds, "Leave the room? Ok." Now, what I want to know is, WHERE DID SHE HEAR ME SAY THE WORD "ROOM?"

The game is a constant struggle. Luckily, your controller can help you say certain phrases by listing what she can understand. Oh, while talking, you must hold down the circle button. Quite lame.

Navigating through rooms is hard because of the constant misunderstandings. You say "Go to Room A." She understands it as "Go to the locker." You say "Go to the locker." She heard "Leave the room." I'm not making this up, people--this game has a serious flaw!

If you think my review is false, rent the game and find out. If you think you have the most clear voice and precise pronunciation ever, try the game. You'll be surprised by how much the character CAN'T understand you.

Thank god I only paid 29.99 for the game instead of the 39.99 MSRP. That's the only good thing I can say about the game.

One of the first things you'll notice is the complaint that Rio will not listen to you very well. Sadly, voice technology is not perfect. I've also noticed that how well she understands you deteriorates the longer you run the game. I've had trouble telling her to do things, turned off the game, ate lunch, then went back to have her understanding me again. I don't know what causes this, but the game may eat up a large amount of RAM.

The extra bits in the game are interesting, like asking her to do... "things" with you. "Let's get out of here first, Casanova." Or you can tell her to bark like a dog, and she'll do it. This comes from the movie Coming to America. We all got a kick out of that. She'll also eat candy when you find it, sometimes.

Your commands also have to be precise, as the little words in between will often harm gameplay as the game goes on. While you can say "Go to the savepoint," she seems to understand better if you just say "savepoint."

Besides all this, the game is rather interesting. You'll want to find a FAQ or walkthrough to help you out, though, because it will get very frustrating when you don't know what something is. These are good for the minigames too. Keywords are important to find, which are on bits of paper throughout the game, because they allow you to do new things. This includes new commands in combat.

All in all, you need to be able to keep a level head, and know how to turn off the game and walk away when you get frustrated. Anyone who owns a phone with voice tags knows that if you've been saying things one way, then say it differently one time, then it won't respond.

Game gets a 2 for controllability, 5 for graphics, 5 for motion, 4 for music (what little there is) and 5 for plot.

People with the Japanese game may find it easier, btw, because many Japanese words are easier to distinguish for the computer.

This game is an absolutely great game except around the middle of the game, the character starts -not-understanding- your commands, you say " check the bed" and she goes to the bathroom, but anyway, this is one of the best games i've played ( and i have played over 250.)

Lifeline is like those old text based games like Zork mixed with a point-and-click games you find on PC's.

I liked the whole locked up in a space station full of aliens scenirio and the whole mystery behind it was surprising. I know that the voice recognition can be bad at times and sometimes it can get annoying. For instance, I wanted Rio to look at a case on a dresser but she thought I was referring to the dresser that it was on. I then tried to describe it by saying words like Cigareete case, or Cigar and she understood.

Another thing that can get annoying but can be avoided is the battle controls. Ok I get nervous during battles especially since you don't control her so I would shout out a command like "Stomach" and she would move back. I found if you remain calm and actually say it clearer that you can get her to do things easier.

Sure, it can be hard at first to remain calm during a battle or actually speak clear, but your results come out real good. I gave it a three because it does have a good storyline, it is a good survival horror game, but it does have trouble understanding sometimes but I wouldn't let it bug you

I thought long and hard before I picked up "Lifeline." I had read both good and bad reviews, but ultimately, my gluttony for new technology won out, and I bought the game and a PS2 headset.

The main character, Rio, understands basic commands easily enough. That is, she will go to the save point, certain rooms, run and walk with no problems. The main problems emerge when she has to look at an object or interact with an object. For example:
"Pick up the paper."
"I can't pick up the chair."
"Pick up the document."
"You mean this? This fire extinguisher does me no good."

Unless you know the proper key word, you and Rio can argue for twenty minutes over an object. The game's most frustrating point comes when Rio must investigate objects in a line.
"Check the third stall."
(Walks to garbage can.)
"Check the second to last stall."
(Checks first stall.)
"Check the third stall down!"
(Informs you to stop yelling at her.)
"(String of obscenities.)"

The battle system is also hit-or-miss. Most of the time, I died when I first encountered enemies, and then got lucky the second time through. Trying to heal yourself in the middle of battle is impossible, as Rio will do everything from reload her weapon to running into the enemy before she uses a heal capsule.

The bottom line: "Lifeline" is unique for its attempt at new technology, and actually tells a good story while it does it. But only pick it up if you're the patient type.

glad to have this game again. it's hard sometimes guide-ing her. but it's still fun very fun. and a really great story i wonder if i will get through it this time.

It seems like the only thing I found issues with this game was the communication to the character in game, sometimes when you would say things even if its what the game is supposed to understand she wouldn't get it, The game could get 4/5 if when you speak to her she would understand you, video games are still in early stages to be able to understand each individual, and such is crucial to the game if you need a headset to play, other than that if your voice is clear and not too fast or blurry its just about playable and even then there is some mistakes in communication between you and the video game. Overall I would give it 3/5 for innovation and a step through the door to some next generation gaming more technology is needed for this to be perfect. I will play it to the end because of the storyline I find it interesting so far and want to see it unfold.

While the PS2's voice activation system could use a lot more work, compared to the X-Box's, it was still fun to dive into this game head first. It can be confusing trying to 'word' what you want the main character to do, for instance, there is four vending machines in a row. Instead of being numbered, like "vending machine 1", it was much more complex like "Left Middle Vending machine" (I do believe it was actually worded slightly different than that).

Some of the items could use more detail when the play needed to interact with them. At one point, you need to check behind a box shaped object that has what looks like paper sticking out. The box is located in a pantry. It took me about 30 minutes to get the name of the object correct.

However, if you look past the flaws of voice activation technology (which is fairly new to gaming, and still has not been completely ironed out of wrinkles yet), the game is very well done. Sometimes, the main character's replies don't go very well with what was said, but again, that has to do with the technology itself, and not completely the game.