Spigot
05-03-2009, 02:41 PM
Have you ever thought about the people on the other end of the line when you receive a telemarketing call in the middle of dinner? Did you ever want to save lives as a 911 operator? Well, this week's selection for Turning The Spigot lets you don the headset mic and dole out crucial lifesaving directions to hapless individuals (and possibly pitch low, low rates on a new credit card while you're at it).
Lifeline
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/3497565781_98caa434ea.jpg?v=0
Year: 2004
Platform: PS2
Rating: Is Anyone There?
# of Players: 1
Lifeline is a survival horror game where you play the role of a hapless chap on a space station hotel (don't ask) who finds himself locked in the control room after an alien attack on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately for him, his girlfriend didn't get locked in there with him and is stranded out amongst the chaos. Like most survival horror games, the object is to find out what is going on, save a few innocents along the way and try not to get killed.
This is where Lifeline mixes things up from the norm. You don't actually get to play the game with your lovelorn protagonist. You see, there's another survivor out there, a waitress named Rio who happens to work at the hotel and she is the one who gets to run through the monster-infested corridor while you tell her what to do. The game is almost entirely controlled via voice commands given over the PS2 USB microphone/headset. There are minimal commands input from the controller, but your job is to twist knobs, flip switches and open doors while giving out instructions 'over the phone', as it were.
Before I delve into the controls further, I would like to point out that the graphics, while not earth-shatteringly awesome, are pretty decent given the age of the game. There is a fair amount of detail and the rooms tend to have a lot of objects to interact with. The character models do have a rather generic look to them though they have a lot of detail to their outfits, though their expressions are rather stiff.
The monsters you encounter range from amorphous blobs to more destructive creatures that will try to tear your poor waitress apart as she makes her way through the hotel. What is interesting is that each monster will be broken into areas and during combat you call out where you want Rio to attack which adds some strategy to the game.
And now back to the elephant in the room, the voice controls. Without the unique control scheme, Lifeline is a passable though generic and ultimately forgettable survival horror game. Unfortunately, the way that the voice commands work in the game leaves a lot to be desired. It may be due to the fact that the game is originally a Japanese game and possibly something in the voice recognition software just didn't survive the hop across the ocean. It's not completely broken but it doesn't work nearly good enough given that this is the primary control method for the game. Even someone with perfect diction will likely run into many instances of Rio saying, "Pardon me? I didn't understand what you just said." This is particularly frustrating during combat when Rio can't seem to dodge enemies on her own or aim at the blatantly pulsating weak point despite your frenzied screaming into the mic.
It's a shame that the core mechanic in the game is so flaky as there are some encounters and scenarios later in the game worth sticking around for. Unfortunately, it turns what could have been an interesting experience into one that is far too frustrating for most people to stick with for the long haul. It would be great to see something like this revisited with voice recognition akin to that found in Endwar.
jeVfTz4VPaI
Lifeline can still be found cheaply at a lot of game stores with huge used PS2 selections. You can also buy the game new from Amazon for anywhere between $6-35. Of course, you'll want to make sure you have a headset too!
Lifeline
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/3497565781_98caa434ea.jpg?v=0
Year: 2004
Platform: PS2
Rating: Is Anyone There?
# of Players: 1
Lifeline is a survival horror game where you play the role of a hapless chap on a space station hotel (don't ask) who finds himself locked in the control room after an alien attack on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately for him, his girlfriend didn't get locked in there with him and is stranded out amongst the chaos. Like most survival horror games, the object is to find out what is going on, save a few innocents along the way and try not to get killed.
This is where Lifeline mixes things up from the norm. You don't actually get to play the game with your lovelorn protagonist. You see, there's another survivor out there, a waitress named Rio who happens to work at the hotel and she is the one who gets to run through the monster-infested corridor while you tell her what to do. The game is almost entirely controlled via voice commands given over the PS2 USB microphone/headset. There are minimal commands input from the controller, but your job is to twist knobs, flip switches and open doors while giving out instructions 'over the phone', as it were.
Before I delve into the controls further, I would like to point out that the graphics, while not earth-shatteringly awesome, are pretty decent given the age of the game. There is a fair amount of detail and the rooms tend to have a lot of objects to interact with. The character models do have a rather generic look to them though they have a lot of detail to their outfits, though their expressions are rather stiff.
The monsters you encounter range from amorphous blobs to more destructive creatures that will try to tear your poor waitress apart as she makes her way through the hotel. What is interesting is that each monster will be broken into areas and during combat you call out where you want Rio to attack which adds some strategy to the game.
And now back to the elephant in the room, the voice controls. Without the unique control scheme, Lifeline is a passable though generic and ultimately forgettable survival horror game. Unfortunately, the way that the voice commands work in the game leaves a lot to be desired. It may be due to the fact that the game is originally a Japanese game and possibly something in the voice recognition software just didn't survive the hop across the ocean. It's not completely broken but it doesn't work nearly good enough given that this is the primary control method for the game. Even someone with perfect diction will likely run into many instances of Rio saying, "Pardon me? I didn't understand what you just said." This is particularly frustrating during combat when Rio can't seem to dodge enemies on her own or aim at the blatantly pulsating weak point despite your frenzied screaming into the mic.
It's a shame that the core mechanic in the game is so flaky as there are some encounters and scenarios later in the game worth sticking around for. Unfortunately, it turns what could have been an interesting experience into one that is far too frustrating for most people to stick with for the long haul. It would be great to see something like this revisited with voice recognition akin to that found in Endwar.
jeVfTz4VPaI
Lifeline can still be found cheaply at a lot of game stores with huge used PS2 selections. You can also buy the game new from Amazon for anywhere between $6-35. Of course, you'll want to make sure you have a headset too!