WAR OF THE WORDS.Byline: Redmond Carolipio Staff Writer THE NEIGHBORS probably think I killed somebody. For the past day or so, they've heard things like ``Shoot his eyes!'' and ``Check the corpse!'' emanating from my apartment. You can't just shake those words off when you hear them. So I offer this simple explanation: Blame it on Rio. Rio is the female hero of ``Lifeline,'' Konami's new ``voice activated adventure.'' It's a truly valiant VALIANT Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial Cardiology A series of multinational M&M trials to determine the effects of valsartan–Diovan® effort to bring voice-recognition technology even further to the gaming forefront. But with that approach comes problems that cause the experience to, well, stutter stut·ter n. A phonatory or articulatory disorder characterized by difficult enunciation of words with frequent halting and repetition of the initial consonant or syllable. v. To utter with spasmodic repetition or prolongation of sounds. . The story goes something like this: You're a guest at a ritzy ritz·y adj. ritz·i·er, ritz·i·est Informal Elegant; fancy. [After the Ritz hotels, established by César Ritz (1850-1918), Swiss hotelier. hotel in outer space when alien-like creatures attack the station and eat some of the guests. You eventually find yourself stuck in the security monitoring room. Your only chances of finding a way off the station rest in the hands of a gun-toting waitress named Rio. Using your voice, you must communicate with Rio via headset Headphones combined with a microphone. Used in call centers and by people in telephone-intensive jobs, headsets provide the equivalent functionality of a telephone handset with hands-free operation. Many people use headsets at the computer so they can converse and type comfortably. and tell her specifically what to do and where to go. At her best, Rio is smart, likable and mostly reliable. She can understand complex commands like, ``Open the locker, second from the left.'' You also have full voice control of her mobility, so if you need her to run or sneak around, just say so. Rio also shows a mind of her own - give her a strange order and she'll react accordingly. The hard part is describing something that's either hard to see or simply unclear, and this is where the game runs into problems. As with any voice-recognition technology, it's easy for conversations to get botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. . Players will occasionally find themselves locked in a linguistic tug-of-war that puts the brakes on any kind of momentum. I was mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in verbal hell while trying to get her to check out an item near someone's ``head.'' Her response? ``Go by the bed? OK.'' I asked her to look at a corpse's hair. ``There's nothing wrong with the mirror.'' You also can encounter some difficulties during battles with the aliens. You can tell Rio to shoot (even aim for vital parts), dodge and run, but one muffled muf·fle 1 tr.v. muf·fled, muf·fling, muf·fles 1. To wrap up, as in a blanket or shawl, for warmth, protection, or secrecy. 2. a. syllable and you'll find her running into a monster as opposed to evading it. What makes these issues maddening is that the game has moments when everything clicks. There's a scene in which Rio is trying to remember the name of a particular weapon, and she asks you to start blurting out suggestions. This is quite fun - it's one of the moments you almost forget you're talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to a character. There's also an exciting, cinematic battle that would be right at home with stuff you find in traditional action games. ``Lifeline'' feels more like a starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting point terminus a quo commencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the of something big, rather than the finished product. It already takes a risk by taking full control away from the player, forcing him or her to rely on critical thinking and sharp verbal skills. Those are the kinds of risks that forge titles to remember. With some of the advances made in ``Lifeline,'' I'm sure more voice-recognition titles will be coming. I'll be ready. I just hope my neighbors won't call the cops. LIFELINE - Two and one half stars Platform: PS2. Price: $39.99. Rated: M for Mature In a nutshell: Flawed but fun in places. Possibly the start of something big in games using voice-recognition. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: no caption (video game: LIFELINE) Box: TOP 10 - The best-selling video games See video game console. on Amazon.com |
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