Konami Ships Lifeline for the PS2

[Vampyr]

First-Ever Voice Controlled Action-Adventure Title Gives a True Voice to
Innovative Gameplay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. - March 2, 2004 - Leading videogame publisher, Konami
Digital Entertainment - America, a division of Konami Digital Entertainment,
Inc., today announced it has shipped Lifeline(tm) for the PlayStation(r)2
computer entertainment system to retail outlets nationwide. The latest in a
series of Konami titles to make innovative use of peripheral devices (Dance
Dance Revolution(tm), Karaoke Revolution(tm)), Lifeline breaks new ground as
the first voice controlled action-adventure game for any console.

"Bringing voice recognition into gaming, Lifeline offers players an
experience unlike anything seen or heard before," said Rob Goff, product
manager, Konami Digital Entertainment - America. "Not only will players
guide the main character, Rio, through intense battles with ferocious
creatures, but they will actually have to interact and build trust with Rio
through verbal communication."

Lifeline takes players to a futuristic space station hotel where they will
find themselves trapped in the structure's control room after a massive
attack. The only sign of life is the mysterious woman named Rio - voiced by
Kristen Miller of syndicated TV hit She Spies - with whom players must use
verbal communication to solve the mystery of the attack and save themselves
from certain death.

When stepping into the control room, voice commands such as "shoot and
reload," "dodge to the right," "look behind you," and countless others will
come in handy as players battle with a variety of deadly creatures and solve
puzzles that require fast thinking. Lifeline utilizes unprecedented voice
technology and any USB headset microphone to recognize more than 5,000 words
and 100,000 phrases.

Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Lifeline is rated M for
mature by the Entertainment Software Association and is available for an SRP
of $39.99. To learn more about Lifeline, please visit
http://www.konami.com/lifeline.

###

About KONAMI CORPORATION
Konami Corporation is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of
electronic entertainment properties, specializing in the home video game
market. Konami Corporation's action and adventure titles include the popular
franchises Metal Gear Solid(r), Silent Hill(r) and Castlevania(r), among
other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the
Web at www.konami.com. Konami Corporation is a publicly traded company based
in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
in the US and Konami of Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. Konami Corporation,
the parent company of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is traded in the
United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM.
Details of the products published by Konami Digital Entertainment - America
can be found at www.konami.com/usa

KONAMI(r) is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION."PlayStation" is a
registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights
reserved. (C)2004 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Lifeline is a trademark
of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered
trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

Cool I guess.

[Neo]

I was excited when I first heard about this game. It sounded like a really cool idea. However the reviews have been horrible - apparently the voice recognition is atrocious and it's just too frustrating to be fun.

[Jonbo298]

I want to play the PC demo one of these times, but I don't have a mic.

[Dyne]

Ooh, I was wondering if they were going to be bringing that over here. It looked interesting, but you wouldn't want to port it unless you knew perfect japanese. -_o

[thatmariolover]

I played it for about 3 hours last night. The voice recognition isn't the best, but it's definately very playable. I really enjoyed the game, though. In fact, I feel bad that I don't own a PS2, because now I really want to finish it.

It really reminds me of old text based adventure games, because if one command doesn't work, you have to come up with an alternate one that means just about the same thing. Really funny, for me. I thought it was really enjoyable to try and figure the commands out. But it's pretty straight forward. You play as a passenger on this ship and you get trapped in a control room, so you have access to all of these cameras and you open doors and guide her and stuff using your microphone. If there are enemies behind her, it's up to you to warn her (and if you don't she's really a bitch when the fight gets over).

If you're looking at a table and there's something on it but you don't know what it is, you can say "Look at the brown thing," and she'll be like, "Oh this?".

I really had fun, but I understand it's not going to be a game for everybody.

[Neo]

I think I'm going to have to check this one out simply because it's different.

[Dyne]

Be sure to snap it up quickly. Konami games don't exactly sit on the shelf for that long.

[Neo]

I'm assuming it comes with a headset?

[Dyne]

It didn't look like a box when I saw it. You're going to have to buy one seperate I guess.. Or maybe you can use the one that comes with Karaoke Revolution or SOCOM.

[thatmariolover]

Definately get the SOCOM headset. Ugg. Karaoke Revolution's headset is teh suxorz (microphone doesn't extend out far enough; at least for me).