Introduction

Picture this: you're in a space hotel, chilling at an intergalactic Christmas party with your girlfriend, when suddenly, all hell breaks loose. Not exactly the kind of gathering you want to attend on a Friday night. Welcome to Lifeline, a game that attempts to revolutionize the survival horror genre by throwing your voice into the mix. It's part horror, part talking to an animated cocktail waitress. I'm still questioning my choices after playing it.

Gameplay

Lifeline's defining mechanic is its voice user interface (VUI). Yes, you heard that right. Instead of the usual button-mashing, you get to unleash your inner director and yell commands into a microphone. Picture it: you, a headset, and a plethora of commands. There are about 500 commands available, from telling Rio (the woefully underwhelmed cocktail waitress) to run, stop, dodge, and give you that stunning sexy pose (which she may or may not perform). The reality is a bit more glitchy. Trying to get the game to register words seems like an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy where the contestants are trying to give answers but are merely left yelling into the void. You'll be navigating between menus full of maps and inventory, directing Rio to solve puzzles and engage in combat with monsters that terrify you less than your ex. Combat is a mix of first-person and third-person perspectives, which is fancy talk for "It's sometimes hard to see what's happening." You can order Rio to aim for different body parts of monsters, but honestly, you might often miss your target because Rio is just as confused as you are. There are slightly comedic interludes too as you can directly speak to Rio beyond the panic of impending monster doom. Occasionally she'll ask something absurd or remind you to "be careful" right before entering a room filled with ravenous mutants. It's kind of like talking to an extremely skittish pet with no sense of self-preservation. To add to the quirky engagement, there are even mini-games like tongue twisters that, if you say correctly, will earn her health back. Because nothing says "survival horror" quite like trying to say "Unique New York" five times fast while a creature attempts to eat your face.

Graphics

The graphics of Lifeline are... well, they exist, I suppose. It's a PS2 title from the early 2000s, so expectations should be in check. Character models are stiff, but that's expected when your game's main appeal relies on voice rather than visual aesthetics. Think of it as a console-shaped time capsule filled with slightly awkward animations and an unenthusiastic color palette that makes it resemble that grey, cloudy day you dread on the journey to work. The setting does have its moments in terms of ambience; however, an unfortunate decision to have parts of the gameplay take place in the 'darkness' often leaves one squinting at the screen trying to navigate. All said and done, it's not winning any beauty contests, but it's enough to carry you through the emotional rollercoaster of shouting at a digital person to save her life.

Conclusion

Overall, Lifeline is a game that you can only really respect if you're willing to embrace its quirks. It adds nothing to the horror or adventure genres but does give a comedic experience in how absurd it can get while barking commands at Rio. The voice recognition can make for some hilariously infuriating gameplay, with Rio often looking at you like you just asked her to juggle chainsaws instead of picking up a keycard. It may not be the classic we expected, but somehow it's managed to cling onto a cult following thanks to its innovative approach. In conclusion, if you've got a penchant for yelling at video game characters and enjoy mixing horror with hilarious absurdities, Lifeline is your jam. Just don't forget to practice your enunciation-Rio doesn't take poorly articulated commands lightly.

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