How hard is it to listen?

Relationships are tough.

Male or female, gay or straight, whatever. It’s always difficult to get your loved one to do exactly what you say.

The same holds true for “Lifeline,” out recently for PlayStation 2.

While it’s innovative, even groundbreaking, this “voice action adventure” demands time and patience. And that won’t be fun for everyone. But as in any new affair, that’s part of the deal.

The story is set on Christmas Eve, 25 years hence. You and your girlfriend, Naomi, are vacationing at the just-opened Japan Space Line Space Station Hotel. The prime minister of Japan is in the midst of his welcoming remarks when a mysterious explosion rips the room apart. Suddenly, strange, mutated alien-like life forms start devouring everyone in attendance. Fortunately, you find a safe haven from the monsters: the security control room. Unfortunately, you’re locked in.

Through the security-camera system, you spy another survivor, Rio, a blond waitress who served you at the party. She’s safely locked in a cell. Luckily, she’s wearing an intercom headset, and thus becomes the only link you have outside the room you’re in. Using the computer in front of you, you free her from captivity.

And your turbulent relationship begins.

To solve the mysteries of where those creatures came from -- and to find your missing girlfriend -- you have to bark out verbal commands to get the headstrong young woman to do exactly as you command. And believe us when we say, this is easier than it sounds.

Using the headset microphone (sold separately, but it’s the same one used for “Karaoke Revolution” and “SOCOM”), players hold down the circle button on the controller as they issue commands to Rio, such as, “Go to the table” or “Check the bottle.” On any other game, you’d move the control stick and maybe push a button. Here, the puzzle isn’t trying to get to the bottle, it’s trying to call the bottle something she might recognize. Although Rio supposedly understands more than 5,000 words, which can be rearranged into additional phrases, finding just the right word, and getting the game to hear it correctly, proves to be a far more daunting task than shooting monsters ever was.

Which is not to say “Lifeline” isn’t worth playing. Quite the opposite; the sleuthing nature of the game provides a nice break from most button-mashing action adventures. Those with less cerebral tastes should steer clear.

When Rio walks into a new room of the hotel, each beautifully rendered and richly textured, a little orange circle appears around an object she should analyze. Sure, it looks like a handbag to us, but when you tell little Miss Sassy Pants to inspect it further, if she doesn’t understand, she’s not budging. Worse still, she’s popping off some attitude as she tells you she doesn’t understand.

And, as with so many headstrong partners, the only time Rio will listen to what you have to say is when the lines of communication are open. When Rio is in the middle of an activity, the words “Cannot Talk” appear on the screen in bright orange type to indicate your pleas are falling on deaf ears.

Even if she can’t hear you -- or chooses not to listen -- anyone sitting nearby in the real world does. The excitement of the action can get intense. But be warned: Get too excited and you’ll run the risk of the neighbors calling the police.

Every so often, when Rio walks into the wrong room she stumbles into some of those pesky mutant creatures looking for a tasty appendage to chew on. This is where the game is most frustrating. In the thick of battle, Rio acts like an untrained canine at a dog park for the first time: Yell all the orders you wish -- “Run to the left!” and “Shoot target No. 3!” -- but she’s not listening.

Maybe the sounds from the TV are interfering with the vocal commands. That, or Rio gets all flummoxed when a strange hand-shaped alien starts swinging his tongue around. And really, who can blame her?

Still, like most relationships, “Lifeline” would be a lot better if we could all just communicate a little easier.

Scooby treat

Hey, you meddling kids! If you’ve seen the new movie “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed” at the theater, you might have noticed that the animated Scoob is playing a Game Boy Advance at the end of the film. As he played, a special code was shown.

Hope you wrote it down. Because if you have the “Monsters Unleashed” game ($29.99, and rated E for everyone) for your very own Game Boy, punching in that code will unleash an alternate ending.

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Games

Lifeline

Good: Wildly original idea. Great graphics.

Bad: To quote Chris Tucker, “Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?”

Details: PlayStation 2 platform; $39.99

Rating: Mature (blood and gore, violence)