NPCs and player characters alike have been oddly silent in Aion, until now. Players preparing for tomorrow's beta weekend will find a hefty patch waiting for them, bringing the spoken word to the U.S. version of the game for the first time. Now NPCs in the game will greet players when clicked, and the cinematic cutscenes for certain quests will be that much more cinematic with the addition of full voiceovers. Player voices will now be selectable at character creation, an option that up until now had done absolutely nothing.

In addition to the voices, the update also adds in-game tutorial videos, system voices, and race prologues for both the Elyos and Asmodians.

The new voices should make an already engaging game just a bit more engaging. Can't wait to get my ears on them.

Closed Beta #5 is coming. [Official Aion Website]

The main reason for the update, according to the official Playstation blog, is to "ease the difficulty some people are having accessing PlayStation Home due to the high demand for the service."

While they don't link the two, I assume that's why they removed voice chat. Of course it could also have something to do with all the sailor-talk going on when you run through the bowling alley on a typical night.

Sony says they will let people know when they resume the voice chat feature, but in the meantime gamers can still use text chat and private voice chat.

Now, about those beards, they better be a heck of a lot nicer than those crap mustaches you tried foisting on me last night.

Playstation Home System Maintenance [Playstation Blog]

De Plater said that part of the impetus for the game was the fact that, as real-time strategies have evolved, the genre has left a lot of people behind. People like my dad, even people, in some cases, like me. People, basically, who aren't interested in dealing with a Zerg rush five minutes into the game and instead want to play something a bit closer to, say, a detailed and realistic game of chess.

"One of the things we hear a lot of us is 'I used to love real time strategies, but it's gotten too complex'," he said. "So we decided to make a tactical game, slow the pace down. We call this game strategy at the speed of thought."

While the developers put a lot of effort into both the game design and user interface to make it pick-up and play, that doesn't mean it doesn't have depth.

For instance, the game, due out on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall, only has seven unit types, such as anti-tank, tank, light infantry and helicopters. But there are about 300 upgrades for the units. And the units, which gain experience during combat, keep both their experience and upgrades from battle to battle on the game's more than two dozen maps. With that in mind, the game has the ability to evacuate units in the middle of battle. If you get them out before they die you can still use them in the next match.

All of the buildings in the maps are destructible. Nothing new, but EndWar has a fairly sophisticated MMO-ish online component that looks at the game's 40 territories at the end of each day and averages out the outcome of all the matches to decide which of the three factions won which territory.

So the pick-up-and-play isn't really about the game being easy as much as it is about it being accessible. A key component of that, of course, is the voice commands which allow someone to play an RTS on large maps on a console without getting frustrated. The voice commands let you manage the battlefield from any location on the map.

"One of the fundamental differences between a mouse and keyboard and this is the level of precision," de Plater said. "So a big part of the AI is that you give commands like a general.

"War should be a series of intelligence decisions."

In other words, you can't tell your units to take cover behind a building during an attack, only that they should attack, the rest is up to them.

Verbal commands are typically broken down into three steps. First you say the unit's name, then the order and finally the goal. For instance, to move a unit you just say "Unit three move to Yankee"

To create a group you say "Calling all gunships create team, red team."

To order a group to attack you say "Red team attack hostile one."

The game is surprisingly good at recognizing not just when you get it right, but even when you say it wrong. The main problem, De Plater said, is where people put the microphone. Too close and it can cause some major distortion issues.

The game starts off with a simple voice tutorial that teaches you, not the game. This way gamers' are taught what to say instead of teaching the game to learn a bunch of different ways to do the same thing.

After talking with De Plater a bit about the game, he handed over an Xbox 360 controller and headset to let me give it a go. Within minutes I was ordering troops around the battlefield mostly flawlessly. In fact, the few times I misspoke and used the wrong command, the game still knew what I was getting at.

The game felt an awful lot like a one-player version of World in Conflict to me. You don't have to construct units or bases, instead, you spend all of your times issuing commands and keeping an eye on the battlefield. The fact that you don't really use the controller for much more than moving around on the map or holding a button so you can talk to your online opponents, the game felt much more immersive than your typical strategy title. I felt as if I was viewing a battlefield from a far, issuing commands to my troops and watching, like one might a chess match, as my tactics and the tactics of my opponent unfolded.

Having said that, there are some potentially game-killing stumbling blocks. I didn't see any issues with the friendly AI while playing around with the game, but when you have zero direct control over your units if they get that wrong then the game is dead in the water.

I also really didn't play enough to get a sense of how challenging the game would be to play. A big issue, I think, is that Ubisoft can't make your units too smart. As many of you pointed out, you don't really want to play a game that essentially has you saying into a microphone "Get out there and kick some ass for me."

Finding the correct balance between no-neck, brainless AI and a self-reliant army of ass-kicking automatons has got to be tricky—and it's where this game will live or die, I suspect.

What does surprise me is that, at least based on my time with it, the unusual interface, using mostly your voice to control the game, won't be an issue at all. It seems both seamless and a function that actually adds quite a bit to the experience.

The single most exciting and surprising thing to come out of Ubiday earlier this month was news that EndWar is going to use voice command to try and deal with the problems that inevitably crop up when bringing a real-time strategy game to the console.

I had a chance to see the official trailer and talked for quite a bit with one of the developers for the game, but unfortunately the game wasn't actually on hand to see in action.

The most important question, of course, is how will the voice command work because if that's flawed you might as well toss the whole game in the trash.

The developer told me that the voice command will use a series of simple, easy to remember words to let you issue commands on the fly to your units. He called it strategy at the speed of thought. The software the company is using has been thoroughly tested with very few mistakes, I was told, and of course it is still in development.

The team has tested the game with several languages and several accents without running into problems and they hope to ship it in a single SKU, meaning that all of those languages and accents will be packed into one game.

While the biggest news about the game is the voice control, the team is also taking an interesting approach to graphics. They told me they want the game to look more like Madden than Command & Conquer, with a close over the shoulder view. The team said they felt it was very important that the genre be brought into the 3D world much like Knights of the Old Republic and Grand Theft Auto did for their genres.

Finally, the game will have a massive multiplayer persistent online campaign running at all times. The way it was explained to me is that the battles fought online for one side or the other will be constantly tallied and translated into the overall military successes of both sides of the war. This will, in turn, result in real-time shifting of battle lines. The goal, they told me, is to have a single instance, instead of multiple wars running in parallel.

I also asked about the unit types the game would feature. While not all of Tom Clancy's franchises would fit into a World War III game, the developers are trying to make sure the ones that do will make an appearance. So, in other words, you can expect Ghost Recon, but probably not Rainbow Six.

Everything I was told sounded very impressive and I think this game has enormous potential, especially with different franchises they can cherry pick from, but of course, as with all real-time strategy games, it's going to boil down to how it plays, how it feels, whether they strike the right balance, and in this case, whether that voice command actually works.

I'll keep my fingers crossed. Hit the jump for the game's official timeline. Brian Crecente

Global Timeline

2011: SLAMS Treaty Signed
The United States and the European Union sign the historic SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield) Treaty, agreeing to co-develop technologies for comprehensive, interlocking anti-ballistic missile systems comprising dozens of space-based laser satellites, land-based interceptor missiles, and aircraft-mounted lasers. Left out in the cold, Russia accelerates development of its own land-based ABM systems.

2014: "The End of Nuclear War"
SLAMS goes live. The world watches as the US and EU launch test salvos against each other. The results are extraordinary: each nation's missile shield destroys 100% of the "dummy" missiles fired against it. The US and EU governments pronounce the End of Strategic Nuclear War, and on both sides of the Atlantic, crowds celebrate the advent of a new age of peace and security.

2015: Energy Crisis
Like toppling dominos, several major oil companies admit to having "overstated" recoverable oil reserves. For weeks the price of oil spikes to $200 dollars per barrel, and stock markets in New York, London, and Tokyo sink to their lowest values in 30 years. With world-wide energy production slumping, "energy security" becomes the explicit priority of governments around the world. Only Russia, already the number-one supplier of oil and natural gas in the world, benefits from the energy crisis, spending its surging coffers of petrodollars on a revitalized, technologically-sophisticated military.

2016: Birth of the European Federation
Largely in response to the ongoing energy crisis, nearly all of the EU's member states ratify the European Constitution and unite as a single national entity known as The European Federation (EF). The UK declines federation, but retains close economic and diplomatic ties.

2017: Standoff in Ukraine
Seeking to expand its territorial holdings, Moscow succeeds in pressuring Belarus to join the Russian Federation. Ukraine, however, refuses to knuckle under, and in a controversial referendum votes to apply for candidate status with the European Federation. Civil conflict (purportedly fomented by Russian agents) erupts and EF Enforcers rush in to restore order. Russia responds by rolling three tank divisions across the border and shutting down Europe's supply of oil and natural gas via the trans-Belarus and -Ukraine pipelines. After a tense standoff, all sides agree that Ukraine will retain independence for five years and then hold another referendum. Foreign forces withdraw, but an air of mutual distrust remains.

2018: The New Frontier
The United States announces plans to put the "Freedom Star," a massive space station co-administered by NASA and the US Air Force Space Command, into high orbit by 2020. This multi-purpose installation combines civilian projects such as alternative energy laboratories with military capabilities (defensive systems to protect the station against attack from anti-satellite missiles, and barracks capable of housing up to three companies of "space marines" able to deploy anywhere on Earth within 90 minutes). International reaction to this "American Aircraft Carrier in Space" is very negative.

2020: NOW
Three of the Freedom Star's modules have already been assembled in orbit. All that remains to be launched are the barracks and laboratory modules. Despite international protests, the US vows to go forward with the launch of Freedom-IV as scheduled.

Tom Clancy's EndWar will be playable using voice commands, Ubisoft unveiled at Ubiday earlier this month. The game will also have a controller option, but what's the fun in that?

The game will be developed by a new team made up of members drawn from a number of Ubi teams including ones that worked on Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell.

Set in a world populated by many of Tom Clancy's other franchises, EndWar will feature a battle view that can zoom in to a Gears of War like, over-the shoulder view and battles that can be fought both online and off.

Check back tomorrow morning for new screens and impressions based on my short interview with the development team. Brian Crecente

David Hayter will be returning to voice Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots script written by Hideo Kojima and Shuyo Murata, Konami announced today.

Hayter will be joined by Quinton Flynn, Paul Eiding and Christopher Randolph who will continue their work as the voices of Raiden, Roy Campbell and Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, respectively. Kris Zimmerman will also return to the Metal Gear Solid series to direct the voice acting sessions for the game.

"I couldn't be more excited about this game. What I've seen of Metal Gear Solid 4 has absolutely blown me away. To bring the focus of the story back to Solid Snake, and to work with Kris Zimmerman and many of the amazing actors that provided iconic voices for the previous games, is like coming home," said David Hayter. "I'm so proud and grateful to have been involved with Mr. Kojima as the voice of Snake, for nearly a decade, on this legendary video game series. This game is going to plunge players into the ultimate Metal Gear experience. And personally, I can't wait to play it."

If you want to catch a little bit of Hayter's gravely voice before the Playstation 3 game hits make sure to check out today's edition of The Kojima Productions Report podcast where he will be talking about his work on the series and how he goes about portraying a "very different" Solid Snake in this latest game.

Very different, huh? That's not much of a hint, but at least it's not more confusing cut-scenes. Brian Crecente

Podcast

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - March 29, 2007 - Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced that iconic actor David Hayter will lead an all-star cast of returning voice talent in the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system. Continuing his commitment to the series and character he helped to define, Hayter will provide the voice for an aging and exhausted Solid Snake in the latest chapter of Hideo Kojima's legendary tactical espionage action video game series.

Returning to voice Solid Snake in an original script by Hideo Kojima and Shuyo Murata, David Hayter will be joined by returning voice actors Quinton Flynn, Paul Eiding and Christopher Randolph who will continue their work as the voices of Raiden, Roy Campbell and Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, respectively. In addition to his well known voice work in the Metal Gear Solid series, Hayter is an accomplished Hollywood script writer, having penned the original screenplays for box office hits such as "X-Men," "X2: X-Men United," and the upcoming "Black Monday." Kris Zimmerman will also return to the Metal Gear Solid series to direct the voice acting sessions for the game.

"I couldn't be more excited about this game. What I've seen of Metal Gear Solid 4 has absolutely blown me away. To bring the focus of the story back to Solid Snake, and to work with Kris Zimmerman and many of the amazing actors that provided iconic voices for the previous games, is like coming home," said David Hayter. "I'm so proud and grateful to have been involved with Mr. Kojima as the voice of Snake, for nearly a decade, on this legendary video game series. This game is going to plunge players into the ultimate Metal Gear experience. And personally, I can't wait to play it."

David Hayter will be a special guest on The Kojima Productions Report podcast on March 29 to discuss his involvement with the Metal Gear Solid series and his approach to portraying a very different Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4. The podcast is available for download at the official Kojima Productions web site (http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/english/) and via the iTunes music store. For more information on the Metal Gear Solid series, please visit www.konami.com

You will be happy to hear that both the Playstation 2 keyboard by Logitech and the PS2's EyeToy work on the Playstation 3.

The keyboard, and I believe this is true of all USB keyboard, allows you to enter text in any text field and requires no set-up. You can go into the accessory settings on the console to tweak the settings if you'd like to, but you don't need to.

With the EyeToy, I plugged it into a USB port and went to Accessories and then Test Camera on the console's menu. In Test Camera it first said no device found, but a few seconds later a live image from the camera popped up with the words USB Camera next to it. This makes me think that any USB camera might work and that it's not the EyeToy specifically being detected.

I tried using the Xbox 360's Vision Camera and while it detected that a USB device was plugged in, it didn't work. Too bad, that would have been hilarious.

While the EyeToy sends live video to the PS3, I couldn't find anything to do with this ability, so I suppose we'll have to wait and see how they make use of it down the line. According to the online user manual for the PS3, once the network launches we will be able to both voice and video chat, so I suspect the EyeToy or any USB camera will work with that.

It's kinda cool that Sony left it open for gamers to use any USB device for things like the keyboard, camera and headset. I also love that you can use any Bluetooth headset with the console. Very neat. Brian Crecente

The Rocky's Mark Wolfe will have me in a live chat on the newspaper's webpage to talk about my misadventures at E3. The chat starts at 11:30 a.m. MT, but only 50 people can get in at a time. Make sure to hit the link to check it out..

Rocky Talk Live

Warner Brothers has announced the voice talent behind the upcoming Justice League Heroes game hitting the Playstation 2, Xbox and Playstation Portable this fall.

The slate of talent for JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES will include: Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Blade II, Justice League TV series) as Batman; Michael Jai White (Spawn, Spawn: The Animation) as Green Lantern; Crispin Freeman (Viewtiful Joe, Kingdom Hearts II) as Superman; Courtenay Taylor (God of War, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One) as Wonder Woman; Chris Edgerly (Drawn Together, Chicken Little) as The Flash; Kari Wahlgren (The Wild, Steamboy) as Zatanna; and Daniel Riordan (Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Star Trek: Enterprise) as Martian Manhunter. Portraying select villains will be Peter Jessop (Spawn: The Animation) as Brainiac and Carlos Alazraqui (Reno 911, Duck Dodgers) as The Key. Additionally, Ralph Garman (Family Guy, KROQ-FM Los Angeles' Kevin & Bean morning show, The Joe Schmo Show) will voice Green Arrow, one of the game's special unlockable super heroes.

I'm a huge Green Arrow fan, of course. I mean, he's got the whole piratical facial hair thing going.

Get Rid of Voice Echo [Major Nelson]