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It bites. In a good way...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 222 / 241
Date: October 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

There's something uniquely satisfying about being evil. Evil gets to play with the best toys, listen to the best music, wear the best clothes and generally be sinister, introspective and cool. In game terms, being evil also means that you get to do all the things that make the good guys wince, like bursting people with blood-magic or biting them in the face. Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines is the latest excuse to be deliciously evil. From developer Troika the game takes advantage of both the rich heritage of White Wolf's role-playing game, and Valve's spanking new Source engine, which powers Half-Life 2; an undeniably exciting concept.

In practice the game is a thrilling merger of RPG sensibilities and frenetic, brutal action...with just a dash of stealth and lateral thinking thrown in for good measure. The player takes command of a fledgling vampire in the dangerous employ of Prince Le Croix - the vampire overlord of Los Angeles. Like any good RPG, Vampire allows you to choose an avatar for your character from a number of different models, both male and female. The species of vampire you choose will, to some extent, dictate what sort of player you'll be in the game. Action fans will probably be at home with the more physically powerful vampires such as the Brujhar, whose natural instincts for combat will confer increased power and accuracy. More conservative or cerebral players may prefer to outsmart or out-magic their opponents - there's even a chance to play as the sanity-challenged Malkavians, which leads to some unique conversations and scenarios.

You can choose to play from either the first-person, like a traditional shooter, or to view your character in the third-person, which is useful for melee combat or to judge jumps. There's no great emphasis on any one aspect of play - combat or puzzle solving - and the fact that experience points are rewarded for completing missions rather than killing enemies means that players are invited to explore as they see fit, and solve problems in a manner of their choosing. Skillful players are able to sneak past sentries, or talk their way past an opponent. Or they could just choose to pull his head off. There is a huge variety of weapons, both ranged and melee to experiment with, as well as a great implementation of `Thermaturgy' - vampire blood magic.

Like other games such as Morrowind, or semi-RPG action games like Grand Theft Auto, there are central plot missions that need to be completed in order to really progress through the game. However, the giant sandbox world that Troika has crafted means that there's seldom a dull moment in between times, and sub-missions are often just as fun and rewarding to undertake.

Visually, the game is a treat, with the Source technology really shining through. There is a realistic physics engine that allows in-game objects to react to the players' (and other characters') actions - gun fire may dislodge boxes, doors and walls can be smashed apart...in a more gruesome touch blood and viscera has a tendency to splatter and stain the environment. Aurally, the effects are crisp and detailed. There is a huge amount of spoken dialogue, with multiple variations depending on who you `are' and what you say - coupled with multiple endings this game has oodles of replay value.

System-wise, you'll need a decent rig to play this game. I've recently upgraded my system to cope with Half-Life 2, and this game runs smoothly on what I would consider mid to high settings - 32bit color depth, 1280x960 resolution, mid-range sound etc. My system is a P4 2.6 with a gig of ram and a 9600 pro graphics card. If Doom 3 proved completely unplayable on your system then you'll find this over your head as well, but the game seems a little more scaleable than Doom, with more allowance for the average machine. One thing you will need is plenty of free hard drive space - a gig+ if you like to have as much as possible on the drive.

In the spirit of great games like Deus Ex, this game is going to appeal to both straight up action and RPG gamers, as well as any fans of the 'Vampire' series, who'll flip for the great attention to detail and the immersive visuals. It's difficult to suppress a smile when you're slinking through alleys, vaulting over high walls and slitting the throats of your vampire and supernatural foes, or going in gun's blazing with your Uzi and katana combo! This is certainly not a game for either kids, or the faint hearted; but for anyone who thinks having a taste for claret and no pulse sounds cool, this is the game for you.

From Niche Market to Broad Appeal

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 30 / 38
Date: September 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Like Nihilistic's Vampire the Masquerade - Redemption from four years ago, this game from Troika is loosely based on the p&p Vampire game. From the well-orchestrated previews and interviews, however, it's obviously a much slicker operation. And for fans of vampire lore, much deeper. Players will, this time, be able to choose their character from a number of the clans (including Malkavians!), and this choice will affect dialogue options and game play. The other interesting features are a decision to award xp not on the basis of killing enemies, but completing quests, so those who wish to play stealthy or peaceful (!) characters are not forced to blast everything in sight to go up levels. Plus, the unbalanced skills (feral claws and prison of ice) in the previous game have been reviewed and corrected. Expect witty storyline, and visuals that reach out to a base of players that is much wider than fans of vampire literature. It looks set to be outstanding: so bite me!

Looks to be a great game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 27
Date: October 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Just to add, this game also was built using the new Half Life 2 engine. The visuals should be great.

A World-Class RPG... just patch it first.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: January 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

There's really only one thing wrong with this game... and that's its publisher: Activision. For those who may not know, Activision apparently pressured the development team at Troika Games to hurry Bloodlines out the door before it was completely finished, back in 2004. There are many fine games that have been victimized by this "release it now and patch it later" practice and Bloodlines is one of the unfortunate casualties. Or at least, it could have been.

As a result, the game is extremely buggy out-of-the-box. Some of those bugs are actually game-breaking, but fear not... we can fix it. Thanks to the official patch to the game, plus the numerous "unofficial" (player-made) patches that one can find on the web, Bloodlines can be cleaned up and adjusted -- the way the developers had always intended for it to be.

Once you've accomplished the above, you'll end up with what can best be described as a no-holds-barred, world-class RPG for adults. There are so many wonderful and intriguing storylines in this game, that it would take several pages to cover them all. Suffice it to say that you will be transported into an underworld that is steeped in ghastly horror, thought-provoking depth and more than a little black humor. Bloodlines is not a casual game for kids... it's a mature experience for those who can appreciate the grittier side of life, death and un-death.

Bloodline's voice acting is quite possibly the finest that I've ever heard in any PC game that I've played. The actors clearly immersed themselves into their roles and this aspect of the game serves to strongly reinforce its already convincing nature. There's some profanity and sexual references here and there, but none of it is gratuitous and actually, the game would be weaker without the strong dose of reality that such dialogue injects. By the time you been playing Bloodlines for a few hours, you just might find yourself wondering if vampires could... maybe... actually... be real.

There are a few downsides to this game, all of which are technical in nature. For one, the combat system is a bit clunky at times and firearms seem to be nearly worthless to your character. Most of the fights seem to come down to how fast you can click the mouse and beat your enemies to a pulp. These is really a minor problem, however, especially if you remain aware of the fact that in *this* game, you're a vampire and your undead powers allow you to settle disputes in other ways -- besides simply blowing someone's head off. There are also some minor glitches within the ways that some objects behave in Bloodlines, but those glitches can usually be fixed by quickly saving and then reloading the game, on the spot. Both functions are conveniently hot-keyed, so this is not as annoying as it otherwise could have been.

Overall, I gave Bloodlines five stars, because its value as a bona-fide "RPG noir" totally outweighs any technical aspects of the game. The graphics are excellent (thanks in part to Valve's famous Source engine), the characters are both quirky and ominous at the same time and the storyline is second-to-none. If you're in the mood for an oddball RPG that will keep you immersed for hours on end, then Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines is definitely a game for you.

5 STARS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: February 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'll make this short and sweet. Most of the bad reviews here were from game issues and low computer specs. Since the bugginess was addressed in the 1.2 patch and the rig I have it running on easily does 1600 x 1200, all I can say is what an amazing RPG. Uzis, blood sucking, sex, katanas... all in L.A. Sweet game. If you like edgy RPGs and have a hefty computer to run it, dowload the 1.2 patch and have a blast.

the best rpg i have ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: November 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

i have so much fun with this game. i really can't get enough of it. the characters are so awesoem. the quests are neat. the haunted house is sooooo creepy. i played with the lights out in surround sound and i almost wet my pants. the story is so cool too. being jockeyed around by all the vampires with power. can't wait until i finally get some revenge on them all. i hope they do let you by the end. i finally got some cool vampire disciplines too. omg it's just so sweet! i am going to play this so much over and over on the holidays.

alt-half life

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: December 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If Half life 2 is a long awaited mainstream blockbuster record album, then Vampire is the Alternative Scene's reply. It's Nirvana v.s. <insert Generic Boy Band>. Both games are actually very similar in many ways, the main issue being that both use the source engine to drive the graphics. The source engine allows advanced facial animation and advanced modeling of the game world, so physics is not an addition but integrated into the environment.
In the same way, Nirvana and boy bands are superficially similar (both sell records)... but the differences are those of *intent* and the lasting impression caused by the music.

Half life 2 is a good laugh for a bit, but after you've gone through it for a couple of days, its over (NB - I have played HL2 all the way through in three days). However, throughout those days, you see high production values and top content. The only problem is that the ideas at the core of the game are throwaway and generally superficial - no real story, a set path and lots of shooting.

Vampire is the opposite in every way. After playing HL2, I uninstalled it and in its place I installed Vampire. The initial feelings were centered on the graphics. They looked less polished in Vampire and the content was obviously made by a smaller team. Like all good alt-music though, it's something you have to get into before you fully appreciate it. The difference is in game play. Vampire has much more, it lasts much longer, and the storyline has significantly more depth. Also, you can complete the game by seeing only 50% of it (including different endings), so replayability is a big factor. Of the 50% you do see first time around, there are usually more than one route to completion - the options are usually brute force, stealth, or (and this is where the game really shines) social interaction. Vampire is also a role playing game (RPG) rather than a first person shooter (FPS), so it's a game with a slower pace. Some may be put off by this, but for me it makes a refreshing change.

In Vampire, you life is changed when your lover turns out to be a vampire and makes you one of the same. From then on, you live an alt-life, shunning the sun and becoming part of a vast secret organization. The game centers on your acceptance within Vampire society, and your crucial role in averting a number of threats that this ancient society is currently facing. The plotlines are very strong, and you actively want to progress to see how it all pans out rather than just to `find new weapons and see new levels' as occurs in your typical FPS. Refreshingly for a video game, the storyline does not involve the words `alien artifact'.... however, I am currently about half way through the game, so I could be wrong!

The storyline isn't based on the 17th century version of the Vampire either, with teenage deep, Byronic prose/pose and lots of Sisters of Mercy theatrics... its very much up to date, with the vampires more like mafia clans - underground societies who fully understand the use of machine firepower and real-politik. More Goodfellas than Bram Stoker. In fact, one of the side plots has you finding out and preventing a blood disease that that is affecting vampires, and this disease sounds very reminiscent of HIV. The storyline's definition of what a vampire is has become very modern. Be also aware that many portions of the game have themes that may not be appropriate for certain users.

Hardware: As with all modern games, hardware is an issue to consider before you buy.
The Source engine currently suffers from `glitching', and this occurs in both half life 2 and in Vampire. Just as in HL2, you can fix it so it is greatly reduced via some configuration changes (I fixed all my graphic glitching problems via a couple of simple commands to the game start shortcut, so it wasn't anything difficult).
I also see posts within the community specifying bugs in the game logic that can stop further progress, but as of this review, I haven't encountered anything major (apart from one set of double doors that closed whilst I was going through them and trapped my character from moving, causing me to have to reload). I can run the game smoothly at 1280x1024 (everything set to `high detail') with an XP2800+, ATI Radeon 9800 pro and 1gig of memory. The source engine seems to run *much* better with ATI cards (NB - certain nVidia cards currently default to DirectX8 instead of DirectX9 with source games, and this loses you a number of effects, especially reflectivity/lighting and realistic water), and if you have 512Mb if memory, you are strongly recommended to upgrade to 1gig ( 1Gig memory is an issue with most games in the last 6-8 months, and not just this one). Because Vampire has bigger game areas, it does run slightly slower than HL2.

As of this writing, there is a patch for the game planned. So far, I haven't really needed it though, but your mileage may vary.

Despite its bugs, Vampire is different enough from other games to make it highly recommended to gameplayers who want something that they can play for a month instead of a weekend, and that will immerse them into a detailed storyline that makes them think.

Finally one minor point that really struck me was when you go into the clubs in the game, the NPCs will go to the dancefloor and actually dance (you can also join them). They do this dancing in a strange, not-quite-with-the-beat kinda way, waving their arms all over the place in a vaguely comic `the dancer is the only person who thinks that's cool' fashion. I'm not sure if this is a game feature or a bug, because, um... if you go to a real alt-club, that's how all the Goths actually dance.

S

Amazing.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'll keep this short and simple. This game goes on the shelf along with the best games I've ever played. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 10. Yes, they could have done some things better...but that's true of every game.

The graphics are amazing. The combat system is the best of any RPG to date. The story is excellent. The atmosphere is awesome. Most importantly, the game is addictive and fun and you won't want to stop playing until it's over, and maybe not even then.

If you like RPGs, this will make your year.

For reference purposes, prior to this game, my favorite games were: Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur's Gate (1 and 2), Gabriel Knight (2 and 3),

A truly great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I had never played a vampire game, computer or otherwise before tI played this game. I do like vampires though. When I got this game I just thought it looked interesting and didn't quite know what to expect. I hoped it was good and that it would not be a waste of my money. It was in fact very good and I got more than my money's worth out of it.

I started playing this game and I just messed around and tried to figure it out, enjoying the little things. It is set up well, very good gameplay. I found it very helpful to save the game a lot, but that's really my method of playing almost any game. As I got going I decided my brujah character wasn't quite what I wanted and thinking of him as my test game, I just went back and started over with a new character now knowing what to do to start off(I hadn't gotten too far and was still on the firt part in Santa Monica). Then I played the whole game through as a toreador character, male. As you go through the game it is fun to collect different items and develop your characters skills through the many quests they give you. I liked the freedom in this game. It had a general path you had to follow in the story but you could do things a lot of different ways. Often I could talk my way through something and not have to take a bullet, whereas sometimes late in the game I just wanted to hack and slash or shoot some people, and that could also work. There were multiple endings which I thought was cool. I would often just save my game and go on killing sprees because it was so fun sometimes, I'm not gonna lie, but the police will come after you, you can fight them as long as you want then hide when you are hurt to badly and while you heal they look for a little while then just stop entirely and forget about you. This was funny at times, but its true. The whole vamp thing was fairly well done and easy to get into, so was the story. I personally reeally liked the story, but I did feel like I wanted more out of it later on. They left me hanging on so many things. It almost cries out for a sequel or a movie or something, just something more to fill the emptiness it left when the game just ended. I kid you a bit here though because I should mention that after some time I came back to this game and played it through again. I played the game maybe halfway through again as a ventrue male,(slight cheating used in character creation here, nice little trick I learned), then I went back to the beginning and got a tremere female and played it from start to finish. I thought the tremere sounded mysterious and interesting so I figured I'd give it a try. The tremere I want to say, is great. Their special discipline is really cool and very handy. Plus the tremere chick was hot. I was pleasantly amused later in the game when you come to the point with VV, if you're playing a girl, she still comes on to you, not that I minded at all, it was fun, but the lesbian implications here were an amusing thought. There are a few points in the game that were quite hard and I had to play numerous times to get through, but all in all I was very pleased with this game. This game although a bit strange with the whole vamp thing, was absolutely terrific, and if you like that kind of thing, even better. I really enjoyed this game a lot and I hope you do too. I could say a lot more but I want to be sure not to get too in depth or bore anyone. Overall, I'll admit it's not perfect and it has it's faults, but it is well worth your time and money. I have played a lot of games in my day and this ranks among the best. I don't want to say too much, but go ahead and try it for yourself if you are at all interested.

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: June 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game that does what so few RPGs pull off these days. It gives you real choices based on your skills. You get three different ways to influence dialoge: persuasion, intimidation and seduction. You also get different outcomes depending on what you use. You get three different ways to slaughter people: melee (swords, bats ect.), brawl (punching and kicking) and firearms (tons of different guns). And you also get nice abilities like stealth for fun stealth kills, hacking for getting into computers, lockpicking, researching and maybe some others I forget.

Lots of choices, lots of different ways to solve quests, an intriguing storyline, multiple endings, memorable characters with well acted voice dialoge. This game is top of the line. I'm just sad Troika is going out of business because they did such a great job with this game. After having my hopes dashed with Oblivion i picked up this game and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had. Played through it once and decided to try as a different clan.

The "leveling" system works by increasing skills through experience you earn through completing missions which actually is far more enjoyable than the usual ways that your average RPG imploys and allows for a lot of customability. Plus you get, I believe, 6 different clans to choose from, and your gender influences some conversations as well. Each clan has unique special abilities that you can improve for different results (one such ability incapacitates your enemies by making them vomit up blood, brutal but useful).

The storyline is at times freaky, some quests, such as the ghost hotel, kept me on edge. I recommend playing this at night for the extra scare, there are parts that are as good as any horror movie and very well done. The game itself is brutal, you can stealth attack to snap peoples necks and blood does fly when hitting people. There is sexual dialoge in some places. It is all well done but it definitely fits the mature label, which suits me just fine. There aren't enough well done mature games out there, specifically RPGs.

That being said the game does have its share of bugs (what game doesn't?) and it is important to keep backup saves. IF you save and load in some areas (such as the museum) sometimes doors previously unlocked become locked, trapping you and forcing a reload. Also I once got caught on the door in the pawn shop and had to reload. And there is one gamebreaking bug that forces you to pull up the console to overcome it (society of leopold crash), to do this download one of the walkthroughs and search for crash and it will give you simple instructions to follow.

The game also likes to throw some incredibly difficult bosses your way, and if you aren't very good with action games you might not like these. Specificaly the last two major bosses in the game I found ridiculously impossible and for the first time playing any game I actually cheated and used godmod to beat them. It wasn't challanging, it was annoying. I also felt like the end of the game was rushed out for sales as the rest of the game is so much better than the endgame sequence which consists of nonstop fighting of enemies that respawn almost instantely.

But for all its faults this game is great. Very well done and worth the money. I hope that more publishers seek to put out games of this caliber. For anyone disapointed in the lack of RPing in Oblivion I strongly suggest trying this. Be warned there is a lot of standard action fighting as well, for those not into that kind of thing.

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