Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Review

Graphics:.........9
Gameplay:........10
Addictiveness:..10
Length:.........9
Sound:............10
Multiplayer:......N/A
Overall:..........10
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I felt the need to write out this review because I was just reading some user reviews for the game on IGN and, while most saw the game in its true glory, a handful were too incompetent to see past its flaws. Therefor, I shall let my own review pour out of me in an attempt to possibly sway some people who haven't yet into trying this game, for it is truly deserving.

Now to start out I will explain that Deus Ex (the original, not the let down of a sequel) is among my favorite games of all time. The reason I loved Deus Ex so much was the effort put into the world. It was dark, dangerous, living, and had a history to it that flowed throughout every aspect of it. Since DX I have never been pulled into a game that much again...

Until Bloodlines (If you didn't see that comming, go slap yourself then continue reading). This game is built on HL2's source engine so you know it's bringing the goods to the table visually (although not up to HL2 standards, its still pretty swank). It also has awesome sound. I mean AMAZING sound. While the general sound effects are probably leveled out at "good quality", the music fits the world perfectly from the background ambience to the clubs its all awesome. Then there are the voice actors, who are simply perfectly fitted to their roles (excluding the rare one or two who are simply 'alright'). This again brings you into the world so strongly that you don't want to leave.

Bloodlines is based in the world of, I believe, White Wolf's Vampire legendry. This gives a rich back story to the world that the game uses magnificantly. I had no knowledge of the WW Vampire series beforehand so don't think you need to do homework to get an idea of what is going on. The story is exceptionally written and well laid out for the player.

You get to choose between numerous classes (clans) at the beginning which dictate things such as how other characters react to you, how you act, your stats, and your vampire specific abilities. The most noticable differences in play with the clan choices are Nosferatu and Malkavian. The Nos' are grotesque looking vamp's who can't interact with humans much less they cause a panic, and Malkavians are insane (literally). Their speach options are simply hilarious and watching other characters react to them is a blast. Also, there are hilarious little Malk only scripts that happen... but I won't ruin those for you.

Another aspect of this game that sucks you in is the politics. Again like Deus Ex, their are a couple waring political factions to choose between. You can't exactly completely side with one or the other for the most of the game, but it is interesting to watch the differeing opinions of different charcters based on their political backgrounds. And by politics, I mean vampire politics. The main ruling group in this game is known as the Camarilla, who you meet early on. They govern over the city you start in trying to keep 'vampire law' intact. Play the game if you want to learn more about them and to make your own opinions about them.

You might have noticed I said the 'city you start in'. That is because you actually visit 4 seperate large cities (well city sections) as well as various other locals. Each is quite distinct with interesting locals to give you various quests. The game is huge geographically as well as quest wise. Like Deus Ex and many other RPG'ish games, you can select how many of these quests you actually want to do, but all are very rewarding story wise as well as experience/game money wise. Speaking of environments, this game has a few game sections that are simply awe inspiring. The ocean house level is quite possibly the best designed level I have ever seen in any game...ever...period.

This game manages to create a dark, perfect world. It is NOT for children, I will point out, as the game does not shy away from blood, death, prostitution, sex, drugs, and various things that make those look like childs play. Early in the game you are told something along the lines of "breaking and entering, theft, those will be the least of your sins before the night is out" (I know I'm murdering the line since I am too lazy to look it up) and this line couldn't be more accurate. There is no nudity, but there is everything else. Everything.

Now onto the bad... the game is buggy. It was forced to a much too early release so there are bugs rampant throughout the game. Currently there is a 1.2 patch that solves some, and a high quality unofficial patch that is up to version 2.0 and still being worked on that fixes most of the game stopping bugs. The game mechanics are still somewhat buggy, but the game is far worth it. If you are someone willing to put up with a little frustration now and again to experience a true masterpiece, you MUST play this game. The story, characters, gameplay, and experience are simply something every gamer should try out. If you played Deus Ex and loved it, you are required by law to play this game. (okok, not law, but damnit go play the game).

 

 

 

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To tell you the truth the game lies in the fact that it's build is the same as the hl2 source engine's, If you read its coding, it has a physics enging that is almost like the hl2 engine. It is from the same creator, but the likeness pretty much ends their. The coding is a beta format of what the hl2 engine is now, thus made for some of the glitches. I found the game a lot more boring than Deus Ex (I enjoyed Deus Ex alot and its multiplayer is actually pretty fun, although it is based off of the Unreal engine), And for me way to glitchy. It's fun at first when its not as linear, But as soon as you get far enough in the game you will find yourself going back and fourth, back and fourth. Just to find out that you have to go all the way across the game to find where you are sopposed to go. Once you do some stuff in the game, there's not much else you can do. If they allowed more freedom, and they didn't do that Wall of doom thing (you see the rest of a town, but you can reach it) which leads me into another point, the towns were way to small. If they had more for you to do. And actually used all of the CD's that it takes to install to add in bigger towns/cities. Plus a Co-op would have been fun, and maybe some modibility.

I give this game a 3/5

 

 

 

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I heard they came out with a new unofficial patch for Bloodlines, I'm going to probably install it again just to see what they've done with it. I'd say that game is a pure A+, but there were a couple things that bothered me that keep me from replaying it again:
Firstly, the endings, though they were alternate, weren't really all that different, and thus kind of takes any replay value out of the game when you find that you end up with only a slightly different scene.
Secondly, and this is a gameplay issue, is the system load this game uses. I had to go out and buy two sticks of 512 ddr ram (had 392megs of sd-ram before, just didn't cut it) and I upgraded to an ATI x800 Pro, and it still lagged for me when I first entered an area. And the frequency of the loadings, ugh, pain in the neck... so to speak

If the game didn't need to load as much, I'd enjoy it more.

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I thought it was a pretty unique vampire game. I love how they used the steam engine or the source engine used in Half Life 2 later at HL2's release. I don't think it did as well as it should though. Vampires had a good chance of being top, but I guess there's just something missing from it :/

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