GAME- Vampire the Masquerade- Bloodlines (PC)
Reviewed by OneEye
Who knew that within such a little box was a few days worth of solid entertainment. Being "Somewhat" impressed by Redemption i was curious to see what changes had been made to Bloodlines.
After dedicating an hour of good game time to installing this oversized chunk of world exploration i was literally foaming at the mouth. Being a reformed tabletop gamer... well..
Ok fine. i still like tabletop gaming and useing my imagination. Still in my head i am an all powerful pirate wizard dragon slayer guy who kills Nazi's in god mode shortly before lunchtime.
And you can't take that away from me.
Setting up the game wasn’t too bad as there weren’t any options to tweak for my low performance machine to grind out. So I just crossed my fingers and hit start.
It was a bit choppy but it grabbed my interest right away with an awesome soundtrack. Being a goth cat myself the soundtrack features ministry to lacuna coil. Very cool. So I was ready to assume yet another of my many schizophrenic alter egos.
The Character Generator has always been a cool part for these “tabletop games turned into Video Games” for me. I always want to see how much you can get away with that they programmed in, and see how close it gets to the overactive imagination of a 28 year old geek and a case of mountain dew. I was disappointed that there weren’t multiples of each clan to choose from, visually, but at least there was a male and female. The character sheet was dead on. Blood points the whole nine yards. Now being a 1st and 2nd edition gamer in the world of darkness this was somewhat familiar but I see where the D20 rules were coming into play with the edition of the “feats table”.
The next step is to test the boundry. Well, we all know most games are meant for running around and killing physically and magicly. So brujah, gangrel, and tremere are obvious choices. But I was curious about the actual “roleplaying” side and see how deep you take your persona.
So I chose the one clan I NEVER play. The toreador. Lippy snobby artists. And I was ready to start.
The cutscenes were not rendered, they were using the actual in game models and as they chopped away on my screen I prayed my machine wouldn’t catch on fire.
As you enter your new unlife, as it starts you out as a fresh blood, you go through a short training level to get used to the controls. A favorite of mine? A constant 1st person view. How cool is that? Perfect for getting in the mood. First thing I notice is that all conversations are actually spoken by the NPCs in full. Then you have multiple options to talk back in a text format so you can choose your words wisely, and as it turns out, the tongue in this game is just as powerful as your fangs.
As you progress you obtain experience points, which you can spend wherever you feel fit. Also by reading books of talking with trainers you can increase your skills. Being a silvey tongued toreador devil I spent a lot in appearance, seduction and manipulation. Which as funny as it may sound, actually came in handy.
After building myself into a “Pimp God” with a maxed appearance and seduction of 9 I could talk anyone into anything. In fact I could talk prostitutes into freebies or pick up girls in the dance club that are the type that laugh when their oversized Fabio boyfriend trips me. And now they are all mine!
The overall plot and subplots are well written and intriguing. A real great look at the world of darkness in LA. And the clubs are so realistic as they are playing the same song everytime you go there. Sweet!
My one big complaint lies in the video driver. My NIVDIA card would wig a good hour or two into the game and causse the polygons to warp to infinity.
It was hard to keep the mystery going when the girl I’m talking to has her left cheek pinned to the top of the skyscraper outside the window. Screaming in horror I would then realize that this was not intentional and was probably my machine. I updated the drivers which helped suppress this issue, but you could tell by brief flashes periodicly it still wanted to streach my kneecaps to the mansion in santa Barbara while I was in china town.
Another complaint is the lack of sunrise. It ever even mentions you going to bed (or coffin or dirt or moldy mattress) just one perpetually neverending night. Similar to a vacation in New Orleans, but unbelievable. You get a “haven” but you don’t have to show up but twice in the game.
The individual personalities are awesome and even leaving you with a sense of friendship or loathing. Many times I was swearing at the screen at some smartass longtoothed bastard who really didn’t deserve my time.
All in all i gave this game an A. It was well done all the way around with only a few minor flaws to take it out out of an overall top slot.
Who knew that within such a little box was a few days worth of solid entertainment. Being "Somewhat" impressed by Redemption i was curious to see what changes had been made to Bloodlines.
After dedicating an hour of good game time to installing this oversized chunk of world exploration i was literally foaming at the mouth. Being a reformed tabletop gamer... well..
Ok fine. i still like tabletop gaming and useing my imagination. Still in my head i am an all powerful pirate wizard dragon slayer guy who kills Nazi's in god mode shortly before lunchtime.
And you can't take that away from me.
Setting up the game wasn’t too bad as there weren’t any options to tweak for my low performance machine to grind out. So I just crossed my fingers and hit start.
It was a bit choppy but it grabbed my interest right away with an awesome soundtrack. Being a goth cat myself the soundtrack features ministry to lacuna coil. Very cool. So I was ready to assume yet another of my many schizophrenic alter egos.
The Character Generator has always been a cool part for these “tabletop games turned into Video Games” for me. I always want to see how much you can get away with that they programmed in, and see how close it gets to the overactive imagination of a 28 year old geek and a case of mountain dew. I was disappointed that there weren’t multiples of each clan to choose from, visually, but at least there was a male and female. The character sheet was dead on. Blood points the whole nine yards. Now being a 1st and 2nd edition gamer in the world of darkness this was somewhat familiar but I see where the D20 rules were coming into play with the edition of the “feats table”.
The next step is to test the boundry. Well, we all know most games are meant for running around and killing physically and magicly. So brujah, gangrel, and tremere are obvious choices. But I was curious about the actual “roleplaying” side and see how deep you take your persona.
So I chose the one clan I NEVER play. The toreador. Lippy snobby artists. And I was ready to start.
The cutscenes were not rendered, they were using the actual in game models and as they chopped away on my screen I prayed my machine wouldn’t catch on fire.
As you enter your new unlife, as it starts you out as a fresh blood, you go through a short training level to get used to the controls. A favorite of mine? A constant 1st person view. How cool is that? Perfect for getting in the mood. First thing I notice is that all conversations are actually spoken by the NPCs in full. Then you have multiple options to talk back in a text format so you can choose your words wisely, and as it turns out, the tongue in this game is just as powerful as your fangs.
As you progress you obtain experience points, which you can spend wherever you feel fit. Also by reading books of talking with trainers you can increase your skills. Being a silvey tongued toreador devil I spent a lot in appearance, seduction and manipulation. Which as funny as it may sound, actually came in handy.
After building myself into a “Pimp God” with a maxed appearance and seduction of 9 I could talk anyone into anything. In fact I could talk prostitutes into freebies or pick up girls in the dance club that are the type that laugh when their oversized Fabio boyfriend trips me. And now they are all mine!
The overall plot and subplots are well written and intriguing. A real great look at the world of darkness in LA. And the clubs are so realistic as they are playing the same song everytime you go there. Sweet!
My one big complaint lies in the video driver. My NIVDIA card would wig a good hour or two into the game and causse the polygons to warp to infinity.
It was hard to keep the mystery going when the girl I’m talking to has her left cheek pinned to the top of the skyscraper outside the window. Screaming in horror I would then realize that this was not intentional and was probably my machine. I updated the drivers which helped suppress this issue, but you could tell by brief flashes periodicly it still wanted to streach my kneecaps to the mansion in santa Barbara while I was in china town.
Another complaint is the lack of sunrise. It ever even mentions you going to bed (or coffin or dirt or moldy mattress) just one perpetually neverending night. Similar to a vacation in New Orleans, but unbelievable. You get a “haven” but you don’t have to show up but twice in the game.
The individual personalities are awesome and even leaving you with a sense of friendship or loathing. Many times I was swearing at the screen at some smartass longtoothed bastard who really didn’t deserve my time.
All in all i gave this game an A. It was well done all the way around with only a few minor flaws to take it out out of an overall top slot.