First post in a while, and it's a game review
First off, the game I'm going to cover is now about two years old. Hey, wait, where are you going? Don't scroll past just yet... if you happened to miss this game, it's one you may want to check out.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Review Behind Cut
First off, let's start with a positive note: I've never played any RPG that has wrapped me into the storyline so entirely with the possible exception of Fallouts 1 and 2. The game draws you in with a cleverly-designed introduction; as the game begins, you are sired, becoming a vampire. The 'familiarization' level at the beginning introduces to you the basics of the game, your character being instructed by a fellow vamipre who offers to show you a few pointers. I found this elegant streamlining of player and character to be delightful, a rare treat since many games have no familiarization whatsoever, and if they do, they don't offer nearly the sort of atmosphere this does.
Next, very much like the Knights of the Old Republic games, the dialog in this game is actually spoken rather than simply text to read. Subtitles are optional, and turning them off gives a very theatric appearance to the game, making you feel much like you're watching a movie. The game uses the same engine as Half-Life 2, a very notable feature of which is the facial expressions and character detail, both of which breathe an incredible ammount of character into your interactions with NPCs.
Unfortunately the game does suffer from a few bugs due to having been pushed out of the door so quickly. Because of Valve's repeated delays in releasing Half-Life 2, the engine was not available to other developers until a later date than anticipated. As a result, Troika Games suffered from a disease that has been plaguing the videogame industry for a long time: holiday release timetables. The game was forced out early in order to make a November release, time enough to be sure that it would be on the shelves for christmas shoppers. This unfortunate circumstance becomes painfully obvious in some portions of the game, where where glitches cause some characters' audio files to not play, or other characters to exhibit flawed pathfinding. The most irritating bug I encountered was on one of the side-quests, in which I had to speak with a certain NPC. Unfortunately I had earlier in the game fed on him, which leaves them in a dazed state for several minutes before resetting to their previous status. The NPC didn't reset, however, and even after a few hours of gameplay remained in a dazed state, making it impossible for me to complete this quest.
Another complaint I have is the fact that, although the game is somewhat open-ended, allowing you to complete most objectives in a number of ways, and also letting you decide your own loyalties, the developers made it apparent that you're supposed to side with the Anarch community, subtly vilifying all other factions while portraying the Anarchs in a more favorable light than anyone else.
Flaws aside, I remain astounded by the level of detail and depth in this game, even two years after its release. The flexibility of WhiteWolf's levelless system allows you to spent your experience points as soon as you get them, redeeming them for various skills, attributes, and powers. While there are no true character classes, the clan you choose at the start of the game gives you points to spend in specific areas, and each clan has three schools of special powers available to them, usually one of which is unique to that clan. Special character bonuses and penalties are also dependant on your clan; a Toreador has an easy time interacting with humans, easily persuading or seducing them to do their will, though at the same time will suffer double the ammount of humanity loss from killing an innocent bystander.
Perhaps one of the coolest parts about this game is the soundtrack. Troika licensed a number of songs from various artists to be played in the background in certain areas, in addition to having an intriguing original soundtrack. The music matches the environments perfectly, too... as you step out of the door of your apartment at the beginning of the game, you're met with a nighttime rainfall in Santa Monica, with a suitably dreary tune playing in the background. A gothic nightclub in the area offers one of the first glimpses at the licensed soundtrack, Chiasm's "Disorder". The song brings an authentic character to the club, the strong electronic/goth strains and lyrics really helping you to believe that you're in an actual nightclub rather than playing a game with some generic tune playing behind it.
Overall this game is very engaging and very fun to play. It's not as you might expect from a Vampire game: while it has it's (rather strong) gothic overtones, and the story is very dark, there's little to none of the "oh woe is me/a pox upon my unbegotten soul/blood flows from my wrists like a dark river" stuff which many people associate with goth today. Much like many RPGs, this game has great replay value, just for the ability to try out another character, and also to discover all of the side quests that are available which you may have missed the first time through. I highly recommend that any RPG fans check out this game, especially those of you out there who enjoy darker subject matter.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Review Behind Cut
First off, let's start with a positive note: I've never played any RPG that has wrapped me into the storyline so entirely with the possible exception of Fallouts 1 and 2. The game draws you in with a cleverly-designed introduction; as the game begins, you are sired, becoming a vampire. The 'familiarization' level at the beginning introduces to you the basics of the game, your character being instructed by a fellow vamipre who offers to show you a few pointers. I found this elegant streamlining of player and character to be delightful, a rare treat since many games have no familiarization whatsoever, and if they do, they don't offer nearly the sort of atmosphere this does.
Next, very much like the Knights of the Old Republic games, the dialog in this game is actually spoken rather than simply text to read. Subtitles are optional, and turning them off gives a very theatric appearance to the game, making you feel much like you're watching a movie. The game uses the same engine as Half-Life 2, a very notable feature of which is the facial expressions and character detail, both of which breathe an incredible ammount of character into your interactions with NPCs.
Unfortunately the game does suffer from a few bugs due to having been pushed out of the door so quickly. Because of Valve's repeated delays in releasing Half-Life 2, the engine was not available to other developers until a later date than anticipated. As a result, Troika Games suffered from a disease that has been plaguing the videogame industry for a long time: holiday release timetables. The game was forced out early in order to make a November release, time enough to be sure that it would be on the shelves for christmas shoppers. This unfortunate circumstance becomes painfully obvious in some portions of the game, where where glitches cause some characters' audio files to not play, or other characters to exhibit flawed pathfinding. The most irritating bug I encountered was on one of the side-quests, in which I had to speak with a certain NPC. Unfortunately I had earlier in the game fed on him, which leaves them in a dazed state for several minutes before resetting to their previous status. The NPC didn't reset, however, and even after a few hours of gameplay remained in a dazed state, making it impossible for me to complete this quest.
Another complaint I have is the fact that, although the game is somewhat open-ended, allowing you to complete most objectives in a number of ways, and also letting you decide your own loyalties, the developers made it apparent that you're supposed to side with the Anarch community, subtly vilifying all other factions while portraying the Anarchs in a more favorable light than anyone else.
Flaws aside, I remain astounded by the level of detail and depth in this game, even two years after its release. The flexibility of WhiteWolf's levelless system allows you to spent your experience points as soon as you get them, redeeming them for various skills, attributes, and powers. While there are no true character classes, the clan you choose at the start of the game gives you points to spend in specific areas, and each clan has three schools of special powers available to them, usually one of which is unique to that clan. Special character bonuses and penalties are also dependant on your clan; a Toreador has an easy time interacting with humans, easily persuading or seducing them to do their will, though at the same time will suffer double the ammount of humanity loss from killing an innocent bystander.
Perhaps one of the coolest parts about this game is the soundtrack. Troika licensed a number of songs from various artists to be played in the background in certain areas, in addition to having an intriguing original soundtrack. The music matches the environments perfectly, too... as you step out of the door of your apartment at the beginning of the game, you're met with a nighttime rainfall in Santa Monica, with a suitably dreary tune playing in the background. A gothic nightclub in the area offers one of the first glimpses at the licensed soundtrack, Chiasm's "Disorder". The song brings an authentic character to the club, the strong electronic/goth strains and lyrics really helping you to believe that you're in an actual nightclub rather than playing a game with some generic tune playing behind it.
Overall this game is very engaging and very fun to play. It's not as you might expect from a Vampire game: while it has it's (rather strong) gothic overtones, and the story is very dark, there's little to none of the "oh woe is me/a pox upon my unbegotten soul/blood flows from my wrists like a dark river" stuff which many people associate with goth today. Much like many RPGs, this game has great replay value, just for the ability to try out another character, and also to discover all of the side quests that are available which you may have missed the first time through. I highly recommend that any RPG fans check out this game, especially those of you out there who enjoy darker subject matter.