Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is the new PC game from Troika and Acitvision, based on the pen and paper role playing game from White Wolf Studios, and the first game other than Half-Life 2 to utilize Valve’s Source engine. And after some long hours logged on it (and I do mean long…this game is huge!) I’m ready to give all parties involved a big ol’ pat on the back.

First off I do need to say that this game is definitely not for children. Not that too many youngsters are that into games like this, but it is definitely for mature audiences only. Language alone is enough for an M rating, very strong and at times utterly crude. Not to mention the large amounts of blood and violence (Vampires and violence…never!) So make sure if you’re giving this one out as a gift this year, that it’s for someone who can handle the mature themes involved.

The first thing you notice about Bloodlines is the Valve Source engine. Simply put, it looks amazing. The character models are wonderful, with the facial muscles and movements conveying emotion unlike anything I’ve seen in a game before. When Jeanette, a female vampire you meet early on pouts, she just looks too cute. Or when her twin sister Therese gets angry, you get a little fearful. All in all, the characters are just that, characters, with emotion and depth.

Speaking of emotion and depth, the voice acting for Bloodlines is near excellent and is among the best I have heard in a video game. Although, at times, some of the dialogue became almost too quiet to hear, but generally, the sound in the game is quite good. Slashing open an enemy with a knife and the coinciding blood splatter sounds chillingly real.

The game takes place in Los Angeles, where you start out as a newly embraced vampire. This is where my only major gripe comes in. The character generation is a little weak. Yes, all the major clans are here. For those of you unfamiliar with Vampire: The Masquerade, vampire clans are groups of vampire with similar characteristics to each other. For example, the Malkavians (my personal favorite) are vampires that have certain insights, whether it’s clairvoyance or psychic like abilities, while at the same time, they are all incurably insane. Now, as I was saying, this is where my gripe is. You can chose your clan, which affects your starting stats, as well as the blood disciplines you have. But aside from some basic things, that’s it. You can’t change your appearance, or alter you stats except what is done with your clan affiliation. I would have been happy if you could at least change your appearance, so you can look how you want to look. But, that is only a small problem in an otherwise very good game.

The blood disciplines I mentioned are abilities specific to your particular clan (some are available to more than one clan). For instance, Malkavians can project their insanity on to others, Nosferatu can hides and move nearly undetected, Ventrue can intimidate others with their strong presence, and so one. There are a decent number of disciplines to look at, and each clan is a little different. So, you are able to make your vampire however you like, either a fight first, fight second, ask no questions kind of guy or maybe a female vampire who seduces and charms her way through, or a sneaky, skulking shadow of a vampire. Whatever suits you, which is also true of the game; there are different paths to completing the games many quests. And many quests there are…

As well as the main story line quests, there are numerous side quests, ranging from simple deliveries or pick-ups for NPCs, to helping a guy find a bail jumper, to hunting down a ghost in a haunted mansion, they are many and varied through out the game.

Combat is surprising given that Bloodlines is an RPG. You can choose between melee weapons (knives, police night sticks, or my favorite, the severed arm) or firearms (a .38, .44 magnum, and of course pump action shotgun) both styles of combat are easy to master. Gunfire won’t always hit your target. If you are running, you have a much larger area that could be hit, as opposed to being stationary and zeroing in on your target. With melee weapons, your attacks depend on your movement. Side to side moves will result in sideways slashes, and charging your targets will produces a lunge or overhead attack. Both are effective means of disposing your enemy.

Some quirks of Bloodlines that I found particularly enticing, a TV news report that changes through out the game to reflect things you have done, and the ability to interface with computers in the game and hack passwords.

As I said before, this game is huge, so be ready for many hours of playtime. If you’re a fan of RPG’s, vampires, or both, I would make sure and pick this game up.