I am one of those of people who refuse to get into fads. Or more appropriately, I try not to get into them. I mean, how many Hannah Montannas do we really need? However, it doesn’t mean I have not noticed one of the most recent fads: vampires. Twilight books and movies and the show True Blood have helped rekindle the popularity of and interest in vampires. And Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines could make vampire fans happy. It is a bloody, brutal game that has an awesome story.
Bloodlines takes place in an alternate reality and follows a recently sired vampire from one of the seven clans of the Camerilla, an organization obsessed with maintaining the masquerade. Vampires do exist, and they continue to do so as long as humanity at large is not aware of their presence. This means that vampires must always be on their guard or they could experience the final death. And siring a childe (a fledgling vampire, and if you add an “r” to the end it becomes plural) without permission is a capital crime for both sire and childe. Literally. Imagine how our justice system would work if it rushed to such extremes. Thankfully, the Prince has mercy on your character and sets him (or her) up as a gopher of some sort. It starts simple enough: Gather some explosives and blow up a Sabbat (crazed, beast-like vampires that have no to little regard for any living or surviving being) warehouse. And from there, things get more complex and intense as your character travels through the various boroughs of Los Angeles.
Let’s get things straight: This is not a game for children. It is a dark and bloody game with “brutality” as the main theme. Language is considerably coarse, and the sixth letter of the alphabet has its bomb dropped several times within the first 15 minutes of gameplay — along with several other F-bombs along the way. Plus, just when you think you’ve got the whole vampire world figured out, something comes along and flips that world over. A simple beach hotel turns into a haunted house ride, a boat with a vanished crew, a house that has been turned into an insane asylum ... the list goes on and on with surprises of various sizes.
Gameplay is a bit unique as it can and will quickly shift gears from the first- to third-person perspectives (and back again). Your character’s primary attack is initiated by hitting the left mouse button, and the right mouse button uses your character’s disciplines (essentially, they are vampiric “spells” that use blood) while WASD controls movement. Movement is fast, and I suppose it should be considering you are playing a vampire. And it can be difficult to hit things in melee combat as there is no lock of any sort to help. Firearms are a bit better because they work from the first-person perspective, and old shooter habits can kick in. The point is that the combat system makes things a bit more difficult than they should be.
Anyway, how much damage is inflicted depends on your avatar’s skills. Skills of all sorts are improved by finishing quests, especially if you finish them “creatively” (the game likes stealth solutions and other non-violent thoughts), and you’ll earn a bonus point or two of experience. From there, you’ll take those hard-earned points to power up your vampire. And how you play each clan is up to you. Most clans can be played two or three different ways with (minor) variations on how to play them.
The degree of customization in Bloodlines is downright astounding! How you want your vampire(s) to play is completely up to you — melee expert with a specialization in a discipline or two from his clan; firearms so she can keep her distance from things; persuasion; stealth; research skills so she can learn new skills from books? Plus, the fisticuff specialty allows your vampire to feed more easily on unsuspecting kine (humans in vampire terms)? Go to town on how you want your vampire to grow. Or if you are feeling overwhelmed, the game can do it for you. The best part of this is of Bloodlinesdoes a pretty decent job of developing your character for you.
Graphics in Bloodlines look great. Fans of Half-Life 2 should be able to recognize the similarities; they are based on the same graphics engine. The awesome facial movements, the well-moving characters, the special effects ... all look wonderful. The various areas are unique. Honestly, how many places like these have you seen? Sure, you may have the archetypes in various forms, but they have never looked like this before. The only downside of the graphics is in the beginning of the game when a few of the characters’ movement are stilted. Other than that, there’s not much to dislike.
Sound in Bloodlines also is fine. Guns fire with potency, knives and swords clash and slash, footsteps are heard as your character explores the unique locations, and explosions are heard when certain things go boom. Music is there, but it is in the background. I honestly did not notice it that much. The main lure of the audio is the well-done voice acting. If this was a purely internally read affair, the awesome plot would have lost some of its power. The world that it exists in would feel flat and uninspired. When you hear the characters speak and watch their faces, there is an emotional punch that is rarely seen in gaming. You can skip the spoken bits (helpful if you’re replaying a section or two), but you can tell that you are missing out. Kudos to Troika for recruiting such awesome voice actors!
As wonderful as the Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines is, this game put Troika out of business. The game was quickly overlooked. It is a shame, though, because it is a wonderfully unique game that has its quirks. Yet, those same quirks make up a highly unique experience. Plus, what other incredible storylines do we miss out on with Troika closed?
There is a silver lining: You can purchase this game for $20 from Steam. And it is one heck of a deal. There is this huge, intriguing, gothic world waiting for you to experience. Not everyone will appreciate all of Troika’s hard work. Those who are “puritianistic” in their gaming habits will be put off, along with those who do not like horror-inspired games. Ultimately, though, anyone looking for an awesome plot, a unique world and strong role-playing elements will be more than content. My suggestion is to get Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlinesand absorb as much of it as possible whenever you have the time. Kudos, Trokia, for doing a wonderful job with this game. Where ever you guys are, I wish you all wellness and luck.
