Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

The Good
My review's may be rather short but get's straight to the point without any spoilers:

Plot/Dialog: One of its strength are thankfully the plot and the dialog's with the NPC's you encounter. The main story start's out slow, but it get's more and more interesting also simultaneously more mysterious. The longer you play, the more unsure you are what's really going on. Later on your final point of confusion you had to decide which clan you will follow to continue your last mission.

Graphics: Okay, its the Half-Life 2 engine, but I don't think its on the level of Half Life 2, but it's still rather good. They put the world of bloodlines in a dark, dirty, gothic like atmosphere which fits very well in this game. While some graphics are bit too blurry others are really eye candy. Especially during conversations the facial expression are very well done, you can clearly see if their are pissed off, bored, interested or even naughty.

Music & Sound effects: A real pusher for the atmosphere are the selection of punk/metal music in the clubs or the dark moody ambient music while you wandering through the streets. The sound effects are also quiet good, but sometime you hear more than you actual see (like you hear a car is passing you, but you actually don't see any driving cars in the streets.)

Replay value: Since you can play different types of vampires with also different specialization its makes fun to take play it again and solve the quests in a other way (which gives you additional experience points). It also doesen't matter that you know the main story already, even more interesting is the second view on it.

The Bad
Code flaws/Bugs: Since Ive heard about some bad bugs in the final version, i've waited until a patch was out to play the game. Still there are minor glitches, which didn't make it unplayable but gets angry at times. Sometimes the game/script seems to halt without any reason or buttons suddenly don't work. While you run through small side streets you often cant pass an NPC while two NPC can pass each other without any problems.

Loading times: While in Half Life 2 you followed a one way path, you didn't encounter much loading breaks within 10 minutes. In Bloodlines you can go wherever you want, so every time you leave or enter a building/city its breaks to load for 5-15 seconds. And boy that happens more than often, so thats gets very annoying very soon. Also quick save deserve the name only in its first 15 hours.

Hardware requirement: If you want to get the full experience in 1024x768 and above, you need at least 2,5 Ghz, a good graphic card (especially for the quality shadows), 1 GB memory (to reduce loading times)and a fast hard drive (same as on memory).

Design decisions: For my taste its a bit too action oriented (especially near the end), therefore its a bit sad that there are no other permanent party members which help you out in a battle or on quests. Don't misunderstand me, its not so heavy action oriented like Troikas predecessor Temple of elemental evil but unlike in TOEE the combat system in Bloodlines had its flaws (again sprite collision isn't Bloodlines strength). Also there are few interactions with objects and NPC's. Its minor, but I liked the reactions of NPC's in Half Life 2 when you throw a empty can to them, they start to complain or even hit you. Such small things you will not find in Bloodlines.

The Bottom Line
You like role playing games, but you get sick playing the 287's fantasy version of paladin against trolls and skeletons? Then try Bloodlines, you will like it. I hope this one is the big break for Troika Games, since they produced rather unknown gems like Arcanum or even Temple of Elemental Evil which is good when you take it for what it is.

The Good
Graphics: The graphics in the game were pretty good, and I especially liked the facial expressions when you talk to the NPC's. For the most part, the graphics were top-notch, aside from a few minor things.

Sound: While the music and sound-effects were very good, I would have to say that my favorite would have to be the many, many lines of dialogue, and the various things that can be said. The best dialogue lines are the Malkavian's crazed ramblings and the reactions you get when someone see's a Nosferatu for the first time.

Gameplay: Over-all, the game ran very well, aside from the aggravating number of loading screens. The combat was simple, yet it didn't seem like the same fight every time I fought someone. Dialogue is simply chosen, but what you say can have an effect on the game and what happens later on. The game also has a high replay value, as you can chose any of the 7 clans to play as (although the clans that have the most different gameplay would be the Malkavians and the Nosferatu).

Story: This is were the game really shines. I love the story and the vivid background they paint for the entire vampire culture, although not much is ever known about your character. They give you a mission that seems random (like sending you to find a very important vampire, instead of sending a more experienced vamp), but by the end, you see the true reason for everything. Friends are hard to find, as just about everyone will lie, cheat, and backstab to try and get to the top.

The Bad
Limitations: While there is a number of places to go throughout the game, most places are blocked off and you can never go there, which is a dissapointment. Another is character creation. While there are 14 possible characters (7 clans, 2 genders each), I really wanted a vampire that would look more unique than the basic bandana-wearing Brujah.

Bugs: I never really encountered any bugs...

Loading Screens: Way too many loading screens...it gets annoying.

The Bottom Line
If you need a new RPG, and are tired of the old hack n' slash fantasy game, go pick up a copy of Bloodlines.

The Good
Troika proved with its first game that it really knew how to create depth in a game world when handling role playing. This game proves to continue that tradition, as role-playing really shines in this game.

You start by selecting a vampire type, each with its own strengths, weaknesses and a special power only allowed to the particular vampire family. And each character type is an experience in itself: The ugly Nosferatu who must hides its visage from humans or risk revealing the masquerade; the beautiful Toreador who easily moves through humanity, seducing their victims; the Brujah who viciously use their muscle to get what they want; the insane malkovians who can’t seem to communicate to others without creating and uncomfortable situation, yet have better insight for it. As you see, there are many paths to follow allowing some replayability as you try various vampires.

From this you will go into the dark under belly of LA, feeling your way through intrigues, lies, and plots. In the process you will get various quests you can solve to ingratiate yourself with the denizens of the everlasting night. On resolving each quest, you gain experience and levels, which allow you to pour points into various skills and abilities. You may do so as you wish, though your choice of vampire type will make some skills more expensive than others. This allows even more customizability by choosing individualized skills for your vampire.

When you do go into the world, you will need to work within the rule of the Masquerade. You must avoid human understanding of what you are, or you could be punished. This is a great gameplay obstacle, and can be used to change how you are looked at. On top of this is the bloodlust you must satisfy. All major skills use blood and damage taken can only be healed by blood. So, you will need to find ways to sate the lust or risk permanent death. These limits of the game world do add to the gameplay and keep it fresh and risky.

As you move through the various areas of LA, such as Hollywood, Santa Barbara, and China town, you will meet quite a few great and personable NPCs. Each has memorable dialogue and are generally well voiced. Main NPCS are well rendered as well, making them feel more real. I always enjoyed interacting with them, as the menu driven conversations have many paths and allow many reactions. Even your powers will add more reactions, depending on ability. The best are the Malkovian responses, creating quite humorous reactions.

Various quests these NPCs will give you will keep you interested and are rarely repetitive. You will get to try your hand at fighting monsters, sneaking into various companies, hacking computers and many other actions. You will even get to try various skills in missions to accomplish your tasks, such as either talking or fighting your way in the Chinese theater. But this is not always the case as I mention in the bad.

Various locations are generally well done, and a few are pretty darned exceptional. The hotel is one of the best scary places I’ve seen in gaming in a long time. It oozes a kind of fun house atmosphere that is really enjoyable. I also found the psychiatrist’s mansion a weird but interesting area, reminiscent of Thief’s Balfor mansion.

This leads to the area of graphics. My first error was to play this alongside Half Life 2, which truly is an unfair comparison. Though there are bugs (mentioned below) many of the scenes are well detailed and nicely designed. Some are better than others, such as Chinatown and the Nosferatu town. For an RPG, the look of the graphics are well done. But there are some issues with performance, and some areas leave much to be desired.

Finally the story is very good. It is rather linear, but has its own twists and turns, mostly depending on you. Much of the best story is in the sidequests where you learn more about the politics of being a vampire. And you do get to determine the ending, and I suggest you try them all for they do have some surprises and nice cinematics. I felt the ending was well done, though there are some other opinions. And though you never really get to know your character, you do get a taste of White Wolf’s vampiric world.

The Bad
When it comes to role playing and characterization, Vampire gets a gold star. But battling enemies is another story. Despite multiple skills, battles devolve mostly in to clicking on the enemy to defeat them. Magic allows for some strategy, but the speed of battles can undermine thoughts of strategizing. And some of the tougher battles will use up your blood skills quickly before you can finish off the enemy. Enemies have a tendency to run up and attack without much thought to their actions. Many times you will use your powerful skills to kill enemies quickly without much more action.

For all the intricate character customizability, some of this gets lost in many actual quests one can undertake. Many of the actions emphasize only one or two skills, such as the zombie hunt requiring good gunplay. This would not be so bad if it were only the sidequests, but many of the main quests demand use of few skills, such as the need to sneak through the museum to get some of the best experience. If you leveled in the personality orders, you’ll find they get lost through many of the missions. There are some spells that will allow you to buff up your weaker skills, but it would still be nice to play through each as you have developed your character, not force your character into unnatural actions.

The final levels are the worst. Be prepared to use the last of your experience to beef up fighting skills and battle magic. You will be doing a lot of fighting and will have a hell of a time if you only poured your skills in other areas. This undermines the role playing strength of the game.

Another issue is the bugs. Many of the worst were fixed in the patch, but there are plenty of others. The graphics are choppy on the best of machines (I figure my ATI Radieon on 2.5 GHz machine is no slouch) and moving areas such as elevators skip around. I don’t blame Troika as much on this because Valve made a patch for the same issues in Half Life 2, but did not distribute it to Troika, leaving many problems in.

Load areas feel much like another bug, but they are a weakness a graphics heavy engine. Going in and out of buildings lead to all sorts of load times, and it can be frustrating to move around. On top of this, the places you go are both limited to a few areas and the areas feel artificially closed. There are many times I was confronted with strange barriers that shout “You are in an artificial room created by game developers!” Plus, it appears more areas were promised than delivered. Take a look at the box, I never saw that cowgirl anywhere.

Along with this are the graphical issues that can undermine believability. There are a lot of twins in the game at various places. Many of the body models can be so simple compared the the NPCs that it feels shoddy. And some areas are rather bland and repetitive (welcome to the sewers). Of course, much of this comes from the Half Life 2 comparison, and for an RPG, its not too bad.

The Bottom Line
Troika’s third and final game takes them to unfamiliar territory in creating Deus Ex style shooter. What they add is a deeper role playing system and in-depth character interactions. But, there are problems standard to Troika’s fare: bugs, a less then satisfying breadth of area, a linear finale with minor, though intriguing, choices in the end. They overreach at expansive gameplay and world but come up somewhat short, concentrating their efforts in a few areas leaving the game unbalanced, as if there could be so much more.

Despite the flaws, Troika does excel at what they concentrate on. This leads to a game that is well worth playing for to see how well they can do some things and leaves one wondering how well they could have made games had they found balance. So, if you want a fine example of idealistic zeal for creating great role-playing, characterization, and story, you can’t go wrong with this gem.