Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodlines

[Shawn]

Wow. I saw this posted at another board:

http://img28.exs.cx/img28/3867/Untitled-287.th.jpg (http://img28.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img28&image=Untitled-287.jpg)

That has to be one of the most impressive looking screenshots I've ever seen.

[Dasquian Belargic]

That has to be one of the most impressive looking screenshots I've ever seen.

the curtains and floor! :eek

[James Prent]

Originally posted by Dasquian Belargic
the curtains and floor! :eek

[Kelt Simoson]

Originally posted by Shawn

That has to be one of the most impressive looking screenshots I've ever seen.

*adds bloodlines to the list* O_O

[Dasquian Belargic]

ohhhh I can't wait to kick some undead Sabbat behind :D :D :D :D

[QuiGonJ]

I'm thinking on whether or not to get that one instead of HL2 tonight.. decisions, decisions.

[Shawn]

So far, it's shaping up to be the best first-person RPG I've played. It doesn't quite have the sheer "Go anywhere, do anything" attraction that Morrowind does but, instead, trades that for a much more focused narrative.

If you're a fan of the World of Darkness setting, the game really shines. It's a much, much better adaptation of the PnP game than Nihilistic's "Redemption".

The game is very reminiscent of the first Deus Ex, in that there's always multiple solutions to a problem. There's also a bit of KOTOR-like dialogue options, in which you can choose whether to be a real moral pillar or a greedy powermonger. There's literally dozens of ways to play the game.

Tack on tons of optional side-quests, and you're looking at 40-60 hours of gameplay. Plus, I really want to play through it mutiple times to try out some of the other clans and other gameplay styles.

While I'm sure people looking for the next big FPS will laud Half-Life 2 until my ears bleed, I think VtM: Bloodlines is going to be my personal game of the year. I simply find RPGs more engaging, and this is one heck of an RPG.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Plus, I really want to play through it mutiple times to try out some of the other clans and other gameplay styles.


waitaminute... you get to pick, from the beginning, which clan you're a part of?

[Shawn]

You can pick from any of the Camarilla clans. You can also choose your gender, and characters will respond differently depending on which one you're playing.

You can play a Brujah and get through the game by bullying and intimidating people. Or if you play a Nosferatu, you'll be forced to live in the sewers and feed off of rats.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Originally posted by Shawn
You can pick from any of the Camarilla clans. You can also choose your gender, and characters will respond differently depending on which one you're playing.

You can play a Brujah and get through the game by bullying and intimidating people. Or if you play a Nosferatu, you'll be forced to live in the sewers and feed off of rats.

:cry < tears of joy. I want this game now!! Oh the possibilities... clan Gangrel, here I come >D

[Shawn]

Playing as a Malkavian in VtM: Bloodlines offers some hilarious dialogue choices:

http://img72.exs.cx/img72/8548/Untitled-235.th.jpg (http://img72.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img72&image=Untitled-235.jpg)

[Morgan Evanar]

Ahh, those who are kissed by Malkav are truly speshul.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Originally posted by Shawn
Playing as a Malkavian in VtM: Bloodlines offers some hilarious dialogue choices:

Gotta love those crazy Malkavs! At least that isn't as confusing as whathisface in Redemption... the hacker

[Dasquian Belargic]

I have a sneaky feeling that this is sitting underneath my Christmas tree :D:D:D:D

[Dasquian Belargic]

:cry!!!

I got this for Xmas, installed it, and it won't work! I can hear the sound of the intro movies and the menu, but the monitor turns itself off! I can alt-tab out of them, but going back in just turns the monitor off again :cry

EDIT: Adjusted the refresh rate, problem solved :D

[Shawn]

Let us know how it goes. :D

[Dasquian Belargic]

It's been quite challenging! I'm playing as a Toreador, so naturally combat doesn't come naturally - rather unfortunate given that so far quite a few of the quests I've done have required delivering final death to someone! I've just arrived at a house which seems to be full of infinite numbers of zombies :uhoh

[QuiGonJ]

Heh, I've reached the same spot, and I'm playing Toreador as well.

I'm enjoying the game, I just wish it was more polished. I've had to go back several times because of bugs, despite playing with the patch released on 12/22/04.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm quite a lot further on now :) In Chinatown.

[Phantom]

I just got it today, can't wait to play it.

[Phantom]

OMG, this game is sooo awesome.

I'm playing as a Male Ventrue, though i'm thinking of making a Gangrel, they seem more my style.

They came out with a patch for the game, cleans up some of the stuff they were having problems with.

http://www.vampirebloodlines.com/patch/

[QuiGonJ]

I just finished it... no spoilers, but while I did enjoy the ending, the final battle ran like a slideshow on my system, which is way above minimum specs.

That pretty much sums up my experience with the game too. I did enjoy it more than Half-Life 2, and I think the story is very engaging, but it was frustrating how little bugs would pop up all over the place.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I had a very frustrating experience fighting Bach, is it? In the Society of Leopold. I hadn't raised my skill with ranged weapons very much throughout the game, so it took forever for me to finish that fight, since he ran away if you got in too close, and kept using that damn faith shield.

I've kind of lost my interest in playing it at the minute, although I haven't finished it yet. I'm just storming the Sabbat hotel, which feels like an incredibly tedious process of killing lots of Sabbat thugs without getting anywhere in particular.

[Shawn]

My best suggestion for difficult boss battles as a Toreador would be to use Blood Buff and Celerity. That should give you decent skills in both ranged and melee/brawl.

The Sabbat hotel can be confusing at first. I mainly snuck by most of the enemies in there. But I believe many of the enemies there carry shotguns, which could make your life a little easier.

When in doubt, Blood Buff and then snack on someone nearby. :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm just replaying this again, since I activated it on Steam, and I can't believe I never played Tremere before... blood magic kicks vamp behind.

I am also discovering the bonuses of using the Persuasian feat, which I never really utilized before since I generally was playing either as a Malkav or a character with a few points tossed into Charisma, at most.

Have to say, raiding Grout's mansion is probably the most surreal Christmas eve I've had in a while.