Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodlines

[Evnissyen]

So, I've been playing this game (yes, finally), and damn this thing is good. About what you'd expect from Troika, which is great writing and great visual production... but, also really, really good voice acting. Even the music is good, and I'm usually really critical of music. (Good thing I do like it, since you can't turn the music off.)

(I'm playing a Malkavian, who are insane, so that makes the game extra fun. The dialogue options for a Malkavian... wow.)

There are a few things that bother me, here and there . . . also a few bugs, though nothing too bad . . . but mostly I think it's an amazing game, one of the very best I've played. Good writing goes a long way with me, much further than any other element, I think.

(But if I'm not done with the game by February 14, it's going on the backburner for Eschalon III. )

[ManusDei]

Be careful of the Malkavian dialogue options, I unfortunately made a choice opposite to the one I wanted near the end of the game because I misunderstood :p

There is a great mod for Malkavians here
http://www.vampire-network.net/modules. ... oad&cid=15
Called Malkavian whispering voices (guess what it does ?), I loved it.

You can find mods on internet that adds clans, quests and change rules to something closer to the pen and paper edition, but I wouldn't recommend them for the first few playthrough.

[GuybrushWilco]

I've been wanting to try this game because I am a fan of Troika, but I put it off because I thought it looked a bit Ann Rice'ish, and I'm not a fan of that type of vampire romance fiction. I really should try it since so many people seem to like it. I read that there is another game in the series, called 'Vampire:The Masquerade: Redemption' Is that game like Bloodlines, is it any good?

[ManusDei]

Did not play it, but from a friend who played both it's very different.
And Bloodlines is nothing like Ann Rice books
(you get to meet homicidal maniacs, mafia and other "nice" people)

[Evnissyen]

ManusDei, thanks, that looks cool... though unfortunately right now I'm playing a Tremere so it wouldn't apply. Oh, well. The Malkavian character is still my favorite. Those dementation options are killer, and she's also got the Obfuscation skill which is really valuable.

I'd look for some Tremere mods but I don't want to ruin my experience.

The Malkavian dialogues are absolutely great. I think the wacky font is a little too much, but the prose is great; they definitely put a lot of work into it.

(Tremere also seems more difficult than Malkavian or Toreador (I tried that one for a little while, nice skills but I got tired of him and moved on to Tremere... then Eschalon III came out and that's all I'm working on at the moment. .)

[GuybrushWilco]

Did not play it, but from a friend who played both it's very different.
And Bloodlines is nothing like Ann Rice books
(you get to meet homicidal maniacs, mafia and other "nice" people)

Well, I guess I have no reason to not break down and finally play it

[Evnissyen]

Oh, and... Vampire: Redemption looks to me like a more 'traditional' kind of action RPG. Haven't played it and have no plan to in the near future. First thing is it's not Troika. So my guess is the writing isn't as good. But, who knows? I might play it in the future.

Actually, knowing me I probably will.

[Evnissyen]

Did not play it, but from a friend who played both it's very different.
And Bloodlines is nothing like Ann Rice books
(you get to meet homicidal maniacs, mafia and other "nice" people)

Well, I guess I have no reason to not break down and finally play it

None at all!

EDIT: The music really isn't bad, as far as games tend to go, and a lot of the voice-overs are excellent... but the music does get tiresome after a while and I wish I could turn it off... no such option, sigh... but at least the music is *okay*. ...I'd be happy with the music being kept in the clubs & bars... but out on the street I wish I could turn it off.

[kelticpete]

I played bloodlines. really liked it. never finished it, I got to like the last 5% of game but screwed up and needed to replay about an hour and then lost interest.

it was buggy. there was a long patch in a sewer if you were a ventrue I have no idea how you could survive because there were no humans to feed on, just rats. I started with full blood and cheat coded in blood because it was a long area with a lot of fights. I think you would have to stealth or maybe not use any blood weapons or not get hurt to do that as ventrue!

anyway. it was pretty fun. totally worth the cash. and the mods make it even better.

[Evnissyen]

Ventrue and Brujah are the two I definitely have no interest in playing. Ventrue is actually at the bottom of my list as far as clans I'd want to play.

I started off with a Malkavian, I think I mentioned that. Awesome character/clan. After that I tried a Nosferatu just to see how much more difficult and interesting the changes would make it... I got frustrated pretty quickly, with people's reactions to me. The dementation skills are really fun, and obfuscation is really useful.

Moved on to the Toreador because of the celerity skill... fun and useful, but got tired of that after a little while and moved on to the mage clan, the Tremere... and I ended there when Eschalon III came out. Also, it just so happened that at that very moment I realized I made a mistake, in that I made a choice that prevented me from a couple of advantages to that clan playthrough that I really wanted to get, and when I realized this, I was so far beyond that turning-point/option that I would've had to replay several hours of material to get to the point where I got those specialized options I wanted. I'll probably return to it again at some point in the not-so-distant future. Those Tremere have some cool skills, too, but I still think that the Malkavians are the most fun of all.

Here's a question: how many people who've played this game played a character using exclusively guns? I'm tempted to give it a try, if I eventually decide I want to start over yet again with a new character, but I just don't like the guns... melee is much more fun. (Plus, it's a little nonsensical that you can kill vampires with guns without any headshots, after the game explained at the beginning that guns can only kill vampires with a headshot.)

One more thing: I always feel really bad about feeding on the homeless guys. Poor bastards. I have no problem feeding on cops, and guys urinating in the alley, but not the poor homeless guys. (I also don't think it makes sense that people's financial status should define the thickness of their blood, but... whatever. Game mechanics, right? Can't live without 'em.)

[ManusDei]

I don't remember what I first played (Gangrel maybe ?) but I played with guns mostly. Was fun, but not as much as Dementation. Sniper is nice too, but guns feel mostly out of place in this game.