Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (2004) (VG)

Directors:

Jason Anderson
Leonard Boyarsky

Writers:

Justin Achilli (game "Vampire: The Masquerade")
Brian Mitsoda (design, dialog and story) ...

Release Date:

16 November 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Action | Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Beginning your journey as a new Kindred, you must choose your path to follow the high class Vampire Society, or the lawbreaking group of Anarchs as you find your place in this new world.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Kindred | Camarilla | Sarcophagus | Hollywood California

Cast

Andy Milder	...	Prince Sebastian LaCroix (voice)
John Di Maggio	...	Smiling Jack (voice)
Edita Brychta	...	Ming-Xiao (voice)
Armando Valdés	...	Nines Rodriguez (voice)
Michael Gough	...	Beckett / Gimble (voice)
Jim Ward	...	Regent / Isaac / Bach (voice)
Grey DeLisle	...	Jeanette / Therese / Tourette (voice)
André Sogliuzzo	...	Mercurio / Caine / Bruno / Victor / Zhao (voice)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Bertram Tung (voice)
Courtenay Taylor	...	Heather / Damsel / Rosa / Doris (voice)
Phil LaMarr	...	Skelter / Fat Larry / Dennis / Malcolm (voice)
Kathryn Cressida	...	Venus / Misti / Hostess (voice)
Neil Ross	...	Gary / Male Sire (voice)
Nika Futterman	...	V.V. / Female Sire (voice) (as Nikka Futterman)
J. Grant Albrecht	...	Johansen / Kilpatrick / Grout / Bishop Vick / Dema (voice)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:MA | UK:18 | USA:M

Company:

Troika Games

Trivia:

Although the game "went gold" in early October, "Bloodlines" could not be released before Valve's Half-Life 2 (2004) (VG) because both games made use of Valve's new graphics engine technology and Valve wanted their own game to debut first. This enabled Troika Games to work on a "Bloodlines" patch, fixing a number of game issues, which was then integrated into the duplication master before the game was shipped in mid-November. Therefore, Version 1.1 was the version that first shipped.

Quotes:

Mercurio: Call me old fashioned, but I don't believe in talking about that stuff in front of a woman.
Ventrue: Call me old fashioned, but I believe a knee to the balls tends to make a guy talk.

Movie Connections:

References The Shining (1980)

Soundtrack:

Come Alive

An ancient, organized conclave of vampires invades Hollywood. But you already knew that...

First thing first- this game chugs on most machines like you wouldn't believe. We're talking Rambo pulling an army helicopter on a chain- it would obviously still go (hey it's Rambo) but it would really slow...

That being said; the story, the art, the style, the fighting and the gameplay are all superb. The game has multiple endings and several different ways to complete the game.

You start off choosing a race, much like an MMORPG. Race affects your starting abilities, as well as how you play the game. Some races are good with firearms and fist fighting, some are stealthy, some wield magic very well, and others have a silver tongue for smooth diplomacy. And, I don't mean the boring diplomacy where you roll a dice and hope your saving throw works- I mean a choose what to say in a dialogue based on your playing style and charisma and affect how the NPCs respond.

Because there are different playing styles and a horde of abilities, one can redo missions over and over with different results each time. However, that isn't so far as to say that each outcome is different. Let's face it, there are a hundred ways to skin a cat, but each time you are left with a sticky pile of fur.

The game is dark and yet romantic, stylized at it's very core. Sometimes it feels more like a Detective NOIR or a mob story then a typical Vampire.

Vampire: The Masquerade II: Bloodlines is really 50% First Person Shooter, 50% RPG, and 10% Adventure. Yes, the developer's gave this game 110% of effort. XD