Reviews & Ratings for
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (VG) More at IMDbPro »

73 out of 75 people found the following review useful:

Buy this game.

Author: Talon77 from United States
18 January 2005

This is, without a doubt, one of the best games I have ever played. The plot line is engaging and fast-paced, the sub-quests are fun, the character development is superior to that of most novels, the graphics are great, the dialogue is better than most of what comes out of Hollywood. This game is addictive. The entire game changes depending upon what choices you make, from the smallest to the largest. You can play through the game over and over without being bored, and you discover little tidbits every time you do so.

It was developed by Troika, probably best known for Arcanum, RPG of the Year recently. This development house is top-notch, refusing to settle for inferior product in any aspect. They really outdid themselves this time. Yes, all their games have bugs... a small price to pay, and most are fixed through patches.

The game changes depending upon which of the seven Clans you choose, and even whether or not you are male or female. You can develop your character into a smooth-talker, and finesse your way past obstacles... or, become stealthy and sneak around them... or, make yourself into a weapon and plow through them.

Thus far, I have played through the game four times and I have not become bored yet. This game is the best of 2004, in my opinion.

I can not recommend it highly enough.

Edited-- Make sure to download the official patch! It fixes some of the minor graphical glitches. Also, there's a TON of fan support for this game. I believe they're up to patch 3.3 now.

25 out of 25 people found the following review useful:

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

Author: agvkrioni from United States
11 January 2007

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

17 out of 20 people found the following review useful:

Best RPG of 2004?

Author: amir20 from Grove Street.
17 July 2005

I think so.

This has to be one of the best, most exciting RPG's that I had the pleasure of playing.

right after KoTOR and before KoTOR II.

the plot is awesome and the characters are great. some funny, some evil. some are just plain weird.

this game makes being one of the children of the night fun as hell.

now a short review of the plot.

in the game, you play a person who spent the night with a vampire, and against his will was embraced.

since the laws of the camarilla prevents embracing without permission, you are about to be executed.

but I guess fate has other plans for you...

in your journey into "The World Of Darkness", you will see all kinds of weird stuff.

some are hideous, and some are funny. you will meet interesting characters, and slowly learn the truth behind it all.

the quests are great and fun(some are spooky).

I completed the game 3 times already(3 times as a tremere) and i'm going to start another game but this time as a gangrel :D.

i'm not gonna give you any info on the clans or their history, since i'm not the most educated person when it comes to the WOD(World Of Darkness).

i'm sure that you will find other people who can answer you'r questions.

so the bottom line is:

if you love RPG's. and you love a great plot with cool twists and fun quests.

GET THIS GAME!

10/10

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:

Wow...seriously

Author: spiff-12 (spiff@vcn.bc.ca) from New Westminster, BC, Canada
22 September 2011

I played this game straight through the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. When the credits rolled 'Boyarski...Anderson...Caine', my jaw dropped on the ground. My memory is pretty crappy for most things but it didn't miss a beat summoning up the reference; "Those are the creators of the original Fallout" - another excellent RPG series from a time before.

It's a shame that, at the time, 'Vampire' culture had its own following with a definite image problem. Ironically, the game itself makes fun of this 'culture' on the in-game radio show called 'The Deb of Night'. In 2004 Doom 3 was out...Half life 2 was a big hit. Fashioning a game of this amazing calibre under the wrappings of a known live-action RPG and culture of sorts limited the appeal to those beyond. Metaphorically; they put a gold bar in a plain brown wrapper. I didn't find out about it until recently when the raves of greatness came from the voices hovering around the discount bin at Steam. A 7 year old game and I'm playing (and enjoying it) more than Deus Ex - Human Revolution - though that's a pretty good game in itself.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

One of the games for the desert island...

Author: Diogenes81
15 June 2010

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

What never ceases to amaze about Bloodlines is how ambitious this game is. First, it's an action/RPG in which most of the quests have multiple solutions, allowing the player to choose between fights, stealth and diplomacy.

Second, it has an original, unique setting, a seedy Los Angeles of the World of Darkness tabletop games, where vampires and other supernatural creatures hide among humans. I mean, I adore Tolkien as much as the next ninth-level ranger, but sometimes it's refreshing to see a RPG which isn't about orcs and elves in a fantasy/medieval setting.

Third, the player can choose between one of the seven different clans, and the choice is definitely not just cosmetic - if you pick an aristocratic Ventrue focused on diplomacy and mental domination, or a social, seductive Toreador, then you'll be playing a completely different game from the player who takes an ugly, monstrous Nosferatu who has to lurk in the shadows. To say nothing of the hilarious, insane Malkavians. There is an incredible number of brilliant features, of touches of class: multiple endings, some of which are only available if you made certain choices through the game; the necessity to balance the need between feeding with human blood and preserving the Masquerade (keeping a low profile) and not losing your humanity to prevent the Beast from taking over; apparently minor choices which develop into interesting subplots, like saving a human by giving her your blood; safe houses where you keep in contact with other characters and get new subquests... amazing. The replay factor is high.

What really makes the game, though, is the writing: wonderfully charismatic characters (kudos to the superb voice acting and to some expressive facial animations) and the moody, involving story with horror and dark humour.

Flaws? Well, even after loads of official and unofficial patches (some remarkable work by fans), the game is still somewhat buggy (although now the bugs are not game-breaking anymore - always check for the last patch). Also, the last 10% of the game drops the RPG aspect and focuses almost exclusively on fights, penalizing characters who have not been created for combat - a bit of a cop-out for a game which, for most of its length, is so flexible and nonlinear.

In short, a classic masterpiece every RPG fan has to play.

9,1/10

0 out of 37 people found the following review useful:

Seriously overrated crap-wagon

Author: Mike from Warsaw, Poland
22 April 2005

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The game blows. Took me four hours to make it run and then I discovered how can one screw up a good engine that Source is. Indestructible bottles, goth chicks in red tights (look at them - their faces lack any details! They're just dancing mannequins with flat, low-res masks!) and no reason for using the physics system - remember where you had to put a stack of bricks on a plank to go further in HL2? And how can one screw up a good pen&paper roleplaying system that VtM is. Overly clichéd characters (a Prince with a three feet long stick up his a**, eight-foot tall Sheriff from nowhere, two Malkavians in one body, a Thinblood prophet - probably some Malkavian reject), equally clichéd scenario (couldn't that damn sarcophagus do anything else than go BOOM? I'd expect an Antediluvian or some Inconnu emerging and whacking everyone about!), not mentioning completely stupid way some of the Disciplines (mostly Domination, Auspex and Thaumaturgy) are designed and, what hurt me most, robbing your beginner character of half the dots a beginner character should have (yes, my Brujah made accordingly with VtM Rulebook has 3 Str, 4 Dex and 3 Sta while in Bloodlines I have lame-ass 1 Str, 3 Dex and 2 Sta - WTF is that? Am I Steven Hawking or something?!). To be quite honest, with my "rulebook beginner" stats the game is nothing more than an action/adventure game (I don't spend experience points I gain - no need for that). I just go here, whack one crazy sucker, go there, whack another one... The game was released done in maybe 1/3: screwed beta version of Source engine resulting in bulletproof glass and near-lack of using the physics system, flat-faced clubbers (take note of the girls with Sailor Moon hairdo and red tights - their faces lack any details), some weird teleportation magic going on in the chantry (no matter where you go, you'll get to Regent's room - the 'click' is noticeable, if not, try leaving an item on the last turn before Regent's room (glowing corridor), then turn back and walk into the other corridor - you'll pop almost right where you dropped the item!) and simply turning most NPCs into snacks on two legs makes this game to be stamped with a huge red "SUCKS" stamp. Bloodlines are boring and overrated. Some cool moments (haunted hotel and house of the dead) can't save it. Sorry, you're flushed.

Add another review

Related Links