Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (2004 Video Game) User Reviews

Buy this game.

[Talon77 · 10/10 · 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.

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

[agvkrioni · 10/10 · 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

The Crown Jewel of RPG

[jseph1234 · 10/10 · 8 November 2013]

The first time I HEARD of Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines was while searching for a new game to play after Neverwinter Nights 2. I watched Gopher's Let's play of Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines and after seeing the first (2) episodes, I stopped watching because I said I HAVE TO PLAY THIS!

This game has the most creative NPC (Non Player Characters) that interact with you an a way that is authentic, organic and very creative. The back story and Lore of World of Darkness by White Wolf in which Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines takes place in is one of treachery, plots within plots and the never-ending hunger (Called "The Beast") to feed on blood.

You have different choices that you can make, which have a DIRECT impact on your progression and interactions in the game.

You have the choice of playing from one of (8) clans as a Male or Female and each clan has their own individual powers, motivations, horrors and quests.

I started of playing the INCREDIBLE Clan Malkavian and had NUMEROUS humorous moments from the confusion on the individual faces because of the insanity that runs in this clans and their dialog choices.

I cannot recommend this game enough to anyone that's wants to experience a TRULY unique RPG video game.

Be sure to obtain and install the Official patch, found here: http://planet-vampire.net2

and then the Unofficial Patch, found here: http://www.patches-scrolls.de/patch

and Enjoy!!

Best RPG of 2004?

[amir20 · 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

You've made a powerful enemy today, sign

[petra_ste · 9/10 · 15 June 2010]

Bloodlines is an ambitious game, for several reasons.

First, it's an action/RPG in which quests often have multiple solutions, allowing players to choose between combat, stealth and diplomacy.

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

Third, the player can choose between one of seven different clans, and the choice is not just cosmetic: if you pick an aristocratic Ventrue focused on diplomacy or a seductive Toreador, you'll be playing a completely different game from the player who chooses a monstrous Nosferatu, always lurking in the shadows. To say nothing of the hilariously insane Malkavians.

There is an abundance of great ideas: multiple endings, some of which only available if you made specific choices earlier the game; the necessity to balance the need between feeding with blood and not losing your humanity, while also keeping a low profile (the "Masquerade"); apparently minor choices developing into neat subplots.

What further elevates the game is the writing: wonderfully charismatic characters, with superb voice acting and expressive facial animations, and a creepy story featuring plenty of horror and black humour.

Flaws? Well, even after loads of official and unofficial patches (some remarkable work by fans), the game is still somewhat buggy (although now bugs are not game-breaking anymore). Also, the last act drops the RPG elements and focuses almost exclusively on fights, penalizing non combat-oriented characters - a cop-out for a game which, for most of its course, is so flexible.

There are also a few puzzling bits - a sewer section so drab and unimaginative compared to what precedes and follows it, you wonder what the developers were thinking - but overall this is a must-play classic.

The GREATEST RPG of All-Time

[jseph1234-262-617488 · 10/10 · 5 September 2016]

Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines Buy it on GoG or Steam and be sure to use latest Unofficial Patch from here http://www.patches-scrolls.de/patch/4647/7

Most amazing dialogue options in any RPG, Period!

Perfect music in every setting

The NPC voice acting and facial animation are the BEST and most creative interactions I have ever experience.

There are SEVEN Clans you can play and All offer unique playing experiences and styles

Malkavians (Watch a play-through and you'll know why, too funny for words!)

The Awesome and ongoing Unofficial Patch development by Wesp5, The Clan Quest Mod (That adds a fully voiced additional quest for all Seven of the Clans), The Finals Nights Mod and the Antitrubu Mods that both allow you to play more exotic clans.

Re-playability. I am on my Fourth Play-through and just being able to play each character differently and the layers of the Onion that you keep peeling away on this Masterpiece are amazing!!

Lore! White Wolf/Paradox World of Darkness in which VTMB is set is just an unbelievably rich world and setting.

Choices and Consequence. 4 Different Endings that you make through your on own personal choices as you play. Also, Consequences as you play through the game (I won't spoil it, You just have to play it and you'll see what I mean) Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines REMAINS The King of RPG'S and now you know why.

Wow...seriously

[spiff-12 · 10/10 · 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.

This game is GREAT

[cruzwindt-46534 · 9/10 · 11 February 2018]

The only reason I gave it a 9 instead of a 10, it's because of the bugs and how the ending part is obviously unfinished work, this is one of the best, if not the best RPG that I've played as a video game. Unfortunately didn't have enough time to be developed and it wasn't popular enough to save the company that made it so they went out without even making patches. If RPGs took this game as a model we could have much more quality games on the market.

Omg

[janningschrotter-33496 · 10/10 · 25 February 2024]

I love this game. A great game. The plot was good with multiple choices. I would have loved to see a mod-er fan update with a collaboration between the makers and fans to give this game even more love. I remember when playing this game in the haunted mansion and thinking am I playing a game or watching a movie. The op plot sold it. As a game it was very playable but so much good mod-er stuff that could have been used to make it even better. I am sure critics showing it love was well appreciated. The expensive plot could have been more explained with a little more fan service. What you could do in the game could have been a little more.

Seriously overrated crap-wagon

[SeriouslyMike · 2/10 · 22 April 2005]

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.