Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is a video game that consists of 2 releases
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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is an RPG/first person shooter hybrid developed by the now defunct Troika Games and published by Activision . It was released exclusively for the PC.
Bloodlines is based on White Wolf's pen-and-paper role playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. Similar in depth and atmosphere to Deus Ex and with a dialogue system similar to later Bioware RPGs, Bloodlines has been described by many as "Deus Ex with vampires." Although Bloodlines divided critics at the time of release, it retains a popular cult following.
Though initially suffering from many bugs and balance issues, most problems have since been resolved through a series of fan-made patches.
By the time the game was released, White Wolf had replaced the edition of the Vampire: The Masquerade pen-and-paper game on which it was based with Vampire: The Requiem (in which White Wolf had merged The Masquerade and Dark Ages), the original now obsolete. Since The Requiem, all White Wolf pen-and-paper games require the same " World of Darkness" base book.
The player assumes the role of a newly sired vampire, whose abilities, vampire clan, character history, and gender are determined by the player at the beginning of the game by either choosing yourself or completing a questionnaire. Gameplay consists of exploring the environment, conversing with characters, and engaging in combat. Many of the characters encountered during the game provide quests that must be completed in order to advance the story, though many of the quests are optional. Combat consists of using firearms and melee weapons to engage humans, vampires, and other supernatural creatures. A first person perspective is used during firearm based combat, while a third person perspective is utilized for melee combat.
Depending on how the player defines their character, they will have access to several vampiric abilities. The use of these abilities is governed by the amount of blood a player has in reserve. Every time one of the abilities is used, a certain amount of blood is consumed. When a player's blood reserves are depleted, they may no longer use their vampiric abilities. In order to replenish blood reserves, the player must seek out unsuspecting humans on which to prey (or unsuspecting rats if that's their thing).
One of the interesting concepts employed in Bloodlines is the Masquerade system. Vampires prize secrecy, because they recognize that their lives are much easier if humans do not believe that they exist. For the sake of this secrecy, the Masquerade system discourages socially unacceptable vampire behavior. For example, the player is punished for engaging in activity like feeding in the middle of a busy street or conspicuously displaying feats of superhuman strength or speed. Conversely, the player is rewarded for engaging in activities the help preserve "the Masquerade."
Bloodlines has considerable replayability due to the many choices the player is given as they progress through the game. Rich dialogue options give the player control over how their character interacts with others, and many of the dialogue choices help determine the direction of the game's story. The game's quest can often be completed in multiple ways. For example, when tasked with retrieving an item, the player might obtain the item by talking someone into giving it to them, stealthily stealing it, or resorting to violence. Clan selection (described below) can also have a profound effect on the game experience.
Outside you are met by Smiling Jack who offers to show you the ropes and explain what this whole vampire thing is about. You can ignore him if you want and go straight to your new home. Either way you will meet again...
From this point on you are the Prince's errand boy (or girl). You're sent to Santa Monica to blow up a warehouse belonging to a rival faction of vampires, the Sabbat. The ghoul Mercurio gives you instructions and equipment, but before you get anywhere with your mission you become deeply embroiled in local politics. A feud between the baroness of Santa Monica, Therese Voerman, and Bertram Tung, the one vampire who can get you to the warehouse, threatens to jeopardize the entire mission. You do a few favours for Therese and her sister, Jeanette, but it soon becomes clear there's is something strange about the twins.
Eventually you learn Therese and Jeanette are one and the same person and with their 'conflict' resolved you are finally able to meet the Nosferatu, Tung, and take care of the warehouse.
Your mission completed you return to Downtown LA where the Prince is surprised to see you still alive. Unfazed, he sends you off on further missions.
It is at this point that the "Ankaran Sarcophagus" enters into the story. An ancient relic unearthed in Turkey, it is carried to The States on the Elizabeth Dane, but the crew have mysteriously disappeared and the Prince wants you to find out what happened.
There are rumours that the sarcophagus contains an ancient vampire, an Anti-deluvian. Some think it will bring on the Apocalypse (Gehenna) while others see it as a potential source of power.
In the meantime, you make the acquaintance of your saviour, Nines, and his band of Anarchs. No shortage of politics here either. There is little love lost between them and the Prince, who represents the " Camarilla", the self-appointed governing body of vampires.
There are others though even within the Camarilla, like regent Strauss, who are less than thrilled with the Prince's leadership...
After you return from The Dane you are sent to look for Dr Alistair Grout, an important Malkavian vampire who seems to have disappeared. You find him murdered in his bed. Nines Rodriguez, whom you see leaving the scene of the crime, is blamed for the murder and goes in hiding.
By this point the sarcophagus has been taken to the National History Museum. The Prince is keen to get his hands on it, so you are sent to retrieve it. Unfortunately you are too late as the sarcophagus has been stolen. Lacroix is furious and sends you to Hollywood to see the Nosferatu and find out who else knew about the sarcophagus... but the Nosferatu are nowhere to be found. Something is keeping them hidden in their sewers.
With the help of Isaac, the local Anarch baron, you find out a Tzmisce vampire has been hunting them down with hideous deformed creatures. Once these abominations have been neatly dispatched, you meet Gary Golden, leader of the Nosferatu who offers to trade you the information you want in return for your help.
You must go to Chinatown and find a missing Nosferatu by the name of Barabus. Upon arrival you are welcomed by Ming Xiao, the mysterious high-priestess of the Kuei-Jin. She gives you permission to conduct your search, but offers little assistance. You eventually find the Nosferatu a prisoner in a testing facility designed to research vampires.
You break out and Gary informs you that the sarcophagus is held at the mansion of the Giovanni, an old Italian vampire family. Once there you are confronted by Kuei-Jin warriors who claim an alliance with Prince Lacroix, which the Prince later denies. You return with the sarcophagus, but the one man who knows how to open it, the archeologist Johansen, has been kidnapped by the witch-hunter Society of Leopold to be used as bait for Lacroix.
You go to his rescue and find out the sarcophagus requires a key, but in your absence the Prince's headquarters is attacked by the Sabbat. You are sent to their hideout, Hallowbrook Hotel, to retaliate. Back on the streets, you run into Ming Xiao who reveals it was she who skilled Grout, using her shape-shifting ability to appear as Nines. Despite this she expresses a hope that when again you meet "it will be as friends".
When Lacroix learns of this he asks you to seek out Nines and negotiate a truce to join forces against the Kuei-Jin. Nines has been hiding out at Griffith Park. You find him, but someone follows you there and starts a fire which draws the attention of the local werewolves. Nines is caught by one of the beasts and you barely make it out yourself.
Fearing you may be becoming too powerful, the Prince turns and calls a "Blood Hunt" on you. Your old friend Jack takes you to your apartment in Santa Monica and from there you have to make your way through packs of bloodthirsty vampires to a taxi that will take you "where you feel most safe".
Nines, it turns out, is still alive. You can side with him, with the Kuei-Jin, or the Camarilla (Strauss)... or you can go back to the Prince. Depending on which side you choose, you first go to fetch the key to the sarcophagus in Chinatown, then return to finish off the Prince, OR you fight only one of the two.
The fate of the sarcophagus and the city is in your hands...
Patches
In addition to the official 1.2 patch, there is an unofficial patch that fixes many bugs and other issues (and continues to be updated).
Both patches are available at The Patches Scrolls.
Bloodlines is a first person action-RPG built on Source engine and based on the World of Darkness setting from White Wolf.
Overview
Jeanette
Bloodlines is based on White Wolf's pen-and-paper role playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. Similar in depth and atmosphere to Deus Ex and with a dialogue system similar to later Bioware RPGs, Bloodlines has been described by many as "Deus Ex with vampires." Although Bloodlines divided critics at the time of release, it retains a popular cult following.
Though initially suffering from many bugs and balance issues, most problems have since been resolved through a series of fan-made patches.
Licensing and Delays
Bloodlines was one of the first games to use Valve's Source engine. One condition of this early licensing, however, was that Bloodlines could not be released prior to Half Life 2. Due to Half Life 2's numerous delays, Bloodlines sat completed for close to a year.By the time the game was released, White Wolf had replaced the edition of the Vampire: The Masquerade pen-and-paper game on which it was based with Vampire: The Requiem (in which White Wolf had merged The Masquerade and Dark Ages), the original now obsolete. Since The Requiem, all White Wolf pen-and-paper games require the same " World of Darkness" base book.
Gameplay
Appropriately Gothic
Sewers of Santa Monica.
One of the interesting concepts employed in Bloodlines is the Masquerade system. Vampires prize secrecy, because they recognize that their lives are much easier if humans do not believe that they exist. For the sake of this secrecy, the Masquerade system discourages socially unacceptable vampire behavior. For example, the player is punished for engaging in activity like feeding in the middle of a busy street or conspicuously displaying feats of superhuman strength or speed. Conversely, the player is rewarded for engaging in activities the help preserve "the Masquerade."
The seedy side of LA.
Clans
Clans in Bloodlines function in similarly to classes in other RPGs. They determine the strengths and weakness of the character, as well as their special powers. The game plays very differently depending on which class you pick. The classes are:- Brujah - Rebellious vampires with hot blood in their veins who specialize in close-combat.
Toreador
- Tremere - Practitioners of Thaumaturgy, or Blood Magic. They are mysterious and feared by the other clans.
- Malkavian - The specific blood that the Malkavians pass on causes insanity in the afflicted. Makes for a very different and interesting play experience.
- Gangrel - Beastmen. The Gangrel are feral vampires who are closely in touch with their animalistic nature.
Brujah
- Nosferatu - The Nosferatu are incredibly ugly, but they have adapted to this weakness by being the most secretive and sneaky of the vampire clans.
- Toreador - The Toreador are the suave lady-killer vampires, like many you have seen in movies.
- Ventrue - The Ventrue are vampiric royalty. They make up the Camarilla, which is the governing body of the vampire world.
Plot
The story of Vampire Bloodlines begins with your "siring" as a vampire one night. Apparently there are rules for these things and vampire society does not approve. You and the one who turned you are taken prisoner on Prince Lacroix' orders and sentenced to death by public execution. Before your sentence is carried out however, Anarch vampire Nines Rodriguez intervenes and Lacroix decides to spare your life, for now.
LaCroix
Nines
... and Jack
Outside you are met by Smiling Jack who offers to show you the ropes and explain what this whole vampire thing is about. You can ignore him if you want and go straight to your new home. Either way you will meet again...
From this point on you are the Prince's errand boy (or girl). You're sent to Santa Monica to blow up a warehouse belonging to a rival faction of vampires, the Sabbat. The ghoul Mercurio gives you instructions and equipment, but before you get anywhere with your mission you become deeply embroiled in local politics. A feud between the baroness of Santa Monica, Therese Voerman, and Bertram Tung, the one vampire who can get you to the warehouse, threatens to jeopardize the entire mission. You do a few favours for Therese and her sister, Jeanette, but it soon becomes clear there's is something strange about the twins.
Sisters fighting.
Your mission completed you return to Downtown LA where the Prince is surprised to see you still alive. Unfazed, he sends you off on further missions.
It is at this point that the "Ankaran Sarcophagus" enters into the story. An ancient relic unearthed in Turkey, it is carried to The States on the Elizabeth Dane, but the crew have mysteriously disappeared and the Prince wants you to find out what happened.
The Prince is troubled.
In the meantime, you make the acquaintance of your saviour, Nines, and his band of Anarchs. No shortage of politics here either. There is little love lost between them and the Prince, who represents the " Camarilla", the self-appointed governing body of vampires.
There are others though even within the Camarilla, like regent Strauss, who are less than thrilled with the Prince's leadership...
Grout Mansion
By this point the sarcophagus has been taken to the National History Museum. The Prince is keen to get his hands on it, so you are sent to retrieve it. Unfortunately you are too late as the sarcophagus has been stolen. Lacroix is furious and sends you to Hollywood to see the Nosferatu and find out who else knew about the sarcophagus... but the Nosferatu are nowhere to be found. Something is keeping them hidden in their sewers.
Ming Xiao
You must go to Chinatown and find a missing Nosferatu by the name of Barabus. Upon arrival you are welcomed by Ming Xiao, the mysterious high-priestess of the Kuei-Jin. She gives you permission to conduct your search, but offers little assistance. You eventually find the Nosferatu a prisoner in a testing facility designed to research vampires.
You break out and Gary informs you that the sarcophagus is held at the mansion of the Giovanni, an old Italian vampire family. Once there you are confronted by Kuei-Jin warriors who claim an alliance with Prince Lacroix, which the Prince later denies. You return with the sarcophagus, but the one man who knows how to open it, the archeologist Johansen, has been kidnapped by the witch-hunter Society of Leopold to be used as bait for Lacroix.
Trouble at Griffith Park
When Lacroix learns of this he asks you to seek out Nines and negotiate a truce to join forces against the Kuei-Jin. Nines has been hiding out at Griffith Park. You find him, but someone follows you there and starts a fire which draws the attention of the local werewolves. Nines is caught by one of the beasts and you barely make it out yourself.
Unseen...
Nines, it turns out, is still alive. You can side with him, with the Kuei-Jin, or the Camarilla (Strauss)... or you can go back to the Prince. Depending on which side you choose, you first go to fetch the key to the sarcophagus in Chinatown, then return to finish off the Prince, OR you fight only one of the two.
The fate of the sarcophagus and the city is in your hands...
Soundtrack
- Swamped - Lacuna Coil
- Cain - Tiamat
- Bloodlines - Ministry
- Needles Eye - Die My Darling
- Come Alive - Daniel Ash
- Pound - Aerial2012
- Isolated - Chiasm
- Lecher Bitch - Genitorturers
- Smaller God - Darling Violetta
Reception
On Metacritic, the game has a respectable 80/100 score. Many of the criticisms of the game centered on the buggy release. The game shipped with a bug that caused the game to crash for many players halfway through the game. The buggy release was eventually slightly rectified with an official patch from Troika. However, financial difficulties at Troika led to the closing of the studio, thereby discontinuing official patches. Many problems with the game remained months after release, until fans of the game took it upon themselves to produce unofficial patches.
Nines
Availability
The game is now available via Valve's Steam client.Patches
In addition to the official 1.2 patch, there is an unofficial patch that fixes many bugs and other issues (and continues to be updated).Both patches are available at The Patches Scrolls.
System Requirements
System requirements are as follows: 1.2GHz Pentium III or Athlon processor or higher, 384MB of RAM, 3.3GB of hard drive space, and a Direct X 9.0c video card.
| Game Name | Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines |
| Platform(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Genres |
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| Themes | |
| Original US Release |
Nov. 16, 2004
need a fuzzy date? |
| Original US Release |
know the real date? |
| Aliases | |
| BBFC |
BBFC: 18
|
| ESRB |
ESRB: M
|
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