(Originally Written January 8th, 2019)
STILL THE TOP VAMPIRE GAME
Back when I was in High School, I was never a real big fan of vampires much. It was my cousin who showed me some cool stuff at the time, like the manga Blood+, we use to play Vampire Night on PS2 in Middle School all the time. It was like Time Crisis, you know, back in the day when some games used Guncons ;) those were the days...
Around 2010 was when my friends got me into the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout. Oblivion to this day holds a special place in my heart when it comes to RPG games, not only because I shared many experiences through it with my friends but because it is still a beautiful, unique game. However Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines for me is right next to Oblivion. I would not say behind, but possible a bit ahead!
I've played so many games across practically all platforms, I love all of them because I have chosen to go to a career in creating games so I appreciate all creations. Yet these two games are imprinted in my mind as if I never stopped playing them. Specifically in Bloodlines, the level design is not complex, yet it is extremely atmospheric. I've never been to Santa Monica, and the architecture of the game is not realistic. However the lighting, music, color and overall sense makes me feel as if I have been to such a place. The soundtrack itself is a whole other masterpiece, I listened to it so many times as a separate being.
The game was made in 2004, but has this real 90's way, where I feel like I am going back in a time machine every time I play it. Not in a bad way. It highlights the best, and interesting part of the 90s video games and pop-culture. The dark, gritty, feel. Many comic book fans explain the 90's as a time of dark, broody, and bloody. Well the same could be said for this era in general (video games, and movies too).
The controls are easy, and the feel of your character's movement has weight and momentum to it that's just right. It doesn't feel stiff, or too much. The combat is plain fun, plain stupid fun. No hard thinking to it, but it is not child's play either. With all of the different classes to choose from there are so many ways to fight, and go forward. You have these classes, the Toreador, Brujah, Tremere, Nosferatu, Gangrel, Ventrue and Malkavian.
The Brujah are the brutes, straight forward clan who loves to fight. These would be the street gangs, and mostly consist of the Anarch group. They are fully against the status quo of the Vampire society. Specifically they hate the Camarilla organziation and the head Ventrue LaCroix. Interesting characters in the Brujah would be Jack and Rodriguez. Rodriguez in his past mortal life survived the great depression, he is the leader of the Brujah and Anarchs.
The Toreador, are the artist, and philosophers of the vampires, even actors/actresses. They love the spotlight and theatrics, but can become very obsessive with beauty and looks. They are good seducers.
The Tremere are the mages of this game's universe. Not the nice mages like Gandalf, but more like the Blood Mages in the Dragon Age series. They cannot be trusted by most of the Masquerade, but nobody really messes with their kind due to fear of their capabilities.
The Nosferatu are deformed, inhuman by appearance. However they can consist of some of the most intelligent characters in the story. Many of them are experts and masters at hacking and manipulating computer systems. They cannot operate in open society like most vampires can, so they must do their business in the dark, unseen. Such harsh sets of rules are imposed on them through nature and the Masquerade, that they have developed survival abilities unlike any other clan.
The Gangrel do not really play much of a part in this game as much as I personally would have liked. They walk on all fours, and maneuver more like animals than man. They are connected more with nature, and creatures, and find distaste of human society. The catch is, they need to have more discipline in controlling the hunger otherwise they tun into wolf like monsters that run on instinct. This monster makes them extra dangerous because it transforms their physical powers and attacks.
The Ventrue are a clan of high society, vampires who weren't just regular people in their past mortal lives. They were people of nobility, high status, or even played a significant role in history. The Ventrue control the Masquerade through the umbrella called The Camarilla. The Camarilla imposes strict laws on all Vampire Clans to "protect them from human interference". In fear of human's discovering these clans, mankind may respond with genocide against the immortals. One character you deal with, LaCroix, is the head honcho of the Camarilla who lives in his tower over the city. It is not really made clear, but their are hints that LaCroix may possibly be Napoleon Bonaparte himself. Now that's not really confirmed, but what an awesome concept.
The Malkavians, a clan of pure madness. Their madness shows the truth of reality that no mortal or other immortal will ever understand. Playing as this clan changes up the style a bit by giving you unique dialogue lines completely different from the other clans you can play as. The lines are filled with insanity, and illogical conversations. This just adds to the replay-ability value, making you wonder how weird it can get playing as this specific character. I'd say the Malkavian is the most commonly played clan on this game, or at least the most liked.
The blood effects add to the impact of your attacks and make you feel like your actually doing some damage. Many games, especially most modern games for me are missing this important aspect for game-play. I don't like feeling as though I'm hitting a rock, or bullet-sponge. Give me something lifelike and a bit over the top just to make it fun! The stealth is for an old game, I'd say great. Though during 2004 I believe Splinter Cell was big around that time so stealth wasn't as good but it's not the main element of this game. The leveling up isn't anything complicated, it is similiar to the Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance leveling scheme from PS2, mixed with some Fallout leveling.
The story, now personally I'd say the story and lore of the Masquerade Universe is ahead of it's time. For some it may be even better than Fallout or the Elder Scrolls. The characters are really interesting and all are unique and memorable. There wasn't one character I disliked. You've got characters like Jeanette Voerman who suffers from dual personalities, one side she is a crazy Harley Quinn and the other a sophisticated, cold, calculating business women. One of the creepiest antagonist would be Andre the Tzimsce, who originates from a vampire species of flesh and bone weavers. He molds his victims into horrific abominations, and lives in a mansion of flesh, literally, it's insane!
Some characters have a feeling of time, like they've been around. The first character you meet in a dark alley after being chided into the masquerade, Jack, is rumored to be black-beard himself. A total anarchist, with a George Carlin style of humor, his impression of modern day black beard is believable, funny, and bad-ass. My favorite though is Gary the Nosferatu! The Nosferatu are hideous vampires, deformed so much that they are not allowed to roam the surface. Doing so would violate the Masquerade, so instead they dwell in sewers and underground systems. Gary has a soothing, raspy voice, filled with playful tact in his dialogue he is a blast to listen to. Once a movie star from the 50's era, he somehow became a nosferatu never to be heard of again. Yet he never lost his charm, kind of like if Dean Martin became a nosferatu. He'd still have class!
What makes these characters so full of life is the voice acting. The animations are not anything to boast about, they fall in line with Oblivion and Fallout 3 stiff NPC characters, but a bit more free in movement. In dialogue they move their arms, hands, and body, nothing extreme but just enough. So it's not just watching a bobbing head, and a mouth lip syncing. What makes this bearable, and frankly ahead of those named Bethesda games, are the facial animations! Simple animations, but the facial modeling, structures, and design of each unique character works EFFORTLESSLY. The facial designs are mesmerizing, the eyes are not uncanny and feel as if they pierce through you. The lip syncing, I do not know for sure, but the lips do not feel automated. The animations feel well crafted for 2004, putting many rpgs at the time to shame.
The lore is very cool, and there are even some old 90's novels you can read if you get them on ebay or Amazon. I would recommend these novels if you are a hardcore fan, or truly love the game. I got most of the novels and find them to be enjoyable. They are not connected with Vampire the Masquerade completely. Same setting, just different characters, with an even that leads up to Gehenna (Their version of the apocalypse). To cover the Gehenna concept, the Vampires all descended from Kaine, the murderer of Abel. God cursed him with immortality and vamperism making him the first vampire. When Gehenna would arrive, Kaine, and the sleeping Antediluvians would rise and destroy the world. This is a great concept, and many would appreciate it if they also played Eido's popular "Soul Reaver: Legacy of Kaine" on the PS1 (also on PC).Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodline goes so in depth about the underworld of the vampire society, and has some crazy monsters that would still give people the creeps. The story is truly classic and lives up to today's standards.
I must say first for anyone new to this series, this game would not have really made it without the work of Wesp5. When the game originally released in 2004, it was a broken mess from what I heard, and a few months after it's release, Wesp5 took control of it and unofficially updated over the years. I think he still does a little work to this day on it. So if you buy this game, it is essential you use the unofficial patch for perfection and enjoy this masterpiece, and please say thanks to Wesp5 and his dedication and amazing service to the gaming community!
