Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Angry? You could say that, but anger really doesn’t begin to describe what I feel. It wasn’t long ago I was as normal as the kid next door. Then my “patron” found me.

Patron – now there is an oxymoron. The dictionary defines patron as “One that supports, protects, or champions someone or something, such as an institution, event, or cause; a sponsor or benefactor: a patron of the arts.”

My “patron” – without asking my opinion, or getting authorization from his superiors – committed a sin and suffered the ultimate penalty. He bit me, and turned me into one of the undead, a vampire. Who knew vampires existed outside of myth and tales to haunt the children? I didn’t, but I do now. I’m one of them, one of the new ones. And I’m not happy about it.

So I’m going to take out my anger on anyone and anything that gets in my way. Still, come caution must be exercised. There are worst things that haunt the night. I’ve got some powers that make me a nightmare, but I’m just the tip of the iceberg. There are worst things than me.

While Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines does not begin that way, that is the essence of the start of the Troika Games/Activision PC title. A young-ish human is unwillingly made a member of the vampire sect of Los Angeles. His (or her) mentor has been killed for the indiscretion and the vampiric Prince of Los Angeles is giving him (or her) quests to accomplish. Perform them well enough and you may just work your way up the vampire hierarchy.

Activision recently invited a group of game journalists to Los Angeles and to Club Fang for a look at the Santa Monica portion of this huge game. The ambience was just about perfect, and with members of Troika hovering about and aiding the game play, the evening was a success. Of course, while the models who posed for the poster set were in attendance, the star of the evening, without doubt, was the game itself.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines takes the White Wolf world and updates it into the modern era, with a power struggle, of sorts, taking place in Los Angeles and its surrounding communities. The game does have some linear qualities, and there are a host of quests and sub-quests that players can undertake, each fraught with peril, and some sporting elements that are downright spooky.

The game play will obviously change depending on the clan of vampire the player picks. There are seven clans – Nosferatu, Malkavian, Brujah, Tremere, Gangrel, Toreador, and Ventrue. Each has different attributes. For example, the Malkavians are prone to madness, but that produces startling insights. Rather than resort to fighting, they will talk their way through a situation, and only fight when there is no other choice. The Brujah, on the other fang, are regarded as brutes who rampage and melee their way through situations.

Each vampire has traits, which are made up of three areas – attributes (the natural attributes of the clan – like strength for the Brujah), abilities (which is broken down into talents, skills and knowledge), and disciples (like celerity, which accelerates your speed, or fortitude, which allows you to absorb some damage). As you work through quests, you will earn points which can be applied to level up your traits and make you much deadlier.

The role-play elements of the game are attached to how you level up your avatar. They are also part of how you interact in the world. When you approach a non-playing character (or NPC), you can be hostile/aggressive/insulting (sport a lot of ‘tude), go for the more sympathetic approach (kind and agreeable), or remain neutral. Each action you take may have repercussions further into the game.

One of the starting missions in the Santa Monica area is to find a ghoul named Mercurio. He has been badly beaten, and the item he was entrusted with has been taken. He will ask you to retrieve it. Now, if you go in and call him names, and tell him you will report his incompetence to the prince, when you return, he may be waiting for you with a knife. However, if you cover up his incompetence, he may be able to get you better deals on weapons and other items as you progress into the game.

In addition to auto-save features, you can regularly save the game as any point.

And your character can suffer a final death. If you have an elevator drop on your head at the bottom of the shaft, it’s back to the last save point.

Graphically the game has plenty of ambience, and the sound it dead on for the mood and tone of the game. This has plenty of obscenities scattered throughout, and there is some sexuality thrown around.

There are masquerade zones (areas where you do not want your vampiric nature known) and combat areas. If you are seen draining blood from someone in the masquerade areas, or just kill for no reason, you lost a bit of your humanity. Lose enough and you devolve and go into fits of frenzy, in which you lose control and you will be hunted.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is not for the squeamish or sensitive. This is an action-adventure title with RPG elements that is immersive and can produce moments of nervous tension (the Ocean House scene is quite creepy). The characters you meet are intriguing and some are a little on the freaky side.

All that said, this title is one that RPG-adventure fans will be able to really sink their teeth into (pun intended) and go batty (ok, apologies, that was plain bad) over.