One of the most anticipated games on display at this year's E3 is Activision's Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. This role-playing adventure features the complex clans and history taken straight from White Wolf's pen and paper game. The game also uses the Half-Life 2 engine to show a wide range of character animations and emotions.

At the Bloodlines booth, we were able to get a first-hand look at how the game worked. Character interaction will play a huge role in Bloodlines. The player may choose to be from one of many vampire clans. Each clan has their own specializations and peculiarities. NPC's will react differently depending on the player's gender and clan. If a player were to be from the Malkavian Clan, who are known for their insanity and strange insight, the next in the conversation window has a customized font and conversation style that reflects that insanity. In some cases, vampires who specialize in influence may be able to "persuade" characters to give up certain information. If they're good, they may be able to talk their way out of some fights. Others, like the Brujah Clan, will be relying more on their fists, and will therefore have more combat abilities. Powers include super speed, causing the opponent's blood to boil, and a host of similar diciplines. But players have to remember that it's all about the blood. Vampires need to feed in order to power their disciplines, and they have to be careful to keep the kill count down, or else they will lose too much of their humanity and risk going into frenzied bloodlusts. The conversation component offers an incredibly deep level of interaction with the characters and storyline, and the use of the Half-Life 2 engine makes it look phenomenal.

There are still a few more months before this game's release, but when it does, joining the Masquerade will definitely be worth giving up sunlight for.