joeykins90: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Review

First and foremost, before even starting up this game, you need the unofficial patch. Even with the 1.2 official patch, this game is one of the buggiest around, and is pretty much unplayable. Dont believe the fanboys. Get it patched up to the eyeballs before playing. The latest unnofficial patch is either 4.6 or 4.7. Once the bugs are fixed, you'll find a game that, although flawed, is fun enough to keep you wanting more, and has a great story to boot. Besides the game-stopping bugs right out of the box, my biggest gripe about Bloodlines is the lack of an in-game map. Although this may seem like a minor point, it really is a big issue. You are sometimes given quests with quite vague instructions of where exactly to go - more with side missions than the main storyline, but this problem presents itself numerous times in both. Many times I was left completely oblivious to my next destination, and looking at the quests log, there are no good explanations of what to do next. This is obviously so that the player has to work more things out by his or herself, but its really just annoying. And a mini-map with objective markers would have made the game a much less frustrating experience. You'll meet many interesting characters in your journey through Los Angeles. Dark and secretive, beautiful and seductive, rough and tough, powerful and evil. This game has them all. You never spend enough time with any particular NPC to get very attached, but this isn't the type of game where that really matters. The environments your main quests take place in range from fantastically atmospheric, to repetitive and dull. On one hand, we have areas such as as the Haunted Hotel, which is the best level i've played on any game in quite a while. It kept me on my toes the whole time without feeling cheap or forced, and by the end I was rushing for the exit as fast as possible. The "snuff" quests are also very creepy and disturbing, largely to do with the horrific areas you have to get through, but also just the whole concept of said quests. But on the other hand, in some of the more action packed areas, there is some very repetitive level design. This is especially noticable nearing the final sections of the game. Also, the areas you explore while not on a quest feel very cramped and fake. It doesn't feel like a city at all, it just feels like a stage. You can't go out very far, everything is so close together and claustrophobic. Outdoor areas are supposed to feel open ended, especially in an RPG, but Bloodlines doesn't pull this off at all. It doesn't help either, that there are no cars to be seen at all, other than the taxi that takes you between areas. Combat in Bloodlines is very simplistic. Melee is the obvious choice here as all the ranged weapons are underpowered and innaccurate. Raising your experience points for ranged weapons does help, but still not enough that it makes them better than melee. There is no balance here at all, and its a shame because there are some potentially fun guns to use. The story in Bloodlines is something that stands out above everything else, its very good; Involving modern vampire politics and which side to choose. All the characters have something to tell, and you piece things together slowly as you progress. The pacing is good, and nothing is thrown at you too fast, making it hard not to be interested in how things unfold and meaning its never too difficult to understand. Bloodlines uses the Source engine, which is Valve's engine for Half-Life 2. Which, honestly, I didn't even know until I read it on Gamespot. It doesn't look anything like Half-Life 2, neither does it look as good as Half Life 2. The facial expressions stand out above the rest of the games presentation, but those are still not as good as in Half-Life 2. Overall, its not a bad looking game, especially for one thats over 3 years old. But it just doesn't use the Source engine to its full capability. This game really has the potential to be so much more. If they could have just spent longer ironing out the problems and making everything more open ended, a little more mission variety, better combat and some more features maybe? Maybe a day-night cycle? Being a vampire isn't complete without having to rush indoors when the sun comes up! This game is worth playing. The story is gripping and interesting, it has all the elements that make RPG's good, and some of the main levels are very memorable. Just try to ignore its flaws, and remember to patch it!