Review GameZone likes Bloodlines

[dojoteef]

Wow Spazmo, you must be sticking strictly to the plot or something. I'm surprised you got to Chinatown without seeing Fat Larry.

 

[Jinxed]

The quests really aren't as linear or 'on rails' as people seem to think they are. It may just seem that way if they don't bother to talk to all the NPCs or if they don't have proper speech skills. Just now, I managed to join the Anarchs, who told me to stay undercover in the Camarilla. I was given this option after completing the Plaguebearer missions. It's really subtle, and I would have simply missed it if I decided not to call the cute Anarch girl a 'bitch, but in a good way'. That's something. She didn't take offense, either. It was a compliment to her.

This doesn't have any real effect on anything though.

The game plays heavy attention to psychology and the a lot of the characters don't take offense from the 'rude' dialogue option as they would in any other game.

This is very true. Troika really worked on NPC reactions more than I've seen any developer and this can be seen on the talking heads all too well. As a side note, if you are nice to the prince, you get a second haven. Don't count on getting it if you are rude to him.

Oh yeah, I've also found several points where my Finance skill was used in dialogue. Upon doing Fat Larry's quest I was given the opportunity to haggle for a better offer as a reward for his quest: a discount for all his merchandise. I tried doing it without my 2 points in Finance and it wasn't available.

This is persuasion. The line comes up with blue. He trains you regardles of what skill you already have. Which is weird because he's supposed to give you a discount, not train you. Furthermore, it's best to go to him when you have 4 finance and he gives you the final 5th point.

 

[Spazmo]

Didn't you notice how even if you join the anarchs, you still have to do the prince's quests? And in any case, the only really significant plot branch comes about an hour or two before the end of the game--sound familiar in any way? There's more endings, which is neat and all, and the game is sometimes delightfully reactive to your character's particularities, but it's not that deep. I feel like I'm being too negative here though; Bloodlines is still pretty good, it's just not great.