I played VtM - Bloodlines over Thanksgiving break

[ghostdog]

The replayabilty of this game is huge. Each race has some unique quests or unique ways to finish quests , a lot of unique dialog and different reactions from other vampires.

 

[Raapys]

That was one of the things that could have been improved in a sequell. Not changed, however. Switching from companion to companion was easy and smooth.
If you had any problems with controls then its your fault.
Or a consequence of bad planning.

Don't see how I could be at fault here. Fact is, in cramped places and such the camera will completely mess up at times, forcing you to continually panning around. Even when not, trying to target enemies and loot can be extremely frustrating when you have 2-3 NPCs around you blocking your view and getting highlighted instead of your intended target. Not to mention stuff like pathfinding, which is practically non-existant. Not only that, but even if you set your companions to not use any abilities( i.e. wasting their blood ), they'll still pour out fireballs and buffs.

Game's actually easier when playing solo, since you won't have to waste all your time stopping your companions from doing stupid things and being in the way.

Dungeon crawlers are something completely different. Redemption is first a story/character driven rpg game.
Mostly done in interiors thats true. And quite a few dungeon like areas in a sense that can be said for any game that has interior areas with combat.
Each of them you had to visit because events of the story demanded it and you had no choice but to folow them.

Nah, Redemption is very much a dungeon crawler, the way I see it. Sure, it has towns and merchants, but so does very many other dungeon crawlers( Diablo1/2? Daggerfall? M&M? ). They're not just 'dungeon-like' areas, they *are* dungeons. Tower of London level 1, 2, 3 and 4, all with the same enemies and a final boss? The vast majority of the game is spent going through places like that. Just like in Diablo.

It also gives you whole transition from human to Vampire to an Elder or something close to it in very satisfying manner.

Yeah, it definitely does that very well.

The shortcomings of Redemption are obviously obvious to anyone. My point was that precisely because of that Bloodlines with its mechanics and difference in approach disappointed me too much.

Maybe. I don't know though. They both have their good and bad sides, and while I have played through and enjoyed Redemption a couple of times, I think I'd rather see a Bloodlines sequel, especially if they could fix the combat. Redemption ends up having too little focus on dialog and NPC interaction and too much focus on combat.

 

[MetalCraze]

VtmB, despite its minuses is still the unreachable standard of ActionRPGs out there.
Kamikaze you must play as Malkavian now - now that you know the game. Playing as Malk is beyond awesome because Troika did a great job making a well thought-out roleplaying of batshit insane character possible.

 

[jagged-jimmy]

Hell, the snuff film came off as genuinely disturbing...

WTH ...did i miss something on my playthrough?

 

[hiver]

It was just a video tape you never get to see.
Not that effective when you are playing a Vampire killing machine.

 

[flabbyjack]

Well, Redemption was just a dungeon crawler really. There were some things I liked better in it, like the inventory/equipment system( i.e. diablo-style ) and the way character advancement was handled, but other than that I think Bloodlines was a much more entertaining game.

Redemption would have been a fair bit better if they'd done a Diablo-style top-down view instead of the crappy camera/control system they used, though. ...

Redemption > Bloodlines. The camera does suck tho, isometric would have been much better. I like the bloodstealing sword and how you can take your magic items over into modern times. And devouring the hearts of head vamps, that's just cool. I played it through a second time to see if there was a third good ending. Redemption came with a multiplayer package that enabled custom-content and multiplayer Pen&Paper ala Vampire: The Masquerade.

Hell, the snuff film came off as genuinely disturbing...

WTH ...did i miss something on my playthrough?

It's the one with those little monsters running around the mansion jumping on scared victims. Remember the porn studio with all those little creatures running around? Remember finding a film in a washed up hollywood star's grave in a tomb? That film/mansion is what they are talkin' bout.

I still can't get Bloodlines to run smoothly on my brand new rig. It's 4 years after release and it still runs like a sack o' crap.

Are you playing a copy that was removed from inventory?

First of all. Fuck you. Second of all I got both my Troika games in CD form. How could you avoid buying a box with that trampstamp on it?

 

[phanboy_iv]

This shit bugs me. A lot of people say stuff like Fallout, Bloodlines and The Witcher are immature just because there's violence and sex. Who wrote the rule that no matter how complex and mature the themes explored are, a game/movie is immature if it has sex and violence?

Yes, well, the lone fact that they contain sex and violence doesn't make them immature. It how the sex and violence are used and portrayed that can lead to immaturity.

 

[MetalCraze]

Especially if 80% of dialogues with female characters are about sex. Well but you get those NSFW cards as a bonus, yay.

 

[hiver]

This shit bugs me. A lot of people say stuff like Fallout, Bloodlines and The Witcher are immature just because there's violence and sex. Who wrote the rule that no matter how complex and mature the themes explored are, a game/movie is immature if it has sex and violence?

Yes, well, the lone fact that they contain sex and violence doesn't make them immature. It how the sex and violence are used and portrayed that can lead to immaturity.

And they did in Bloodlines.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Also, side with Ming next time. I don't want to spoil it, but she'll give you great and awesome powers. Powergamer's delight!

Word. The Kuei-jin are grateful to those who serve them well.

 

[Ghoulem]

She really puts the "in" in Kuei-jin, if you know what I mean. wink wink, nudge nudge.

 

[Texas Red]

Snuff film part was disturbing as well. Though then I typed in "snuff film" in to Wikipedia and it turns out that in history of man not a single snuff film has been filmed and sold through a black market. Apparently it's hoax. I found that suspicious and :conspiracy:.

 

[Sentenza]

.. . constantly respawning enemies were just too much--especially when I exhausted all but my sniper rifle ammo...

They don't respawn indefinitely though, just kill all of them while evading the fucking Bat thing attacks and then deal with the damned thing...

But yeah, temple part was the lamest of the game, I forced myself to get past that point to finish the game

and the end scene with Jack were very rewarding.

fucking anarchs...

edit:

The combat was very similar to Deus Ex

except melee, which is WAY more satisfying

 

[MINIGUNWIELDER]

I played Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines over Thanksgiving break. What follows are my slightly incoherent and rambling impressions of the game. There's going to be a bunch of major spoilers in here, so if you've never played the game, stop reading and play the game now.

The whole vampire setting made me think of some faggy, Twilight-esque, teenage-angst shit, and the mature rating, along with Miss Tramp Stamp on the box, had me imagining that this was going to be a bunch of softcore porn for lonely nerds and/or a long string of dick and pussy jokes. I was wrong.

No, that's the New World of Darkness, not the old one.

The OWoD was:Okay, we are all going to die, we are going to die horribly, our enemies will destroy every single fucking thing we ever had, not content with killing us, they want to destroy us, completely and uttterly.

Meanwhile, I have awesome powers, this'll be fun while it lasts.

NWoD:CRAAAAWLLLLING IIIN MMMMMMYYYYYY FLEEEESSSSSSHH THEEEEEEESSSSSSEEEE WOOOOOOUNNNNDDDDSS WILLLLLLL NOOOOOOT HEEEEEAAAAAAL, SHOP AT HOT TOPIC.

 

[phanboy_iv]

This shit bugs me. A lot of people say stuff like Fallout, Bloodlines and The Witcher are immature just because there's violence and sex. Who wrote the rule that no matter how complex and mature the themes explored are, a game/movie is immature if it has sex and violence?

Yes, well, the lone fact that they contain sex and violence doesn't make them immature. It how the sex and violence are used and portrayed that can lead to immaturity.

And they did in Bloodlines.

I'm actually playing through it now, and so far, I can say that the use of sex and violence is actually done pretty well, considering the large amount of both. Better than Fallout 2 handled them, so far anyway.

 

[OSK]

You don't need to fight anyone but three guards (just before the last room) on the Ming level and you can skip a good two thirds of the LaCroix level with a decent sneak skill. Don't blame the game on your own failures.

And surely my dislike of the NWN2 OC's orc caves was because of my choice in using a dexterity based fighter.

I'm actually playing through it now, and so far, I can say that the use of sex and violence is actually done pretty well, considering the large amount of both. Better than Fallout 2 handled them, so far anyway.

That's how I felt about it. It all seemed to fit well into the setting.

 

[hiver]

This shit bugs me. A lot of people say stuff like Fallout, Bloodlines and The Witcher are immature just because there's violence and sex. Who wrote the rule that no matter how complex and mature the themes explored are, a game/movie is immature if it has sex and violence?

Yes, well, the lone fact that they contain sex and violence doesn't make them immature. It how the sex and violence are used and portrayed that can lead to immaturity.

And they did in Bloodlines.

I'm actually playing through it now, and so far, I can say that the use of sex and violence is actually done pretty well, considering the large amount of both. Better than Fallout 2 handled them, so far anyway.

Yeah? Whats that? Can you actually use sleeping with anyone s wife to say, get acces to the safe with the location of the raider base?

Bloodlines had too much "flesh" displayed but no use from none of it. Just for looking.
Strange for a game that has seduction as one of the skills, unlike fallout.

 

[ixg]

So far my favorite playthrough was with a Tremere. Something about blowing people up i think

 

[racofer]

Yeah, my first playthrough was Tremere. Overpowered to say the least, yet extremely funny.

 

[Ghoulem]

I certainly hope no one makes a "What vampire clan would you be"-thread. (speech skillcheck)

 

[Redeye]

I certainly hope no one makes a "What vampire clan would you be"-thread. (speech skillcheck)

They already did that on South Park.

that part comes 20-30 seconds after this clip ends


too bad

 

[wageslave]

Yeah, my first playthrough was Tremere. Overpowered to say the least, yet extremely funny.

maybe because Troika has no idea how to balance a game or make good gameplay for that matter? they should make books or movies, the only good gameplay they made was a literal interpretation of D&D, no originality needed.

 

[racofer]

I certainly hope no one makes a "What vampire clan would you be"-thread. (speech skillcheck)

You spend way too much time at TESF. I suggest taking a week break before they turn you.

 

[racofer]

Yeah, my first playthrough was Tremere. Overpowered to say the least, yet extremely funny.

maybe because Troika has no idea how to balance a game or make good gameplay for that matter? they should make books or movies, the only good gameplay they made was a literal interpretation of D&D, no originality needed.

Yea, they should have made it like TESIV or FO3, amirite?
*decline*

 

[wageslave]

Yea, they should have made it like TESIV or FO3, amirite?
*decline*

and that's a bad thing why?