Thanks to a certain little PC game that nobody seems to know about, cough-Half-Life 2-cough, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines has been in a bit of limbo because it has been using the Source Engine developed for it. Now that Half-Life 2 has a release date, we can finally look forward to the release of this supernatural mixture of action, adventure and role-playing from Troika Games and Activision. Just in time for Halloween, we recently got some hands on time to give us a taste of what we can expect sometime before this holiday season is over.
We were given a chance to check out the beginning of the game which takes place in Santa Monica. This section covered a radius of a few blocks including businesses, apartments, an art gallery, and a pier. Tying these sections together underneath the streets is a sewer system that will let you travel unnoticed and to areas that might not be accessible by streets. One thing to notice in the sewer is the detail of the water which you may recognize from the original Half-Life 2 showing at E3.
Probably the best part of what we played was based on a mission which you had to recover an item from an abandoned hotel to help rid a spirit from its dwellings. Once you enter, you will definitely feel the spirit's presence as you hear noises and see objects fall and fly at you. If you're careful, you may even catch a brief glimpse of the ghost lurking through the halls. The one time I did, I saw her run across a hallway which startled me. The atmosphere here is done extremely well and will pay off if you have a good sound setup.
As mentioned above, the gameplay is a mixture of action, adventure and role-playing. It fills the action genre by being a first and third person game. You can toggle between either view at any given time but it appears melee combat will always be in third person. Combat is in real time just like any other first person shooter that you may have played in the past. It is an adventure game in the sense you are placed in this world where you can interact with people as you progress the storyline. As you meet people, you will be given tasks or missions to accomplish that you are given the choice in doing. Missions will vary from small tasks like recovering an item, to larger tasks such as wiping out a group of people. The RPG elements focus on how you develop your character. The choices you make when interacting with people will have an effect on how people and entire environments react to you and the reputation you've developed. You will also earn experience points in which you can build your powers, skills and traits.
As a newly sired vampire, you are given the chance to prove your worthiness. Like all vampires, you will need to feed on blood. Blood is your source of power to use your abilities that you gain along the way. However, if you drain an innocent person completely, it will be one of the ways that you will lose your some of your humanity. You also must be careful when you feed as doing so in public will draw attention and may even have the police chasing you down. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of areas where you can feed freely without any worry if you kill them in the process.
As detailed as the graphics, RPG elements, and game design is, it's topped off with a well written story full of plot twists and surprises. We actually got so far that we almost reached one that the developers of the game were afraid we might uncover. Fortunately time ran out before we could solve this one puzzle that was holding me from reaching that point. We did learn later on what that twist was and it was a good one and can only imagine what awaits further in the game.
It’s unfortunate that the release of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is so dependent on the release of Half-Life 2 and couldn’t make it in time for Halloween. However, just the small taste of what we played and being told it takes about 40 hours if you play straight through it without any of the side quests, it looks like the wait will be worth it. We have some new screenshots from the game and expect a date to be announced in the near future.
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