Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Hands-On
We check out a playable build of the upcoming Half-Life 2-engine-based gothic RPG from the makers of Arcanum.
Though the main attraction at the ATI booth at the Electronic Entertainment Expo has to be the behind-closed-doors demonstration of Half-Life 2, Troika Games' upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is on display and playable at the company's booth, and it's also drawing plenty of attention. And with good reason--it's looking beautiful. We recently previewed the game, but were able to see more of it in action on the show floor today.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is based on White Wolf's pen-and-paper role-playing series, and despite the game's dramatic good looks, developer Troika maintains that it will stay very true to the material and will feature a real-time implementation of the rules and systems that define Vampire's pen-and-paper gameplay. However, unlike with the source material, in the game you won't exactly need to use your imagination to conjure up the setting. Vampire takes place in a gothic, richly lit Los Angeles populated by vampires, those who feed them, and those who wish to kill them. Much like in Half-Life 2, the character models are obviously one of the main attractions, as they feature lifelike facial expressions and convincing lip synching as they speak their lines. The game uses a traditional dialogue-tree conversation system, but the dialogue seems concise, and the game looks rather fast-paced for an RPG.
We tried out some great-looking vampire abilities and were pleased to see how the game seamlessly transitions between first-person and third-person perspectives. We snuck up behind one unsuspecting victim and took a bite from the back of her neck, draining all her blood and leaving behind a pale husk. Later, we weren't as hungry, so we crept up behind and opponent and snapped his neck. We also tried picking a lock and some good old-fashioned boxing.
A Troika representative told us that the developers recently implemented some of Half-Life 2's advanced artificial intelligence routines, and that the development has come a long way since the project started about a year ago. Indeed, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines looks like an extremely promising RPG, not only for its good looks, but also for its subject matter and big, detailed setting. Stay tuned for more on the game.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Quick Links
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- Activision
- Troika Games
- Role-Playing
- Release: Nov 16, 2004
- ESRB: Mature
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