An updated review of Bloodlines with the current existing unofficial patch 6.7.
Bloodlines is much different than its predecessor, Redemption. Redemption felt much more action-adventure than RPG. For Bloodlines you start out as a recently created vampire with almost no knowledge of the world you have entered into. The approach of Bloodlines is a much more refined mix of action and RPG.
The character creation screen alone looks like they took it straight from the original source books, if anyone had played the table top game. You're given a choice of answering a series of questions to determine your clan or skipping it and going right to the sheet. The sheet is where you will be doing all of boosting of stats.
The game holds true to the Camarilla by allowing you to pick a clan, gender, and, in the "plus" patch, character history. All of these choices affect the game in one way or another. For gender, certain dialogue options may change. For clans, it may change the entire approach to the game such as with the Malkavians and Nosferatu. Character histories are more of a benefit/drawback set-up gaining a boost in one area with restrictions in another such as a boost to discipline power while making another cost more experience.
Much of the game is rooted in the main quests and side quests which are optional. There's a very open ended approach to the game. Many times you speak with individuals and are presented with a variety of options. You can even, in some instances, kill the person outright. This allows for most of the side quests to be done in a variety of ways though the main quest is a bit more restricted.
In my original review, I said the combat was clunky and downright broken when it came down to using your fists. This has been greatly improved with the "plus" patch. Using fists alone without protean against a vampire is a virtual death sentence. Instead, knives and swords are the way to go. Guns are a bit more accurate and damaging. You can no longer injure vampires with Dominate and Dementation though it does stun then for a moment. This makes combat a much more involved affair. It's still not the best, but it's much better than it was.
Visually, the game is showing some age. However, the "plus" patch does improve some of the textures and animations along with my better hardware, thus leading to a very smooth game. To be honest, the jump from pre-patch to patch was probably one of the biggest areas of improvement that I seen. It's still a dark, atmospheric game with plenty of awesome visuals. However, it's visuals from 2004.
The sound in the game was one of the biggest draws and it still is. The "plus" patch made it even better reincorporating sound effects and vocals that never made it into the original game. With the HD sound option, everything feels so crystal clear you could almost say you were there. This game has some of the best voice acting and music of any game I've ever played.
For summation, this is what the "plus" patch's most recent version adds up to: refined, smoother visuals; enhanced sound which brings back sound effects and dialogue previously not there; character histories to further customize your character; incredibly strengthened stability overall; new items to obtain; Blood Heal discipline; additional missions; more balanced combat.
The value of this game has been greatly increased since the patch. It's amazing that this game was so beloved by the fans that they took it upon themselves to finish what the developers were unable to do. You can't find it in stores anymore, but you can get a digital download from Direct2Drive and the patch has its own site. Anyone should check this game out. It's definitely worth it.
The Good: Visually impressive, excellent sound effects and vocal work, open-ended gameplay with multiple endings, great replay value, more value with the "plus" patch.
The Bad: Loading screens are somewhat slow even on modern systems, graphics are now a tad dated.