Vampire: Bloodlines Reviews

A trio of new reviews have hit the web for Activision and Troika’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. The first can be found at Yahoo Games Domain with an overall score of 8/10:

In many ways, Bloodlines’ open-ended approach, combat system, and dialogue options make it feel a lot more like a successor to action-RPG classic Deus Ex than the recent sequel did. Ignore the problems and frequent loading pauses, and you’ll be rewarded with a long, highly replayable RPG with a fascinating setting and first-rate writing. Don’t miss it.

The second is at GameArena with an overall score of 8.5/10:

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is a quality game. The plot and game world is so detailed and rich that it’s easy to see why this has been such a hotly anticipated title. The lack of multiplayer isn’t an issue this is a strong solo experience with plenty to offer even casual gamers. Combat control and minor issues aside, this is worth you forking over some dollars for a summer holiday challenge.

And the third is at EuroGamer with an overall score of 7/10:

It makes cultural references with the casualness of someone who actually knows what they’re talking about – there’s a particularly memorable off-hand gag about fetish slang which dazzled me with the skill, audacity and comfort it showed. Where most games that try something similar come across as callow posturing, this was done as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It deals with the big adult topics – sex, death, whatever – in truthful and honest ways. It has characters who swear as much as anyone out of Kingpin – but they’re characters who swear rather than an attempt to turn the game into a noir thriller by lobbing a few four-letter words into the mix. Conversely, there are characters who have perfectly civil aspects. Troika has done the writerly thing – that is attempt to write people rather than ciphers. I can only applaud.