Since I couldn’t get ‘Half Life’ to run, I thought I would try the next game on my list. ‘Vampire: Bloodlines‘ was more than a pleasant surprise. It dragged me into its dark and sexy atmosphere as efficiently as a good movie, and left me with a strong feeling to continue the story even after a few days away from it.
Forget about the fiasco that is ‘Half Life 2’. Released in the shadow of Valve’s hit, and sharing the same Source graphic engine, ‘Vampire: Bloodlines’ is arguably a lot more interesting to play.
Instead of a graphically intense shooting gallery like ‘Half Life 2’, ‘Vampire: Bloodlines’ offers an immersive game, with an interactive world to explore. It follows the same tradition of role playing games as ‘Deus Ex 1’, ‘Pandora Directive’ and to some extend ‘Morrowind’, even
though it doesn’t go as far in creating a self contained world. The game mechanics are non-linear, leaving it to the player to decide whether pursuing the main story or explore the world through smaller quests.
One of the main features of this game is its story. Right from the opening scenes, the creative storyline and imaginative side quests create the illusion of a coherent world. The game remains faithful to the role playing game that inspired it by weaving a complex web of clans, sects and
races (vampires, werewolves, ghouls, ghosts and other monsters). It is so faithful in fact, that it features definitely mature content. It is refreshing to see violent and sexy content used maturely at the service of a story and not just as an excuse to be offensive.
The second most important feature of this game is its incredible gallery of characters. Although the game does reuse some models in order to generat crowds of secondary extras, the main characters in the story are individuals. They are expressive, with a personality, an attitude and highlights in their eyes. I have rarely seen characters in a game that I could so easily care about.
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Interestingly enough, the graphics in this game take the back seat. Even though they do not feature as many bells and whistles as
‘Far Cry’,’ Doom III’ or ‘Half Life’, they contribute to create a solid atmosphere. And guess what ? The story is so good that I could care less about using the latest shading or lighting technique.
Of course, the game is not perfect. I already found a few technical glitches, stuttering sound, some lag in cut scenes (a little like ‘Half Life 2’ issues, probably due to the shared graphics engine, but not as bad).
Add to this a dark and gothic soundtrack and you have the elements of a great gaming experience. ‘Vampire:Bloodlines’ is a perfect illustration that a game doesn’t have to be gorgeous, cutting edge or perfect, as long as it is fun to play.