You can switch between first and third-person views and use melee weapons, firearms, or your fists to take out the baddies. Depending on what you’re best at, you can choose how to go about the task, which gives the game a real “open-ended” feel.
Tasks can generally be accomplished in one of three ways: through talking, through sneaking, or through fighting. You make a character based on one of the 7 Camarilla-aligned clans, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, and then put points into different skills (which raise abilities, called “feats”) and disciplines (vampire superpowers.) As you go through the game, you are given tasks to complete, for which you gain experience (used to increase skills and disciplines, among other things,) and sometimes money and items. V:tMB’s gameplay is based on White Wolf’s “World of Darkness” rule set and, from what I know of the system, was ported pretty accurately onto the PC. V:tMB truly has one of the best stories of any video game I’ve played. I personally played through the game as a Malkavian (the “crazy” vampire clan), and some of the dialogue options were hilarious. There’s murder, intrigue, and a good dose of humor to satisfy any gamer’s taste. Everything from the top-notch dialogue to the engrossing plot left me satisfied. I must say that I was very pleased with the story in this game. As you complete these tasks, you are drawn into a plot of Byzantine proportions, and you quickly learn that the only person you can trust is yourself. In order to better familiarize yourself with your new (un)life – and to make sure you earn your keep – you are requested to perform certain tasks. This involves keeping your vampiric nature secret from humans at all costs.
You are instructed to learn the ways of Vampire society, making special note to preserve the Masquerade: the code by which (most) vampires abide. You, however, are granted reprieve by the prince of Los Angeles, Sebastian LaCroix. Unfortunately for your sire, this was unauthorized and the penalty for said crime is Final Death. The story begins with your character being “sired” by a vampire. The result is a buggy, but enjoyable title. Luckily, Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines (V:tMB) manages to provide a single-player Vampire adventure, allowing me to enjoy the system and setting without having to deal with other players. I’ve met too many Vampire players who fit an annoying stereotype of teen or twenty-something emo-goth-LARPers who will spend hours telling you about their characters, all the while using the word “I” rather than “my character,” showing that their understanding of the line between fantasy and reality has blurred. I quite enjoy the World of Darkness system itself, however I’ve been reluctant to try this particular iteration for the following reason. I’ve never been a huge fan of White Wolf’s “Vampire” series.
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