Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is a video game in the role-playing (rpg) genre developed by Troika Games L.L.C. and published by Activision Publishing, Inc. originally released in 2004. It is currently playable on Windows.

One morning, a seemingly ordinary inhabitant of modern Los Angeles wakes up to discover that he (or she) is dead. Well, not exactly dead, but turned vampire - 'spawned', as the vampires themselves call it. Before the protagonist can reflect on this unexpected new form of existence, he is taken to a courtroom, where he becomes acquainted with the Camarilla, an organization that preserves order among vampires. Apparently, the protagonist's sire turned him into a vampire without permission, so Prince LaCroix, head of the Los Angeles branch of the Camarilla, decides to execute them both. The short vampiric life of the protagonist would have come to an abrupt end, if a mysterious person had not intervened and convinced the Prince to pardon him. The Prince takes responsibility for the protagonist from now on, and decides to test his abilities, sending him to Santa Monica. Before long, the new vampire is caught up in a web of intrigue between powerful vampire organizations and clans, and must choose his own place in this new and terrifying world.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is based on the pen-and-paper role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. At the beginning, the player creates the protagonist and chooses between vampire clans, each with their own abilities and disciplines: Brujah vampires are suited for melee fighting, Tremeres can cast spells, etc. In some cases, the choice of a clan greatly changes the subsequent gameplay: for example, the Malkavians are insane and will therefore have completely different and surreal dialogue options; the Nosferatu are so ugly that they cannot pass for humans and will have to travel along subway paths throughout the game, etc.

The main character earns experience points only for completing quests, not for killing enemies. There are many side quests available over the course of the game. Experience points can be manually allocated to increase the protagonist's attributes, as well as to improve various vampiric feats. The player can make the main character stronger in combat, proficient in hacking or stealth, more powerful in vampiric disciplines, more attractive, more intimidating, etc.

Combat in the game is based on action. The protagonist can fight unarmed, use firearms and melee weapons, or employ special vampiric abilities. Melee combat is viewed from the third-person perspective, but the view changes to first-person if the protagonist uses a weapon. Blood is used to activate vampiric disciplines, functioning similarly to magic points in other games. It can be replenished by feeding on certain types of enemies.

The protagonist can also feed on innocent humans, though there are repercussions for this. The Masquerade rules prohibit vampires from revealing their true nature to humans. Openly feeding on humans violates the Masquerade; five violations of the Masquerade lead to an instant Game Over. Feeding on humans without witnesses does not violate the Masquerade; however, killing an innocent human in the process alerts the authorities and causes the player character to lose some of his or her humanity. Losing too much humanity makes the protagonist increasingly susceptible to frenzy, eventually becoming an uncontrolled beast.

Many missions can be completed in different ways: brute force, stealth, diplomacy, intimidation, and so on. depending on the preferred play style and attributes of the protagonist. The player will also have to decide which faction the protagonist should be on throughout the game. Finally, the player's choices will bifurcate the story, leading to one of five possible endings.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is available at a reduced price on the following websites and is no longer abandonware.