Rating: Summary: RPG a major misnomer Review: Heres the deal. People who liked the pen and paper version bought the game expecting an RPG but what they got was a clickfest akin to Diablo. This disapointed many hardcore RPGers but pleased those who like action games. If you want a good AD&D based RPG wait for BGII, pools of radiance, Icewind Dale, or better yet NeverWinterNights, for an action game which hasd very few RPG elements, buy The Masquerade.
Rating: Summary: Gothic, beautiful, dark and wonderful. Review: The deep inner horror of what it must be to become a creature of the night is truly unveiled in this erotic and intriguing game and I was fascinated to watch this passion play unfold. You feel the utter tragedy of Christof's life as he is turned into a vampire against his will, destroying his life, his dreams and desires. I am somewhat loathe to discuss it in the normal terms of video games: it feels far more than your basic hack and slash/ Kill the monster/cool graphics game. It is the story that is most intriguing. On that note: the game is wonderful, allowing you to play a vampire and get caught up in the moment without dealing with the often hard to follow rules of the original paper & pen V:TM RPGs. The graphics are great: you see reflections, and shadows! The "monsters" that you must fight and destroy are drawn in gruesome detail -- the war ghouls and nosferatu are practically worth the price of the game alone! Two thumbs up.
Rating: Summary: Somebody needs to review the term Role-Playing Review: Okay, I have to admit that the graphics and sound are top notch, better than I've seen in a very long time, but the game is otherwise a disappointment. Unfortunately, after all the hype, the game falls short of being a role playing game. You don't get to make your own character (for the main game), the opportunities to make a choice for your "character" are few and far between, and the choices you make have little or no effect on what happens (I made different choices for the same thing and got the same result each time). The game essentially leads you by the nose. In addition, there are long, drawn out cinematic sequences (excellent graphics) where your character interacts with individuals, and you have NO CONTROL over what happens during these scenes. The single player game is a pretty decent hack-n-slash/shooter game with excellent graphics, and an okay interface, but role playing it isn't. There are no opportunities for real strategy, role play, or thought, and the multiplayer game that has the potential to closely resemble the pen and paper version (the storyteller feature is a cool idea) has so many holes it resembles swiss cheese.
Rating: Summary: Vampire Looks Great! Review: I will admit that I bought the game because of screen shots, but I am an RPG fan albeit I play mostly AD&D. I have been reading a ton of vampire books and happend to see this so I rushed out after seeing the screenshots and purchased the game. The graphics are awesome and so is the scrolling but there are areas the game could be improved...Your characters seem to get in the way of each other, range weapons don't seem to 'snipe' from a distance, characters like to do their own things. That aside, I am finding the game rather enjoyable. If you like hack and slash type games this is for you. And keep the blood setting on! :)
Rating: Summary: Legions of the Night and Disciples of White Wolf, rejoice! Review: Even if you're more of a slayer of evil than one of the Kindred, there's a lot here to sink your fangs into. The graphically impressive, musically enticing single player is one of the best Ive seen in awhile. The artwork is in fact, very true to form, you might even think for a moment that you are in the simplistic ancient Prague or Vienna vistas or in the ghoul infested foggy London streets. The music is quite effective at conveying the mood of the different settings of the game, from the elegance of the Prince's Manor, to the partyesque Rave Club. The sound effects are equally well done, with rain and lightning and creaking gates at appropriate places, and the clock tower in ancient Prague actually tolls its bell, which impressed me. One of my favorite locations is the Tower of London, which, after climbing to its top floor, you are treated to a windowside view of an angry sky, from which brilliant lightning bolts stream out, also barely illuminating the darkened tower, with the sound effects matching that, as well as rattling chains and creaking gates, you will feel like you're there. The "Nod Engine" as its known is very well designed, as is the storyline, taking you from medieval Prague, to the more modern New York and London scenes. One gripe I do have though, is its multiplayer. The Storyteller system, which I find both deep and interesting isnt the problem here. The problem is connecting to won.net, its main server, via various networks. There is a common problem that many ISP's will not let games connect, due to firewalls, proxies or other hazards. Activision knows this and is hard at work on a fix, which I hope comes soon. The Storyteller system seems to be quite true to the pen and paper game though, as the host can take an empty level, and position various monsters, props, and items wherever he wishes. Not only that, but he can then set up scenes and events to happen at certain points in the game, or as certain criteria is met. He can also set characters, as merchants and such, and let them do their jobs, or possess them, and switch back to character mode, becoming that character. A unique experience for sure, but one that screams limitless options and quests, and begs replayability. I know this title has been awhile in coming, and was it worth the wait? Join the Crusades and drink up!
Rating: Summary: What could have been... Review: With the current string of quality RPG's being released..I found vampire to be a dissapointment. First of all let me just say that the game plays great on a low end system and it has amazing graphics and sound. I played on a AMD K-2 system and it ran perfectly.However after about an hour of gameplay you notice the games' flaws...first of all the lack of a good save game system, there are only two ways to save, either by moving into a new location and letting the computer "autosave" for you or returning to your haven by using a teleportation spell and save there. Even though later in the game, the latter option becomes obsolete due to the fact that in later stages you don't have an established haven. Bearing in mind that in "Vampire" you can die at any second because of the poor AI in the game and as well as the difficulty curve for monsters...the combat takes place in real-time so it is very difficult to switch between teamates in the middle of a battle so your team-mates would normally attack the foe that you are attacking ignoring the werewolf trying to tear him a new....a-hole, there is a setting in which you can adjust the Aggression level of your party members but fail to work properly, set it on "defensive" they simply stand around...set it on "aggressive" they charge into battle wasting their mana and gets killed eventually...finally pathfinding is a major problem in the game ememies and party members get stuck behind chairs,walls and because a lot of battles take place in narrow corridors they can get stuck behind you as well so later in the game they waste ammo by firing into the wall instead the enemies. In case you were wondering the storyteller mode from which you could create your own Vampire chronicle did not ship with the box version and will be availible for download later...I hope that maybe aftera few patches the game would live up to its rightful title as a great game...but I am seriously dissapointed.
Rating: Summary: One word: WOW! Review: That's what I said as I was playing this game - WOW! Everything about this game screams quality. Here's the story: You are a crusader of light that falls in love with a nun, and then, the next night, you are "embraced," and are thrusted into the world of Vampire: The Masquerade. The graphics are the best I've seen in a long time, especially on the characters...their features and faces are so smooth that you could hardly tell they were made of polygons! The sound, with the proper EAX or A3D supported card, match the environments. And the plot? It plays like a drama that Shakespeare himself would've wrote! The love scenes between the main character and the nun are especially moving, because they are both bound by their religious beliefs and cannot be lovers. As you can imagine, after the character is turned into a vampire, then it REALLY gets tragic. Your character's life spans from 1100 A.D. to the present. Now I'm not going to give any more plots away. :) I've read the RPG books that this game is based on, and I've always wanted to try out Vampire: The Masquerade, but I could never get into it because of the steep learning curve and "politics" of the game. Well, V:tMR does a great job of introducing this world to beginners like me, and with a "Storyteller" mode, even I can make my own stories and campaigns. Overall, this game is a MUST BUY, for veterans of the pencil & paper Vampire, and for PC gamers looking for a solid RPG. Here's hoping that the upcoming Werewolf: The Apocolypse Heart of Gaia is as good as this!
Rating: Summary: Incredible Game! Review: One word -- WOW. This game rocks. Period. I got it two days ago and can't pull myself away from the computer. The graphics are amazing, the storyline is fantastic, and the gameplay is smooth and addicting. A must buy. Highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: oh my god Review: V:TM lovers, here you are....the most wonderful game to come out for the computer....well not quite, but up there....one question, though, why do you spend blood on potence?
Rating: Summary: I can't believe how well they made it! Review: I am surprised. White-Wolf is doing really well. This game is very well and thoroughly done. You even start out as a mortal! Disciplines are nicely done and everything works great. The story is very good. I hope white-wolf keeps producing games like this one and maybe in the future the games will contain even more variety of disciplines and powers and higher limits to the character's powers. Oh one thing that did piss me off is the fact that they like to emphasis that it is a roleplaying game not rollplaying by not allowing you to save your game. OVerall the game is highly recommended. Not for children though.
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