Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (PC, 2004)

• Partially non-linear structure (can do various side quests in any order in each hub area as well as begin some of the ones that you'll finish in later areas, linear main quest progression and you visit the different hub areas in a set order? - some backtracking to previous areas and some quests cover more than one area, can't revisit various quest areas which are more like dungeons)

• No map feature and no compass - also can't take a photo of an area map or buy one (can only check a hub area's map at a few points per area such as bus stops)

• Save anywhere outside of while you're dancing or setting a bomb (unlimited (?) nameable slots, the game also auto-saves when moving between certain sub areas/rooms), Lives system of sorts in the masquerade violation system (can break the rules 5 times but can also regain masquerade points/tries at various points, can only carry 5 points at once however), Health regen (slowed down by certain attacks noted by part of the life bar turning yellow (aggravated damage) - can be restored quicker by feeding)

• Some ability gating (stealth and computer hacking allow for different paths - mostly optional outside of a nosferatu playthrough and might still be optional but at the detriment of dialogue options and side quest access)

• Your clan affects NPC reactions and the nosferatu clan's looks scare most people

• Various spells that help with progression but are optional (celerity lets you move super fast at higher levels and lets you dodge bullets and melee attacks (can also help a bit with stealth and with getting past laser alarms at one point, has a bullet time/slow motion effect to it so movement feels slower while it's faster compared to everyone else), auspex - temporarily buffs 2 stats and lets you see enemies' and NPCs' auras (mood and type)+see people through walls (Deus Ex)+it works like a torch of sorts which is occasionally useful, dementation can unlock more dialogue options for Malkavians, dominate - persuade or kill people mentally (unlocks dialogue options, works well on humans but not vampires), obfuscate/invisibility - can perform stealth kills and hack during it at a high enough level, stun enemies by making them laugh or vomit blood (there's also two kinds of regular stun in trance and mesmerize), brainwipe - make enemies temporarily think you've disappeared (short duration), limited invisibility/advanced invisibility/unseen force (obfuscate discipline) - move invisibly while crouched and perform stealth kills (you're revealed if you touch others or containers+if you interact with the environment/move freely while invisible and do double damage with a melee attack that breaks obfuscate/can interact with the environment while invisible (but still not touch others or containers)+do triple damage with a melee attack that breaks obfuscate, red eyes - see in the dark (humans will notice the change at point blank range (masquerade violation) and wits +1)

• Five different endings depending on who you side with and one other action

• Alternate solutions to various problems (hacking, searching to find clues/passwords/keys, lockpicking, combat, stealth (stealth kill or avoiding combat and feeding on people, can take out cameras with guns or hacking but can't take out lights), persuasion skill, seduction skill for a steady blood supply, some breakable obstacles like the iron bars near gallery noir if you have enough Str, Some exploding barrels (or objects rather); Quest for Glory, Ultima Underworld, Star Control II, System Shock 1-2, Thief, Fallout, Deus Ex, etc.)

• Stealth/aggression-based reputation mechanic (masquerade; violations in non-combat zones will lead to ambush attacks from human vampire hunters and scorn or contempt by vampires and eventually a game over if the 5 point meter reaches zero, can attack in masquerade zones (non-combat and non-elysium/vampire haven) but it will generally trigger law enforcement for a while)

• Quest log (doesn't add e-mails and certain spoken hints though and you can't add your own notes - see Deus Ex)

• Control and hotkey config

• Malkavians are cursed with insanity making for a unique experience playing as them (every dialogue response is different, you get cryptic clues from voices in your head about the game's plot (which won't make sense to you until your second playthrough), inanimate objects might talk to you)

• Can still use a weapon you're not skilled at at a penalty to its lethality (how well it deals with supernatural enemies)

• Item stash at your home/haven and you can store items in other containers as well (or just leave them on the ground in any hub area)

• Some breakable walls and alternate hidden paths - the former is underused at times and the late game areas are more linear overall

• Can listen in on NPC conversations (Deus Ex, Fallout)

• Some decent-pretty good puzzles

• Pretty natural/believable feeling environments overall in terms of their layouts and doodads (more like actual places than game levels) - similar to Deus Ex

• Decent amount of lore from diaries, logbooks and e-mail accounts which is also pretty well done (no novels or biographies though)

• Some minor sequence breaking possibilities (can skip/speed up parts of these main quests: Slashterpiece by exiting the gallery right after entering it or after stealing the money (skips the main reward though and might affect the next quest), Elizabethan Rendezvous (look at the scene via the cameras instead of going around the ship to see the sarcophagus in person), The Enemy Of My Enemy by killing the werewolf to remove the timer and make the cable car come much sooner; during the Society of Leopold quest you can climb the mountain where the boulder drops down and from there jump onto the outside roof with maximum Celerity active (only lets you get some weapon drops however), Can stand on a frozen enemy to reach higher at times - didn't try it yet), More (ver. 1.1)

• Pick up and throw some small objects (kind of limited though but can occasionally be used to lure guards)

• Some shortcuts (parking garage downtown becomes emptied after grabbing the briefcase, get teleported out of the crackhouse and some other places after beating the boss there, out of the warrens thankfully, sewers and alleys)

• Can eventually gain an item called the odious chalice which stores blood/MP from killed enemies (about mid-way through the game)

• One large-scale environmental change

• Have a home (haven) which can be upgraded to a better one downtown provided you don't piss off Lacroix (can get a second chance if you mess up during the rendezvous quest) - Tremere and Nosferatu players get one elsewhere much later

• Aiming with ranged weapons works like in Deus Ex (makes them pretty slow to use until increasing your ranged combat skill, can still miss even if it looks like you're going to hit since it's dice roll-based)

• The tutorial is pretty short and also skippable

• A sneaky playthrough is mostly doable but you can't completely avoid combat (some bosses and in the end-game you are forced towards combat more and more so you'll want to invest in at least one combat skill) - about 18 kills required in total)

• Can't drive and there's no traffic in-game

• Found inventory items tend to light up if looked at or looking very close to them while near them, Inspection can make this more obvious and/or happen from further away

• Game pauses while in the inventory menu

• Can't hire mercenaries or recruit party members - Can gain a "ghoul" (semi-vampire) in Heather who you can get presents from (money, armor and even people to feed on who you can choose to let go) and tell to change outfits for you, but not have her join you during questing. Have to let her feed on you a couple of times or you can set her free to gain some humanity

• Firearms start out weak but become the strongest for combat in the late-game while unarmed becomes much worse unless you're a Gangrel clan vampire

Some notable cons:

• Various bugs still (see the mini review)

• Some camera and hit detection issues

• Some tedious segments

• Sometimes poor directions

• Obfuscate does not work on several very common enemies you'll encounter and is not very reliable overall

• No breakout/desperation move in melee

• Stealth kind of sucks overall due to not being able to simply knock enemies out combined with their lack of patrolling/splitting up (with some exceptions) and not having enough objects to lure them away with around+the glitches - some vampires do get stun spells which can be used instead though

• A few missable items

• Need to have left the vent to your skyeline apartment open to be able to get back to the city hub areas after choosing who to side with for the finale (and not be a tremere or a nosferatu)

• Bad enemy AI in some ways

• Some dead space/pointless detours as well as some boring backtracking during questing

• Some invisible walls (sneaking tutorial area, beach, part of the haunted house, between trains outside the warehouse, sabbat hideout, etc.)

Playthrough (Malkavian) - Video Review - Mini Review

Influenced by: Probably Half-Life 2, Deus Ex, System Shock 2, possibly Gothic, Shadowrun (MD & SNES), Thief, SW: Knights of the Old Republic?, Arx Fatalis?

Influenced: Possibly Jade Empire, The Witcher, Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Dishonored?, Vampyr?