Bloodlines: worth buying?

[jediyoshi]

I found the un-official patch here
http://www.planetvampire.com/bloodlines/files/patches/

silly site needs to update that page. anyway it's probably best staying with the offical patch.

 

[EatChildren]

Bloodlines is great, but only if you can ignore all the horrible bugs that plague it, both from general game bugs to performance.

I am ultimately dissapointed though, no matter how great the game is. Troika won my heart with Arcanum (Best.RPG.Ever), and Vampire isnt nearly as open ended with that.

I think Troika need to stop taking on other people's franchise, as it does limit them.

So yeah, Bloodlines is worth the buy if your an RPG fan and can get past the problems, but its doesnt show off all of Troika's talent.

 

[glayva]

I have seen this perfomance tweak for VBL on another forum which may be worth a try.

Simply replace the config file with the one from HL2. Some are reporting positive things after doing this.

Don't have the game yet so I can't confirm my self...

 

[Snakebyte]

I don't have the game myself, but I played it for a bit on my friend's computer and watched him play through most of Santa Monica. I was really impressed with it. The environments are very detailed and the characters are interesting. We didn't have many performance problems on his 2Ghz P4 / 512MB RAM / X300 system. It slowed down a little after loading, but about 15 seconds later it was running smooth. We noticed a few bugs, but nothing major.

From what I played, it seemed to be a very fun and immersive game. I know my friend enjoyed it. I would recommend it, especially if you find it that cheap.

 

[spinkitten]

i too can confirm that using the HL2 config greatly boosts performance on the game!

 

[yadalogo]

The game is awesome and immersive but it preforms like my a$$ after having an enchilada!

 

[Arathiel]

for me it only slowed down in the city hubs, where there is little or no combat for the most part, so it wasn't an issue. Combat zones were fine. I have to tell you there was no moment in halflife that compared to the feeling of the first time I snuck up, invisible, behind an unsuspecting human guard, blissfully oblivious with his automatic rifle, and rammed my katana through his heart, while his buddy watched in short lived horror before I leapt on him and drained him dry. Yum! There are also a number of moral dilemnas that, being a monster, are diffucult to stomach. It was nice not having the clear "good" choices and "evil" choices all the time. I give it 1 and a half thumbs up, bc of the technical issues, otherwise it's awesome.

 

[Jimi204]

Besides a few technical glitches that are sure to(eventually) be worked out, the game is phenomenal. Heavy, heavy storyline that drags you right into it and makes it tough to walk away from. The main issue I had was in certain combat situations where there were 4 or more combatants attacking. The game would slow down quite a bit, but if you are deft enough in the skills dept., it shouldn't make a bit of difference. Absolutely worth every penny, especially when the bugs get worked out, so pay no mind to those who wish to deter you from this fine specimen of a game because they can't handle anything less than perfection :thumbs:

 

[Chris D]

Activision really ****ed this game over. By releasing it at the first precise moment they could it was obvious they just wanted to get the game out. In my opinion it was ready for release (though it would have been nice if they never had to release that patch) but releasing it on the same day as Half-Life 2? Result = Being sold at GAME in their January sale for £9.98 :|

That game is still worth £25-£30 IMO but because of Activision's ridiculous timing it's now lost its opportunity to be at the top spot for a week or two.

First time I played it was yesterday and I agree that it's a damn fine game. The graphics could have been better but that was my only grievence. Haven't noticed the lag or loading times like you lot have. Fine game.

 

[Edcrab]

I lag a bit in hub areas, and once or twice I've restarted to free up my RAM.

My only issue is with those damn linear story missions- they're huge, annoying, and mandatory. I don't like trawling dungeons- sorry, sewers, for hordes of the same old monsters while grappling with confusing layouts and the lack of an automap (for god's sake devs, more RPGs need automaps!)...

"Hey, Bob, these hubs are really popular with the playtesters. They love the freedom!"
"Really? Better chain them together with dungeon crawls then."
"'K."

 

[Harryz]

Got the game yesterday. I'm really enjoying it at the moment. Love the atmosphere of the game. The chicks are hot.

Only problems I have are, it could be more polished up, fps issues, apart from that, I would it say it was a good contender for game of the year of 2004.SPOILER: I'm up to the part where one of the twins kills each other. Loved the haunted house, scared the crap out of me. Some nice touches of humour aswell. I would recommend the game to anyone.

 

[Pibborando San]

SPOILER: I'm up to the part where one of the twins kills each other. Loved the haunted house, scared the crap out of me. Some nice touches of humour aswell. I would recommend the game to anyone.

Obviously your Persausion feat wasn't high enough. When I did that, I was able to persuade Jannette and Terese to work together. Heh, but that's what I love about this game. People can have completely different experiences depending on your clan, sex, skills, etc.

I am playing as Malkavian and I love it. Their dominate lines are awesome. I really like Troika's humor in the game as well. Comming back to my appartment downtown every once in a while, it's great to turn on the radio and just sit back and listen. The commercials are better than the GTA ones IMO. Personal favs are "I can't believe it's not margarine", the sex change add, and the political adds.

The fps slowdown doesn't bother me that much, as it's an rpg, not a fast paced fps. And the game hasn't crashed once.

Great characters and voice acting. So far the story is really engaging and all your vampiric abilities are very satisfying.

I'm trying to decide whether I like this or KotOR better. I guess I'll know once I beat the game. I'm in Chinatown ATM.

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Activision really ****ed this game over. By releasing it at the first precise moment they could it was obvious they just wanted to get the game out. In my opinion it was ready for release (though it would have been nice if they never had to release that patch) but releasing it on the same day as Half-Life 2? Result = Being sold at GAME in their January sale for £9.98 :|

That game is still worth £25-£30 IMO but because of Activision's ridiculous timing it's now lost its opportunity to be at the top spot for a week or two.

i kept saying how it would be horrible for Bloodlines to be released in the same month as HL2, let alone same day...but i was told i had no "business sense" and what i was saying was not true at all.

truth is, a January 2005 release for Bloodlines would have been better timing..maybe even February but damn, releasing the game in the same month as HL2, Halo2, GTA:SA was suicide and the present time proves it.

 

[Harryz]

Obviously your Persausion feat wasn't high enough. When I did that, I was able to persuade Jannette and Terese to work together. Heh, but that's what I love about this game. People can have completely different experiences depending on your clan, sex, skills, etc.

Cool, I didn't know it would affect me that much. Thats ace. I can see loads of replay value out of this.

 

[Jimi204]

Cool, I didn't know it would affect me that much. Thats ace. I can see loads of replay value out of this.

As can I, and have already begun my second foray into this most fantastic game. I went through the first time as a Male Brujah and was nearly damageproof thanks to a HUGE soak feat and a 10 melee. Am now starting of as a female Gangrel just for the sheer hell of it. To those who still harbor doubts, I say again.....worth every penny. HIGHLY entertaining :thumbs: