244: The Last Masquerade

[Patinator]

I was just showing the music of this game to my friends yesterday when i got an urge to replay it. This the clincher though, moment the school quarter ends this week, i'm glueing my butt to the chair and replaying this.

Incidentally, first heard of it here on the Escapist, so i must say thank you guys for turning me on to one of my favorite games.

Edit: Malkavian for life!

 

[lockeslylcrit]

Scariest game sequence EVAH.

Eh, it was ok. Not really scary, but ok.
Off the top of my head, I can name several levels in games that are scarier. For example... Return to the Cathedral (Thief), Robbing the Cradle (Thief 3), the entire Fatal Frame series, Hydroponics in System Shock 2...

 

[veloper]

I don't miss Troika. They bit more than they could chew with Arcanum, and ToEE was a craptastic game. I waited until Bloodlines was in the bargin bin before I bought a copy at $10. Troika was long dead at that point.

Where Troika failed, Obsidian succeeded.

Obsidian riiight. What have they done so far?
Kotor2 was just unfinished and while MotB generally considered to be pretty decent storywise and c&c, it is also an expansion to the utterly craptastic NWN2.

Unless obs improve, Troika >> obs.

 

[Ammadessi]

I preordered this game way back when, and don't regret it. It's highly flawed, but it's the best vampire game I've ever played. Damn, I need to install it again now.

 

[Artorius]

The really nice thing is that all of the Malkavian madness is alluded to in a positive way while it's obvious that it really takes a toll on the mind of the Vampire, something that the TT game failed to do. And Tourette is So cool and So creepy.

A question Where can i find the Higher resolution of the picture in the article?
its very..... ;D

i am surprised that no body mentioned the Haunted hotel Level xP...

Scariest game sequence EVAH.

Oh man, when you walk down one of the halls in the main wing and turn around and oh crap a dude with an axe is right behind you AIEEE, that freaked me out so bad. That whole level was an unbroken sequence of scripted masterpieces - Troika managed to make a cute little wooden train set scary as hell when it suddenly rolls out of a doorway in front of you, and that's no mean feat (it was cute! Cute things shouldn't be scary!).

then she whispers 'watch out he's coming' ;>

 

[Marsell]

I may have to check this game out, what has actually been modded back in?

various bug fixes.
You get a fake Katana early on (First Kuei-Jin battle).
If you help the japanese Demon hunter, she might return the favour, when you go after Min-Xiao.

Uh....lots of other stuff, I think there are two distinct branches:

One restores "lost" content, while the other one just fixes various bugs.

have Valve make a vampire masquerade game!
can you say "Awsome!"?

Actually, Troika only licensed an early version of the source engine, most notably how fucked up the Havok physics engine is. Every tried standing on a flat physics object, like a plank of wood, the game goes ballistic. My favourite glitch was dying because I jumped onto the top of a coke can

no no no
I mean Valve make a full Vampire the Masquerade game, it would be awsome
Toreodor

 

[Hardly Reality]

I may have to check this game out, what has actually been modded back in?

various bug fixes.
You get a fake Katana early on (First Kuei-Jin battle).
If you help the japanese Demon hunter, she might return the favour, when you go after Min-Xiao.

Uh....lots of other stuff, I think there are two distinct branches:

One restores "lost" content, while the other one just fixes various bugs.

have Valve make a vampire masquerade game!
can you say "Awsome!"?

Actually, Troika only licensed an early version of the source engine, most notably how fucked up the Havok physics engine is. Every tried standing on a flat physics object, like a plank of wood, the game goes ballistic. My favourite glitch was dying because I jumped onto the top of a coke can

no no no
I mean Valve make a full Vampire the Masquerade game, it would be awsome
Toreodor

Or Bethesda, or even Bioware. Hell, just somebody please make something like Bloodlines again. Seriously.

It's a game I still love despite the number of times the bugs have screwed me about, which says a lot for it.

It's also proof that Activision was evil even back then.

 

[PipBoy2000]

Hey guys,
this article was about the second time ever I've heard about this game, and it actually caught my attention.
I have a question, though. Can't you patch the game to both fix the bugs and unlock content?

 

[lockeslylcrit]

Hey guys,
this article was about the second time ever I've heard about this game, and it actually caught my attention.
I have a question, though. Can't you patch the game to both fix the bugs and unlock content?

That's what the Unofficial Patch does.
http://www.patches-scrolls.de/vampire_bloodlines.php

 

[Killian Kalthorne]

Obsidian riiight. What have they done so far?
Kotor2 was just unfinished and while MotB generally considered to be pretty decent storywise and c&c, it is also an expansion to the utterly craptastic NWN2.

Unless obs improve, Troika >> obs.

Lets see here.
Troika dead...
Obsidian still making games...
Troika DEAD...
Obsidian still alive...

Obsidian > Troika.

 

[TheBlackKnight]

You definitely want to check out the Companion Mod though

ah yeah, the companion mod; That only actually broke the thin blood quest in Santa Monica for me I wouldn't get that picture and the car keys anymore. Nice idea though....lots of potential to break the game and be a total selfish snobbish Ventrue.

Spoiler: Oh and root

I'm not in league with OUR mortal enemy!

Or Bethesda, or even Bioware. Hell, just somebody please make something like Bloodlines again. Seriously.

It's a game I still love despite the number of times the bugs have screwed me about, which says a lot for it.

It's also proof that Activision was evil even back then.

Honestly, I would prefer Obsidian making one. I don't like the "type" of RPG Bethesda is making and I don't think Bioware is able to make a worthy successor to Bloodlines. Not that Bioware is not talented enough, but they tend to make the "You are the hero! Go and save X" and Bloodlines wasn't that type of game and I think that is the reason it was so good.

 

[veloper]

Obsidian riiight. What have they done so far?
Kotor2 was just unfinished and while MotB generally considered to be pretty decent storywise and c&c, it is also an expansion to the utterly craptastic NWN2.

Unless obs improve, Troika >> obs.

Lets see here.
Troika dead...
Obsidian still making games...
Troika DEAD...
Obsidian still alive...

Obsidian > Troika.

Only if they survive long enough to actually make some *good* RPGs.

You're not getting any credit for being smarter than einstein and newton while they're dead.

 

[PipBoy2000]

Hey guys,
this article was about the second time ever I've heard about this game, and it actually caught my attention.
I have a question, though. Can't you patch the game to both fix the bugs and unlock content?

That's what the Unofficial Patch does.
http://www.patches-scrolls.de/vampire_bloodlines.php

So, no way to get everything?
That's somewhat disappointing.

 

[Killian Kalthorne]

You're not getting any credit for being smarter than einstein and newton while they're dead.

In my life they are irrelevant while I am not. As far as I am concerned that is what matters. Also, lets take a look at their games, shall we.

Arcanum vs KotOR2
KotOR2 wins. It was more fun to play, it was more successful on the market, and widely accepted by PC and Console gamers. Arcanum was a brand new license which no one knew about. Also the developers and publishers complete lack of security caused it to leak months before its scheduled release. No marketing, limited audience, and leaked. Arcanum was a failure.

ToEE vs Neverwinter Nights 2
Neverwinter Nights 2 wins. It was a better written game, more memorable NPCs, and far more fun than the borefest that ToEE was. The only thing ToEE got better was the 3.5e rules, but everything else was subpar in every single aspect of what makes a good CRPG.

So far that is 2 out of 3 that Obsidian has done far better than Troika in game design and market value. Obsidian's third game, Alpha Protocol, will more than likely put the final nail in Troika's coffin.

Troika is dead because it couldn't make games that enough people wanted to play for them to remain in business.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

Troika deserves a lot of praise, but I'm also glad that someone pointed out that the flaws in their games (because IMO all of their games are great, but flawed in very much the same ways) aren't entirely the cause of outside pressure.

Troika was a great team of talented people who made some amazing games, but they consistently aimed too high, and poor management of time and resources made sure that every single one of their games ended up buggy and unfinished. Arcanum, ToEE, and Bloodlines were brilliant, and each of them still has fans building and playing patches and modifications. It's a damned shame that they went out of business, but you can't blame it all on the likes of Atari and Activision.

 

[birdboy]

I can remember first hearing about this game in the French version of PC Gamer (PC Jeux) and thinking that it sounded interesting. Then I found at a GAME store for some truly absurd price, and got it with the original Halo for 10 dollars alltogether.
Of those two games, VTM:B was easily my favourite, I didn't particularly care about the bugs, they didn't seem to affect my first playthrough much, and I really enjoyed playing a game where talking was more important than fighting.
Then it all fell apart in the last third of the game, with you being required to fight, even if you're character was say, a Malkavian with more seduction than sense,
And that ghost mission was as freaky as all hell. Seriously, I may have wimpered once or twice in fear.

 

[veloper]

You're not getting any credit for being smarter than einstein and newton while they're dead.

In my life they are irrelevant while I am not. As far as I am concerned that is what matters. Also, lets take a look at their games, shall we.

Arcanum vs KotOR2
KotOR2 wins. It was more fun to play, it was more successful on the market, and widely accepted by PC and Console gamers. Arcanum was a brand new license which no one knew about. Also the developers and publishers complete lack of security caused it to leak months before its scheduled release. No marketing, limited audience, and leaked. Arcanum was a failure.

Your factoring in MARKETING as in how good the GAME is?! If you're going to do a game comparison, do it right.

Begin with Bloodlines > Kotor 2.
Both unfinished, both crappy combat, but what Kotor2 does alright, Bloodlines does better: dialogue, VO, c&c, atmosphere.

ToEE vs Neverwinter Nights 2
Neverwinter Nights 2 wins. It was a better written game, more memorable NPCs, and far more fun than the borefest that ToEE was. The only thing ToEE got better was the 3.5e rules, but everything else was subpar in every single aspect of what makes a good CRPG.

NWN2 does nothing right. Atleast TOEE has got some decent TB combat.
If you mean mask of the betrayer, you should say so. MOTB>TOEE>NWN2. Arcanum and bloodlines are better than all three.

 

[Killian Kalthorne]

Bloodlines was Troika's third game. KotOR2 was Obsidian's first game. When Alpha Protocol is released, lets compare it to Bloodlines.

I amnot only considering how good a game is, but how commercially well it did as well. Which sold more copies? Which game made the most money. Out of Arcanum and KotOR2, I am betting KotOR2. Out of ToEE or NWN2, my money is on NWN2. I had more fun playing KotOR 2 and NWN2 than I did with Arcanum and ToEE. Both games were boring as hell. Once I got to Tarant I just couldn't stand playing Arcanum any more. Hell, Lionheart from Interplay was more fun than Arcanum. ToEE was just as bad.

If you cannot make a game that sells you aren't going to stay in business. Troika failed. Obsidian wins.

 

[TheBluesader]

The Last Masquerade

If there was ever a game that exemplified the term "flawed masterpiece," it's Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, a 2004 PC title that aimed high and very nearly made it. Logan Westbrook looks at what went wrong - and right - with Troika Games' swan song.

Read Full Article

In my semi-official capacity as Admin of the Escapist's Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines group, I say thanks to Logan for this great essay. Dead on the mark at every point, even mentioning the super-expressive faces that are still pretty much unrivaled by anything seen since.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Vampire-the-Masquerade-Bloodlines

For those who haven't played this game yet, though, I warn you: once you play it, you will become a terrible gaming snob who will poo-poo almost all other writing and voice-acting in games for the rest of forever. Yes, it's that good. Check out the IMDB page for a cast list if you don't believe Logan.

I'll also take this opportunity to encourage vampire fans to play Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption, a non-Troika World of Darkness PC game released by Activision before Bloodlines. Bloodlines isn't really a sequel, but gets the facial animation tech from this game (or certainly appears to). It plays very similar to Bloodlines, but feels much more like a traditional RPG and is also very polished and virtually error free. The writing isn't as good and the voice acting is sub-par, but like Bloodlines, it's got a great atmosphere and all that juicy World of Darkness goodness.

 

[Sneaklemming]

It quite simply is the best modern RPG setting game you can get. It is a great game to get lost in.

One of my all time favourite games. The unofficial patches are an absolute must however.

I wish that there had been a sequel.

I remember I had a slow-down time ability, and it upgraded to the point where i could dodge any bullets and run past enemies if I didn't want to fight, which is exactly what i did for the endgame, I just ran past them all in superfast speed, and nobody could catch me.