alyssa01's Full Review: Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption for Windows, Ma...
Overview: Vampire: The Masquerade, a popular pencil and paper role playing game, has come to the PC through Activision with Vampire: Redemption. In this game, you begin as a vampire hunter named Christof... who is quickly turned into a vampire himself. Find clues to your own dark future and the future of the world as you attempt to slash your way through hordes of undead servants of your arch nemesis, the vampire lord known as Vukodlak.
Storyline: The storyline of Vampire: Redemption is one we've all seen before... and one that has been done in a much better manner. This storyline is pretty cut-and-dried, with the majority of the story being lost behind hordes of minions coming at you. Obviously, you fight Vukodlak and his minions. You begin as Christof, who, after being wounded and nursed back to health, is sent deep into a mine to eradicate some menace that threatens to destroy all that is good in the city of Prague.
Gameplay Mechanics: In order to get through the maze, you must find switches to open doors and you must also kill lots of minions. Sounds a lot like... Quake?
And, indeed, there isn't much about this game that isn't much like Quake-style games. The interface is an extremely poor one, however, and you must move your camera angle every time a new enemy surfaces... which costs precious time. And, as any good Quake player knows, a few seconds of maneuvering is enough to get fragged. You will have an even harder time of it once your friends and allies join your group: sometimes the view of an enemy is blocked off almost entirely, meaning you cannot hit the enemy.
Overall, the gameplay of this game felt a lot like Quake with a sword. Once you are 'turned', however, you can start biting people, too. That's kind of neat... but unreal, since while you're busy murdering someone, the other mobs in the room will often not target you.
Miscellaneous: The graphics in this game were gorgeous. The 3D rendering was one of the most phenomenal I've ever seen, with excellent lighting and depth. The artwork was beautiful, with realistic backgrounds and faces. However, it did seem a lot like 'eye candy'... a bone of sorts thrown to the masses who will buy this game. The game has an overall feel of being unfinished -- they could have done so much more with it.
The multiplayer option is one to be avoided at all costs. The gamebox promises interactive stories played online in a dark world of intrigue, with one player acting as the storyteller (dungeon master). This is not how it works. The storyteller gets to drop monsters. That's pretty much it. Without a way to start and end a single story, players can enter and leave at any time, turning any attempt at story depth into a futile one.
There is, at this time, a promise by Nihilistic Software to publish a storyteller upgrade of some sort, but that should have been included in the original game.
Rating: It's not a terrible game, although die-hard fans of the RPG will be extremely disappointed. The graphics are above reproach, apart from a few sticky spots, and the sound is also excellent. If you love the series and cannot live without this game, then purchase it, but caveat! You will most likely grow bored after a few go-rounds through the dungeons. If you've never played Vampire, then don't bother with this game... Quake, or Diablo, is a better choice for this type of gameplay.
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