Xbox 360
Released in 2004, Vampire was the second game to use Valve's source engine. Heavily criticised at the time for its weak combat system and graphical glitches, Vampire rarely received any perfect scores, and due to weak marketing and Half-Life 2's monopoly of contemporary sales, it didn't break any sales records. Yet, four years on such flaws are no longer apparent since combat and graphics in modern games have evolved so far that many titles of the time could be heaped with such criticism. It is in this light that Vampire's qualities truly begin to shine.
Set in modern Los Angeles, you begin the game having been recently sired into the vampire ranks, and are introduced to a nocturnal culture where bloodsuckers and flesh-eaters secretly rule the streets. Throughout the game you'll find yourself wrapped up in a plot involving all aspects of Vampire society as several factions fight tooth and nail (sorry) over the dormant body of an ancient vampire with the potential to end all life on earth. You'll immediately be charged with deciding your 'clan'. Each is vastly different and will affect not only your play-style but also the entire fabric of the game. While some may mean you focus on conversation rather than combat or sneaking rather than seduction, the most fundamentally odd is probably Clan Malkavian. Rendered insane by their vampirism, Malkavians receive completely different dialogue options throughout the game, most of which make little to no sense. Televisions will talk directly to the character and tell him jokes, while stop signs will argue with you. This is bizarre and original in a way like no other game before or since, though I must admit that I usually stump for Clan Tremere, simply because they come with a spell that allows you to cause an opponent spontaneously explode.
Clans don't just define your abilities, but your allies too, how people react to you and even your abode. The choice doesn't end there however; traits ranging from gunplay to seduction can be advanced with experience. Seduction, like the persuade and intimidate traits, open up extra dialogue options during the game's frequent conversations and you can often achieve more with a good word than you can with a 3 foot katana. The dialogue itself is first rate, helping to immerse you in the world, while the voice acting is perfect. NPCs themselves are beautifully rendered (curves and all) and the facial animations remain second only to Half-Life in emotive expression.
The first person perspective enhances the immersion, as does the atmospheric sound and music. The game is also rather terrifying. An early mission set in a haunted hotel is possibly one of the most frightening sequences in gaming history, even though it doesn't actually contain any real enemies. It's this atmosphere that keeps your pulse rate high as you explore abandoned hospitals or twisted mansions. Pretty soon you'll be keeping the lights on just to explore an apartment or car park. While some missions can be tedious—I'm looking at you Mr. Obligatory Sewer Sequence—the great majority of them are imaginative and exciting, and can be faced in a number of ways. No where else has morality played so big a part in a game before. Do you drain a poor hobo of blood for that extra fix, or leave him alive at your own expense? Do you keep your own slave who provides you with free money and blood, or set her free? Do you help the commie vampires or the elite corporate ones? There are no obvious good or bad endings a la Knights of the Old Republic, no obviously good or evil path like in Fable, but a long intricate web of choices that walk the line between humanity and the demon within.
To the quick-fix Call of Duty player there probably isn't much here to recommend. The ranged combat is pretty weak and certainly could have been better. The focus is more on melee which is simple and occasionally fun, if repetitive. Take the time to get to know the world, however, and you'll find a work of art more immersive than most films, a mythology both rich and extensive and more options than a full price cable TV package. It's the kind of game you'll come back to year after year and find a completely different experience. Like the Vampires themselves it has become timeless. Vampire is one of the darkest, scariest, sexiest and immersive games ever, and costs bugger all now. So find yourself a nice winter week, switch off your phone, turn off the lights and sharpen your teeth. You won't regret it.