Last game you finished, tell us about it

[DeepO]

Hmmm, what to play next?

May I suggest Vampire: Bloodlines with latest patch or W8 with latest Dodd´s mod + Daegan´s tweaks ?

 

[JDR13]

May I suggest Vampire: Bloodlines with latest patch or W8 with latest Dodd´s mod + Daegan´s tweaks ?

I am strongly considering playing VBtM soon, I've owned a copy for several years but have never played it.

 

[JemyM]

I finished Vampire: Bloodlines without any of the community patches. Large bits of the game is really great and enjoyable and worth playing the game for, but there are also spots that I wish they could have skipped entirely since they break an otherwise great game. The game is a RPG First Person Shooter, with more weight on the RPG part. There's plenty of dialogue, a quite good story, lots of extras, nice NPC's etc. You can see that Troika wasn't too used to using the Half-Life 2 engine though since the graphics sometimes goes from good to poor. The game is worth playing a 2nd time as Malkavian, since it really changes the gaming experience in some areas.

However, there are parts of the game that is simply mindless hack n slash, which becomes a real nuisance when playing less combat capable clans.

 

[txa1265]

I am strongly considering playing VBtM soon, I've owned a copy for several years but have never played it.

Wow ... that is surprising! I have it installed and restarted again last fall but never got too far. It is one of my favorite games. Loads of wonderful dialogue and choices ... I don't mind the combat heavy areas ... except one in particular.

 

[txa1265]

Red Faction
A very average and outdated first-person shooter.

I went to load this up on the Mac last night for nostalgia sake since we were talking and found that despite an OS X patch it won't run on Intel hardware ... perhaps I should see that as a good thing

 

[JemyM]

Im playing Red Faction 2 now and I have to say that RF is a better game in most respects. This is a console port, that's for sure.

It feels like someone had already developed a shooter when they got their hands on the title and then added some minor bits to make it look like a sequel. I wouldn't have guessed this was a RF sequel had I just played the game without seeing the titlescreen. Kinda like Far Cry 2.

 

[JDR13]

Played and finished both Red Faction games years ago. The first game was fun for a few levels and pretty average overall. The 2nd game made me feel like I was playing on the PS2 with a keyboard and mouse.

 

[JDR13]

Wow ... that is surprising! I have it installed and restarted again last fall but never got too far. It is one of my favorite games. Loads of wonderful dialogue and choices ... I don't mind the combat heavy areas ... except one in particular.

Yeah, it's always been lurking in the back of my mind but, like many other games, I've just never had time to fit it in.

I'm kind of glad I didn't play it when it first came out though, because now I have the luxury of choosing between several quality patches that have, according to fans, improved certain aspects of the game significantly.

Now I just have to decide which clan to join.

 

[DeepO]

Now I just have to decide which clan to join.

I´ve played the game for the first time just recently, but for what it´s worth, I probably wouldn´t recommend choosing Nosferatu or Malkavian for the first playthrough.
They both offer significantly different experience than the rest.
Nosferatu is cut a bit short in the story department and a threat of masquerade violation, as well as more extensive need to use the sewer systems, might prove annoying.
Malkavians have completely different dialogue responses, get a bit of extras on top of that and, from what I´ve seen, are just hilarious which makes them, as JemyM pointed out, an ideal clan for replay.

Another thing is, that the last fourth of the game is (unfortunately) quite combat heavy and especially some bosses may be quite punishing for a weaker combat characters. Imho, Ventrue or Gangrel may have quite a hard time getting through some of those areas.

Also, apart from some specific situations, ranged weapons are not that useful in this game and need ammo supply which makes melee orientated character more convenient.
Celerity is one of the most useful combat disciplines, which makes Toreador and Brujah a viable choice for the first playthrough. Brujah is probably the most powerful melee character but imho a bit plain, but Toreador seems like a good all-arounder to me and can be effective with firearms too thanks to the auspex + celerity combo.
I´ve found some areas in the game to be too dark even after gamma adjustation, so having auspex may come in quite handy in such situations too.

That said, I think that Tremere is the best choice for the first playthrough.
They may seem a bit weaker compared to the rest at first, but their disciplines become really powerful once you invest some experience in them, and are very useful until the end of the game. Blood shield offers a good, long-lasting protection and two mass-killing powers make some crowded combat parts less of a hindrance. And they have auspex too. Tremere offers a good amount of variety and also gets some extra content later.
Especially with this clan, the important thing is to use blood packs only in those really tough situations, i.e. boss fights.

Stealthy approach to some missions is a viable alternative to all clans since stealth seems to be rather too effective in this game.

Of course, take everything I´ve written with a grain of sand, since I played all the clans just for a little while and my only full playthrough was done with Tremere, so I probably shouldn´t do these comparisons in the first place, eh.
Anyway, if you want to play a character which offers a lot of variety and can handle himself well in tougher combat situations, based on my only playthrough, I can say that melee orientated Tremere would be a good choice .

 

[JDR13]

Thanks for the tips DeepO. I've already ruled out the Gangrel, the Nosferatu, the Tremere, and the Malkavians. None of those clans really interest me from a role-playing perspective.

I'm not too worried about putting together the most powerful character that I can. I'm more interested in simply getting a lot of fun out of it. That being said, I'm sure all the clans are fun. Just going from the basic descriptions though, I'm more intrigued by the Ventrue, Toreador, and Brujah. The Ventrue's ability to use Dominate during dialog sounds particularly interesting to me, although I don't know how much of an impact it actually has.

 

[curious]

ventrue might be a rather tough go for the first playthrough. the only one's i've played thru the whole game where malkavian, brujah, and tremere in that order. brujah is probably the best jack of all trades clan, while toreador's seduce can give intresting options in the game, you might find combat more difficult obviously.

started up a new game myself a few days ago like i do every 6 months or so, but after planning my character for over an hour and settling on gangrel, and playing most of the intro i haven't returned as imperium romanum is far to engrossing and the host of other games i'm more slowly finishing.

also another plus for brujah is unarmed combat. you may think you're not going to be to much of that in the game and you'd be right, but you also need that feet for feeding, which you definately will be doing a lot of and jumping on an opponents neck in combat is somtimes the best combat maneuvar in more ways than one.

 

[Arhu]

I'm more intrigued by the Ventrue, Toreador, and Brujah. The Ventrue's ability to use Dominate during dialog sounds particularly interesting to me, although I don't know how much of an impact it actually has.

Try a faelike, female Toreador based on Seduction (appearance + subterfuge) and Persuasion (charisma + scholarship). Lots of fun from a roleplaying perspective. Opens up lots of interesting dialogue options, but fights can be difficult.

 

[txa1265]

I have played Tremere (asically my Vamp-mage), Toreadrore, Malk, Nos, Gangrel ... jeez, just about everything ... but most playthroughs are as Tremere.

 

[JemyM]

Red Faction 2
Console port from the PS2 era that have little in common with it's prequel.

Story: By the Glory of the Commonwealth
Unlike Red Faction, RF2 takes place on earth with Parker (hero of the first game) is nowhere to be seen. Instead you play Alias, a member of a nano-enhanced group of ex-elite soldiers for a dictator called Stalin... uh, no Sopot actually. Not surprising Alias and his squad are not fightin against Sopots regime (the Commonwealth). The story is told by a mixture of cutscenes and dialogue. Your squadmembers have their own personalities and they play a major role in the story that unfold. There's a twist, but it's not uncommon for computer games so it's not that surprising.

Graphics & Sound
Being a 2002 game the graphics will impress no-one. At least it's made at a time in which you could actually see what polygons on screen is supposed to represent. Also opponents, civilians and your squad members are well modelled and each member of your squad looks unique. Voice Acting is ok, the voice actors include Lance Henriksen (Bishop in Aliens) and Jason Statham (Transporter, Crank). Once in awhile you encounter civilians with rather funny dialogue.

Gameplay
Like the story, RF2 is a completely different game from RF, except still being a FPS. All weapons are replaced. Red Faction 2 is a console port from PS2 and it's rather obviously so. The gameplay is extremely dumbed down to fit a console, like a crosshair that shines up like a christmas tree when aiming anywhere near an opponent. There are some vehicle driving like it's prequel though, maybe the best bits when you get the chance to use a mecha-like robo suit. The Geo-Mod engine is improved in RF2 and you will find yourself blowing stuff up more frequently than in previous games. Still, there's very little in RF2 that makes the game worth playing. If you have played other FPS's, RF2 brings nothing new.

Final Thoughts
I decided to pick up Red Faction 1&2 considering Red Faction 3 (Guerilla) is on it's way, but I cannot say I have been impressed with the series. I was also surprised to find how different RF2 was over RF. It's almost like the developer had made the entire game as a stand-alone title, then got their hands on the "Red Faction" label and decided to tweak their product just a little bit to be able to ride on Red Factions previous fame to be able to sell more copies of RF2. I said almost since it's not true, but it looks that way.

 

[JemyM]

I have only beaten V:B with Gangrel. I came far with Malkavian but gave up at the point the game became a dungeon-crawl.

 

[DeepO]

I'm not too worried about putting together the most powerful character that I can. I'm more interested in simply getting a lot of fun out of it. That being said, I'm sure all the clans are fun.

The reason why I recommended Tremere was that it´s a very versatile clan with interesting disciplines and is well adjustable to every situation, without really being too powerful, just really well balanced.
Brujah, for example, is imho generally more powerful, but also more straightforward, thus not that fun.
But it´s probably more about individual playing preferences.
I´m sure all the clans are fun for most of the game, some are just more prone to hit a brick wall in later stages.

Anyway, regardless of the clan you´ll choose in the end, be sure to periodically invest exp into Persuasion since it´s by far the most useful social skill.

 

[JDR13]

Try a faelike, female Toreador based on Seduction (appearance + subterfuge) and Persuasion (charisma + scholarship). Lots of fun from a roleplaying perspective. Opens up lots of interesting dialogue options, but fights can be difficult.

Sounds like fun, I would have to play as a male though. I just can't do the female thing when it comes to "role-playing", .

Anyone here ever play much as a Ventrue? I'm curious about how much the dialog options change due to their Dominate ability.

Also, does the game play more naturally in 1st or 3rd person?

 

[GothicGothicness]

1st person, it plays horrible in 3rd person.

 

[curious]

matter of opinion. you're going to have to use both anyhow since certain things like melee will kick you out of 1st person. no other game i've played have i not kept primarily in one or the other.

 

[Arhu]

Sounds like fun, I would have to play as a male though. I just can't do the female thing when it comes to "role-playing", .

About that ... I can't do the male thing in this case. When thinking about a male vampire who is very handsome, wears fancy garments and cares about his looks a lot and likes to seduce people - I'd think about something I definitely couldn't or wouldn't want to role-play.

Also, does the game play more naturally in 1st or 3rd person?

3rd person for me. 1st person didn't feel right.