Vampire Bloodlines: Masquerade Haunted House

[sinister agent]

I don't wish to spoiler, but I strongly suggest that you invest in at least one combat skill/power by the mid-game. There is one section in particular that is nothing but combat for what feels like hours, and you may be very frustrated without being able to fight through it.

You don't need to completely max any out, though. I went with high stealth (as others have said, it's pretty insane by the end - remember that a bite attack refills your health, and stealth becomes a cure-all) and a moderate melee skill, which seemed to work wonders.

[Rinox]

I just did this over the weekend too, I always play with headphones on and the whispering voice was really getting to me. Very chilling indeed

*very minor spoiler*


"He's coming...."

*hell breaks loose*

[SirKicksalot]

But yes, howlers, the scrying stone, creepy mansion, cursed family...good stuff.

Other worthy mention in scary shit (although i'll admit not as scary as other games mentioned): the original Condemned. Never played the sequel since it wasn't ported to PC. :(

The paintings in Undying still give me chills when I think about them. I spent ten minutes hiding behind barrels in total darkness when the skeletons were introduced...
Condemned has the thickest, filthiest atmosphere ever. That shit was vile. The sequel ruined everything, but it has a bear!

I don't like Vampire, mostly because I can't stand the atmosphere. But the hotel was great. I wish more games were like this. Being stalked is scary.

[Kadayi]

Yeah Ocean Hotel was scary as hell. Which made me laugh given that you're supposed to be a big bad scary vampire. I had to mute the sound to get through it, as it was getting all too much for me. Great game. Also props to the scary girl on the beach, great use of source facial tech.

[Coins]

I, also, picked this game up in the sale, and fell in love with it. Sadly, I'm stuck at a point, but I don't really mind, because I think the ending is a bit pants. Biggest mistake I made was that I started with a Malkavian, making the next play-through(s) a lot less interesting. Malkavian dialog is probably one of the best things I've seen in my gaming years.

Sneaky edit: I'm not sure if the Brujah have it, but Obfuscate is so good. If you max it out, only people can dispell your shield, and it last rather long. It's amazing how easy the game gets with it. Except, of course, when people see through your obfuscate.

[Skeletor68]

I have a friend who pretty much got a heart-attack and alt-f4'd when Aaron's ghost appaered behind him when he was looking in a mirror. He refused to play the game after that. But yes, howlers, the scrying stone, creepy mansion, cursed family...good stuff.

Other worthy mention in scary shit (although i'll admit not as scary as other games mentioned): the original Condemned. Never played the sequel since it wasn't ported to PC. :(

Yes! The original Condemned had some flawed mechanics but had buckets of atmosphere anc character.

*Spoiler*
When you investigate the body in the locker and it comes alive, followed by that main evil dude slowly walking down the corridor towards you I was just staring in awe at the screen. It had fantastic sound IIRC too. Screams and shouts would echo around buildings like crazy.

[Peter Radiator Full Pig]

Though I never got to experiace it, Ive read that Black and White would see if t could get your name from your computer. If it was a common name, late at night while you play, it would whisper your name throught the speakers....
That would be scary. That would be run and hide and never come out scary.
There are no shortage of overpowered skills in the game. Personally, Ive found super speed to be the most stupidly powerful and boring. With a sword, theres no challange.

[Wooly Wugga Wugga]

Another horror game that I enjoyed was the one where you are in the prison and all hell breaks loose. I can't remember its name though, I do remember that the enemies were based on the forms of execution that took place in the prison. It had a few really spooky scary moments.

[SirKicksalot]

Another horror game that I enjoyed was the one where you are in the prison and all hell breaks loose. I can't remember its name though, I do remember that the enemies were based on the forms of execution that took place in the prison. It had a few really spooky scary moments.

The Suffering. The monsters were designed by Stan Winston.

[Wooly Wugga Wugga]

The Suffering. The monsters were designed by Stan Winston.

Yes! I can still remember my first encounter with The Junkie. That was frigging terrifying and left me with a complete feeling of dread any time I came across water in one of the levels. Utterly inspired character design and the fact that they were based on such a real theme just brought the whole thing together so incredibly well.

[DougallDogg]

When this first came out I had heard some great things about it, plus inevitably '"Deus Ex with vampires" but passed it up. Finally succumbed over last weekend and I can't believe what a fool I was. Even though it's 7 years old it feels alot more fresh than most of the games released today.

[Inverselaw]

Just did it again yesterday :p still scary even after the third time.

Major fridge logic in the newspaper clippings however. Pretty funny to see a fire damaged paper talking about the unexplained fire at the hotel :p

[Skeletor68]

This game is a great mix of fantastic set-pieces and open ended gameplay. Such clever stuff. I still find the combat a little clunky but I think 'Deus Ex with vampires' is a decent description!

*Spoiler*
I did not realise Therese and Jeanette were the same person. I feel like an idiot now. Even though I had high persuasion I wasn't able to save them both. Apparently I needed to be perfectly nice to both of them.

[Revisor]

Don't worry, you will min/max the game on the second walkthrough. .)

[Dexter]

Game is cool yeah, too bad that any money you pay for it goes towards Activision though, the very same ones that pushed the game out unfinished and buggy and closed the studio afterwards xD

A few of the ex-Troika, together with a few Obsidian devs are working on Dead State though: http://www.deadstate.doublebearproductions.com/

[Kodeen]

*Spoiler*
I did not realise Therese and Jeanette were the same person. I feel like an idiot now. Even though I had high persuasion I wasn't able to save them both. Apparently I needed to be perfectly nice to both of them.

I was a bit annoyed with that dialogue tree since I ended up having to do it twice. I wanted Jeanette to live, chose her option throughout the tree, and in the end I choose "give me the gun", which is apparently the same as the Therese option. Boo.

[Drinking with Skeletons]

I managed to save both Therese & Jeanette the first time through, and I've never been able to replicate it. And, to echo other comments, you absolutely need to invest in a combat skill. Melee is the more broadly useful one, but the final boss (depending on your choices; you may not actually have to fight it) is practically invincible if you don't have high firearms.

I've always wondered why none of the fan patches have tried to tackle some combat improvements. Melee is functional enough, and the powers work quite well, but firearms really need some tightening.

[Revisor]

You have to keep your word (don't give the locket to Jeanette), be polite to both of them and in the final dialogue have Persuasion 4.

Re guns: I don't know if these are vanilla weapons or added by the Unofficial Patch Plus, but the Steyr Aug and the sniper rifle are absolutely tearing everything apart.

Also disciplines! E.g. Suicide works as a silenced one-shot-kill.

Suicide, Thaumaturgic fireball, Trance, drink dead to replenish blood, repeat. Fun. :)

[Drinking with Skeletons]

@Revisor: I'll have to try out those guns on my next playthrough. Still, I wouldn't say no to an optional (with a cult favorite, you should never piss off the purists) mod decreasing damage in exchange for greater accuracy/handling. Oblivion, Fallout 3, & Fallout: New Vegas all demonstrate that these kinds of combat systems can work, and I think we can all agree that the combat is Bloodline's greatest flaw (it trumps the late-game level design simply because those levels would be less disappointing if the combat was better).

[Xercies]

I have to say I have actually fallen in love with this game, i really can't believe I have been ignoring it for this long. And I'm really saddened that the developers who made this fantastic game are no more. More games need to be made like this, its smart and engaging and a lot of times you don't need combat to get through it, which is always good for me.