Introduction

Developer: Nihilistic
Publisher: Activision
Vampire official page: http://www.activision.com/games/vampire/

First Impressions

Easily the first impression we got of Vampire was the box. The Collector's Edition box is one of the few that has the content filling up all the normally empty space. There's a big-old manual of 100+ pages detailing all the controls and options in the game. More importantly, however, is the fact that it gives a solid background for the game setting. You see, Vampire isn't just any old RPG, it's actually based on a pen and paper (or if you prefer, live rolelplaying) version by White Wolf Games. There is a great deal of setting to give - from explaining the origins of Vampires to their various clans, the Jyhad and the Vampires' enemies.

Our hero awakens

Szlachta? That's Polish for 'Noble'

There are 3 install options given with the game but they are immensely huge. At the very least you need 720MB of space for the game and another 80MB for the Windows swap file. The full install is 1.25GB, almost the full two CDs the game ships on.

What's It Like?

The game starts off with a pretty good CGI sequence which leads up to the point you start the game in. Christof, your character, has been wounded and is taken to a convent in Prague to be healed. It seems, however, that Anezka, the nun nursing Christof has taken a liking to him, which has apparently interfered with the local Archbishop's plans for her. The Archbishop thus does his utmost to get him out of the way. Obviously the best and most permanent solution is for Christof to die, and as it happens there's a silver mine that's been taken over by 'demons'. What better place for the crusader to prove his worth? What better way to get him killed?

She's beautiful even in the dark

Nice city

After some major hack and slash in the extremely impressive-looking mines, Christof will emerge successful and, to the Archbishop's ire, become the town hero. Well, for at least as long as he's human... For the Archbishop is a foul man and sends Christof out to protect Prague at night, to fight things he had a chance to deal with.

The Brujah clan of vampires has seen him as worthy of becoming one of them and hurry to do so before he gets killed by the enemies he's made...