Leon's still taking Vampires on the road

Quite a few news bits this week. First off, we have the <a href="http://vnboards.ign.com/Bloodlines_Inn/b22439/64826366/?1">4th Weekly Update</a> from HollywoodVamp over at the Inn:
<blockquote>So this weeks update will be a bit different. Every so often Im going to throw other news up as it becomes available. As many of you know we have been taking our game on the road and demoing it over the course of the past 10 months.

I had allot of questions last year as to when we would be on the east coast. So I'm happy to announce that the first convention we will be at this year is at <a href="http://www.megaconvention.com">MegaCon</a> in Orlando, FL March 5-7.

After that we will be in Los Vegas at the <a href="http://www.gama.org/">GAMMA Trade show</a> March 15-18. If you happen to be at either of these shows make sure you stop by the White Wolf/Bloodlines booth and check out the game.

Next week back to your questions.</blockquote>
If anyone does manage to attend, write us up something about it and send it in. We'll stick it up on the site here somewhere. Be as critical (or glowing) as you like.

Next up is a <a href="http://www.1up.com/article2/0,4364,1537026,00.asp">preview of Bloodlines</a> from 1up:
<blockquote>I haven't heard this much cursing in a game since some friends and I wagered life and limb on bottles of bourbon and heated matches of Lord of the Rings Risk (the kind where large sums of money and larger sums of manly pride are at stake). It may be offensive, but I suppose a certain degree of vulgarity in this instance is understandable, considering you too would be pissed if you were a vampire living in Los Angeles (The City of Angels in the Sunshine State).

... every useable object in Bloodlines is bounded by flashing colors or some kind of box, which conveys to players the option to read the book or turn the door knob. ... In the demo, entering a beach house covertly involved wandering to the edge of a waist high broken down picket fence, plucking one preset board off of the fence (because all the pretty flashing colors told me to) and then crawling through, eventually coming around back and opening a door. Wow. I couldn't help but wonder why this powerful vampire who had it in his mind to slaughter these surfing arms dealers didn't just leap onto the roof of the place, crash through the window and start tossing people around like ragdolls? Something a little more appropriate than pulling a board off a fence would be nice.

The final twist on play is humanity. This tangible metric acts as a representation of the careful balance between light and dark that takes place within each vampire. It is necessary to feed, but also dangerous if the masquerade is to be kept up and more dangerous still if you're not counting innocent calories. Without a proper supply of fresh blood pumping through the veins of the undead, vampires will fall into a frenzy, which causes them to attack the nearest thing, masquerade or not. But, just feeding on the sweet, obese populous of L.A. will decrease humanity, also driving a vamp insane.</blockquote>
I have to say it's one of the better previews I've read about Bloodlines. Fuzzy warm glowing nice stuff never went down well for me. Attack them dammit! Go for the kill!

Ahem. Moving on to our final bit of news, ActionTrip have also got a <a href="http://www.actiontrip.com/previews/vampirethemasqueradebloodlines_p.phtml">preview thingy</a> on Bloodlines, where they too, mention the swearing:
<blockquote>Next to fighting, shooting, and sucking blood, dialogue also comes as an integral gameplay ingredient. In one particular scene you'll stumble upon a character called Mercurio (a brief segment of this scene is shown in one of the movie clips posted with this preview). The impressive thing is that each discussion varies according to the player's preference. Interestingly enough, you are given the freedom to be polite, opinionated, bored, and if you want to cross the line, violence can also be on the menu. Using a violent approach can be fun. Simply select the option, and start wailing away. Nevertheless, such a move could instigate severe consequences, especially if the recipient of said beat down is connected to other influential vampires. So, it's not advisable to go smacking characters in the mug every time you feel like it. Some gamers might be pleased to know that a great portion of the dialogue is crammed with vulgar exclamations and distasteful remarks, so apart from the huge 'M,' you can also throw in an 'R' for offensive language.</blockquote>
Yep, that's right muthafuckers, the ability to fucking swear at some shitheads in the street makes for a fucking a'right and very mature gaming experience.

... and of course, the <a href="http://www.vampirebloodlines.com">official Bloodlines site</a> is still entirely Flash based and still sucks because of it.

Most of this spotted at the <a href="http://www.rpgcodex.com">RPGCodex</a>.