"Dark" - Vampires 3?

[The_J]

​

It seems there's a new vampire action RPG in the making.
Distributor (Kalypso Media) and developer (Realmforge) are both german, that's probably why there is currently no english media out. EDIT: There's an english forum post at GOG (link) and at RPGwatch, but nothing in the news.

• Press release (google translator)
• Golem.de (google translator)
• Gamestar.de (google translator)

The setting seems to be a modern world, and the story begins with you in a night club and amnesia, so you have to find out whatever happened to you.
The press release talks about special abilities like teleporting and that you have to suck blood from your enemies.
Else it doesn't tell us very much, but hopefully there'll come more this weekend at the role play convention.


....so...is this the long awaited inofficial successor of the Vampire series?
I mean, a Vampires 3 would be awesome. I hope the gues from Realmforge will do their best, because my expectations are already high .

 

[attackfighter]

It looks more inspired by Deus Ex: Human Revolution than Bloodlines. But that's a good thing. Art design is decent, although I don't dig the cartoonish look cell shading gives the characters - it doesn't mesh well with dark urban setting. Other than that not much else to say.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

I actually thought Deus Ex Human Revolution and Bloodlines were quite similar to begin with in terms of atmosphere. When I first played HR and got to the first real level, where you secure the typhoon and rescue the hostages, I got an intense wave of deja vu and eventually realized that it felt like a mix between DX1 and Bloodlines.

Anyway, I'm skeptical as always about anything calling itself an "action RPG". If it turns out to be more RPG than action then it might be good, otherwise I probably won't care for it much.

 

[attackfighter]

Well VtMB and DE:HR both drew inspiration from Deus Ex 1, so that's why they are a bit similar.

But the reason I say "Vampires 3" reminds me specifically of DE:HR (and not VtMB or DE1) is because...
1) It's got takedowns.
2) It's got 'dragging and hiding bodies'.
3) This following screenshot looks directly ripped out of DE:HR (minus the guy in the hoodie):

4) It's got a colour filter.

So more in common with DE:HR than any other contestant.

 

[Maniacal]

1) It's got takedowns.
2) It's got 'dragging and hiding bodies'.

So do the Hitman and Splinter Cell games.

3) This following screenshot looks directly ripped out of DE:HR (minus the guy in the hoodie):

Besides being based off a typical office room, not really.

4) It's got a colour filter.

So do Fallout 3 and Battlefield 3.

While it may have similarities to HE:HR, I didn't see anything that made it look like it was copying it.

 

[attackfighter]

Maniacal you idiot it's all of those things taken together.

 

[Rub'Rum]

Yay random unnecessary insults

 

[Heretic_Cata]

ZOMG
That is all.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Bloodlines could be described as Deus Ex with vampires, so it's not a bad thing if this is influenced by Human Revolution. I just hope the story branches out earlier and we don't get the Endingtron3000.
Look at me. Already cncerned about the ending of a game that's just been announced. A 'stealth action game with RPG elements' with vampires does look interesting. This is definitely on my radar now.
The only thing I already dislike is that it's too green, but I also thought Human Revolution would be too orange and it didnt really bother me.

 

[attackfighter]

Don't you mean too yellow? As for the endingtron, I actually liked it... it at least made sense storywise, unlike Mass Effect 3's endingtron attempt.

 

[Maniacal]

The only thing I already dislike is that it's too green, but I also thought Human Revolution would be too orange and it didnt really bother me.

Now that you mention it, Detroit was a bit orange. I just assumed it was a combination of smog and, later on, fires burning. I think it was used decently well in HR.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Now that you mention it, Detroit was a bit orange. I just assumed it was a combination of smog and, later on, fires burning. I think it was used decently well in HR.

I was worried before the game was finished because the pre-release screenshots had a strong orange tint, but to my relief it wasn't as obnoxious in the finished game.
I hope it will be the same with the overabundance of green in DARK.
I also hope the 'RPG elements' are more than just tacked on elements.

 

[attackfighter]

Guys, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but Deus Ex 3 has a yellow tint. Not orange. But yellow.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

DE3 had a tint ?

 

[Rub'Rum]

DE3 had a tint ?

Don't bait the tint-warriors.

 

[OrsonM]

Tinting is not a terrible thing by itself, a while ago I mentioned something how the new Syndicate remake had a tint (which was blue), so we have:


blue (with anamorphic lens flares)...


yellow...


and poopie...

Usually the latter being extremely common because of technological shortcomings in 3d gaming, which is why games like Bastion can afford to be a storm of colors:


ooooohhhh aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!

But the tinting is generally not that terrible, specially whenever they go with any color but brown. So about the green? well, not too many green games out there, not necessarily a bad thing...

 

[attackfighter]

That blue tint looks very calm and relaxing. More games should use tints to enhance atmosphere. Red for danger and action; green for dystopia and entropy; yellow for metropolis' and wealth. Most modern games would benefit from this I think.

 

[The_J]

I have totally no idea why the gaming sites seem to ignore this title...the IT site, to which I linked in the OP, has again a preview here, with a video demonstration (sadly only in German).
It's the only real serious site which has something new about the title .

Looks in general good (animations not finished), but they say that it's more focused on stealth action, less on RPG. The story will be linear, without any moral based decisions, but will have multiple choice dialogs.

And so that the search engines can find it ("Dark" is really a bad title for a google search): The name of the main character in Dark is Eric Bane, and this hereh as been presented at the E3 2012.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Almost a year later there haven't been many previews, but now there's a trailer and a 20 minute demo video, and the German gaming site Gamestar has about 50 screenshots

I don't know what to make of this game. I think it's going to be too focused on stealth and not RPG enough for my taste. There's no weapons and no melee fighting. If you have to take something out your only choices are stealth kills or special abilities.
But I'm happy it's less green now.


Link to video.


Link to video.



Hopefully they don't screw this up.

 

[Maniacal]

The animations look a little stiff, and it is clearly made for consoles, but it could be a pretty cool stealth game which are in very short supply.

Also lol at the story "You were somehow transformed into a vampire, need to figure out why and how to become human again!". Ah well, I wonder how their use of the dialogue wheel will work out. Also seems the game is still in alpha, so I guess that is why the animations are a bit stiff.