Released by Activision for Microsoft Windows on June 7, 2000, and for Mac OS in 2001, the game is based on White Wolf Publishing's role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. It follows the vampire Christof Romuald from the Dark Ages of 12th century Prague and Vienna to modern-day London and New York City in search of his humanity and his kidnapped love, the nun Anezka. The player controls Christof and up to three allies in first- and third-person perspectives. Nihilistic took 24 months to complete the game on a budget of US$1.8 million. The game received a mixed critical response; reviewers praised its graphics and multiplayer functionality, but were polarized by the quality of the story and combat. Its high-quality graphics and sound ran poorly on some computer systems. It received the 1999 Game Critics Awards for Best Role-Playing Game. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, set in the same fictional universe, was released in November 2004
