Vampire Tribunals Review
iPhone App
FREE! Buy now!

Vampire Tribunals Review

Our Review by Campbell Bird on September 29th, 2014
Rating: starstarhalfstarblankstarblankstar ::
Share This:

Hunt other vampires in the "real world" in this location-based multiplayer game.

Developer: Clazz Entertainment
Price: FREE
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
App Reviewed on: iPhone 4S

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starhalfstarblankstarblankstarblankstar
Playtime Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: starblankstarblankstarblankstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarhalfstarblankstarblankstar

Vampire Tribunals is an online multiplayer game in which players compete against one another to build their strength as vampires. Well, actually, players apparently play characters known as "damphyrs," but they seem virtually indistinguishable from vampires or whatever. The point is, Vampire Tribunals is a pretty bland game experience surrounded by an impressively insane amount of lore, vampire nonsense, and in-app purchases - all of which don't make it play any better.

Playing Vampire Tribunals involves creating an online account and then wandering around a map looking for players or objects to interact with. When I say wandering around, I mean literally wandering around, as each player can only interact with things that are within a certain physical radius in the real world. In concept, this could lead to scenarios where players are checking in to make sure they get the player that rides the bus with them on the way to work, or going out to lunch at a new place just to attack other players. In reality, it just isn't compelling enough to make wandering around to play particularly fun or rewarding.

Attacking or interacting with objects in Vampire Tribunals involves tapping them once they are in range, and then choosing a particular action to take. After tapping once more, a little animation or a compressed video plays to reveal the outcome of a particular action. This clinical description of game interaction in Vampire Tribunals reveals the game for what it really is: a series of location-based menus that have been smothered in vampire theming.

In addition to being essentially a series of menus, Vampire Tribunals isn't always playable when started. What I mean is that sometimes there are simply no objects or other players around at any given time or place, which can be frustrating. The developers try to overcome this problem by providing an item that lets players roam to other map areas without having to move, but this item is available very occasionally to free players and is otherwise a premium item taht must be paid for.

There are quests, missions, a guild system, and some other things present in Vampire Tribunals to encourage players to explore, but all of it falls kind of flat. It's a location-based game that's best played when not moving; and to play it while not moving, players should expect to wait a lot or pay a lot. Neither of these scenarios is a good value proposition, making it pretty hard to recommend.

iPhone Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

Vampire Tribunals screenshot 1 Vampire Tribunals screenshot 2 Vampire Tribunals screenshot 3 Vampire Tribunals screenshot 4 Vampire Tribunals screenshot 5
Share This: