Vampire®: The Masquerade - Bloodlines™

I know about this game's troubled development, and how it wasn't given a fair chance. I played it when it was released, about 15 years ago. The bottom line is, it's a fascinating game and one of the better RPGs - they rarely make games this unique these days. Sadly, the current state of the game, even with the patches, isn't too good. I wish they had finally ported it to a more complete and modern version of the Source engine, so the modding community could finally fix the game. It's buggy. Especially the later portions of the game. Some bugs are just unpleasant, like random models being swapped with giant armchairs. Some just make it more tedious, like the elevator buttons being a lot harder to select. Some are game-breaking. Though thankfully there's less of those than at release. As a result, the game is not as impressive as it was supposed to be by design - the bouts of frustration and door handles being turned into vases kill the mood. And here's a free piece of advice: don't open it. You'll get it when you reach that point in the game.

There are a lot of reviews that are clearly from gamers who are willing to play a broken Ubisoft release but not for a game with a big cult following. Having played through and beaten the game, it definetly shows its age in terms of graphics, controls and UI. It's still playable but there are aspects of the game that feel dated. BUT what makes it worth your time is the writing and the unique approach to the RPG in the fact that it expects you to actually ROLE PLAY. You aren't some badass that's taking on the world but the denizen of a world where if you misbehave, there will be consequences. And with a world that has such awesome lore, you can't help but get immersed in this early 2000s style that evokes the spirit of the Blade movies. There's not really a game quite like it where talking your way out of situations is a viable option as shooting your way out. This game would have been an all-time favorite of mine, EXCEPT the ending kinda... sucks. When I looked into it, it turns out this has a really rocky development to the point where the developer had to rush the ending. And it shows in one of the boss fights that is just AWFUL along with the writing, particularly with one character that they built up for some big reveal but the payoff never materialized. Because time constrants. A tradition that seems to be carried on by the development of the sequel that has been delayed indefinately at the time of writing. But, as someone with no nostologia for this game, I reccommend it. It is such a unique gem of a game that doesn't really have an equivalent. Well worth picking up on a sale if you're unsure. It's not perfect as its development was troubled but it came out surprisely well considering.

In my younger days, I was a DIEHARD fan of White Wolf's World of Darkness. I owned (and read repeatedly) easily 30 or so books (the novels are stellar.) In fact just today I finished rereading the Book of Nod. That said, despite it's technical flaws, and truly they're nothing that can't be overcome, this game is indeed a fine example of what WoD in it's prime could be as a game (other than the tabletop version.) The writing is such that White Wolf made much of it official canon. That should say something. Gameplay is fair, better than I expected for so ambitious a project. Combat is a little clunky, but fun and depending on how you play can be quite harrowing juggling the fighting with the use of disciplines. It can be easy or hard depending again entirely on you. The story is immersive, the atmosphere is expertly painted despite the graphics being a bit dated (like many kindred, this game is old.) Any game with an online community devout enough to STILL be modding it is worth a second thought. And there are quite a few VERY in depth ones at that. Think about it. Wait for it to be on sale if you wish. Give it a shot. You might like it, you might not. But remember kindred, it is the blood of Caine that makes your fate.

Bloodlines is an RPG that is actually much more fun to play these days than on release, and that is mostly due to the rabid fanbase and their incredible efforts at fixing the game while assuring its playability on modern computers. The GOG version of this game uses Wesp's basic patch, the full version of which looks to be finally completed after more than a decade of work. At it's core, the game is a well-written and voiced companion to the tabletop RPG, and is thoroughly accessible even to beginners. As long as you don't neglect to put a few points into combat here and there, your experience with this game is likely to be a good one.

Even if you know nothing about Vampire: The Masquerade, even if you're new to WRPGs, and even if "living out your vampire fantasy" sounds silly, give this a try! The gameplay has a lot of variety with melee combat, gunplay, stealth, lockpicking, hacking, conversation, and more, and in most situations, you have a lot of viable options from those. The basic mechanics are a little janky, but it's totally competent; I usually have a low tolerance for that kind of thing, and I had few problems after the first hour or so. Dialogue choices do sometimes impact your future, but choices are usually pretty obvious, and you're not likely to screw yourself over for later, if you use your head. The writing is excellent, too, and the characters are great; I found myself very attached to a lot of them. You also choose sides in the main conflict, and they're framed in such a way that any of them could be a justifiable choice; not just to see what happens if you side with them. The character creator is cool, too; you have several different clans from which to choose, each clad in hilariously turn-of-the-century outfits. The music isn't maybe something I'd listen to out of context, but it's very stylish, and sets the atmosphere extremely well. It's very approachable, which makes it a great WRPG for beginners, but it's still engaging enough to keep the veterans coming back for more!