Vampire®: The Masquerade - Bloodlines™

14 years after it came out Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is still a decent game, but I'd argue it was never really a great one. You see, if you play a really similar action/RPG hybrid such as the first Deus Ex today (and that came out 4 years before Bloodlines), the gameplay feels a little bit dated, but it's still a lot of fun with a ton of engaging options and just works. Bloodlines, on the other hand, was a complete mess when it came out and its core mechanics are still garbage after all the years of fan patches. The melee action is barely passable and extremely boring, the shooing only works (somewhat) once you max out all the relevant skills, and the sneaking is a complete embarrassment as you can literally assassinate a bunch of enemies in front of all of their buddies without them noticing. Even the storytelling is pretty cumbersome at times with convoluted dialogue mechanics that make it a bit annoying to go through the otherwise excellent dialogue. The main story is pretty basic too with the side quests providing most of the real fun. The appeal of the game is pretty obvious, of course. The vampire lore, world building, and overall atmosphere are spot on. Some of the character classes offer unique play styles throughout the otherwise linear story. The music and voiceover are spectacular. The side quests are all unique and for the most part interesting. However, a big part of the game feels like a chore because of the badly broken gameplay. While I didn't really hate my latest playthrough, I really didn't love it that much either. I think it may be time to move on...

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is not only one of the greatest rpgs ever made but one of the best games in general. It has good rpg mechanics, great characters, an immersive world and atmosphere, and some of the best writing in any game I've ever played, perhaps only rivaled by games such as Legacy of Kain or Planescape Torment(both of which are masterpieces in their own right). If you are interested in a great story, this game is worth buying for that reason alone. However, not everything is perfect, this game was rushed out the door in an unfinished state and is still buggy to this day. Despite being launched in an unplayable state, this version of the game includes a version of the Unoffical Patch that will enable the game to run on modern systems without as many bugs, if you want a version to restore cut content you will need to get the latest version of it. Also, it is worth mentioning that this game is rushed in the last 20% or so of the game because of the hectic development of the game, leaving you with no options to resolve conflicts other than combat even if your character isn't skilled at combat. Be prepared for this by investing points into combat skills, it will save you a great deal of trouble if you do. To sum this all up, it is an amazing game that was unfortunately hindered by a troubled developement but it is well worth playing through for anyone who likes RPGs or just likes vampires in general.

I love this game so much that I bought it a second time (first on Steam and now on GOG). I have tons of hours playing this game. It has such a unique atmosphere that no game can match. The story is quite interesting with incredible voice acting that even modern games have trouble matching. The combat isn't anything too amazing but that's not what you are getting this game for however the combat is serviceable. The soundtrack is also fantastic with a goth vibe throughout. I would highly recommend this game to any fan of RPGs or good stories.

This is a flawed, oftentimes clunky experience that can really pull you into its setting and characters. Though the patch that comes with the GOG edition fixes most of the quest bugs, many of the game's rough edges show during combat. Enemies can be hard to hit and frustrating to fight because of jerky animations and strange pathfinding. The combat, I feel, is at its best when you're facing off against other vampires who can use the same abilities you can, and who have decent pathfinding and AI. Unfortunately, vampire combat encounters are few and far between; most of the game will have you fighting human schlubs with unavoidable bullets (essentially a damage mitigating skillcheck rather than something that requires interesting gameplay to overcome) or super-glitchy booger men (I won't say more than that about them because it's a bit of a spoiler). Many of the maps are somewhat tricky to navigate, especially if you're easily lost like I am. Probably 2/3rds of the time playing this game I was lost, running around similar-looking maze-like corridors, They're not bland corridors, though, as there's a good amount of variety in the environments, which are very moody and often pretty, if a little one-note in tone (for the most part, there are two types of setpiece: spooky manor and spooky dungeon). Overall, though, it's some legendary devs doing what they do best. The tension between the characters and their factions is palpable, and the gameplay, in general, fits the story really well. The RPG mechanic of starting at Level 1 and without any equipment works well with the world here, as you play as a newly-turned vampire whose attributes and abilities develop as part of becoming familiar with your new supernatural life. Also, for anyone interested in the history and development of VALVe's game engines, as I am, it's an absolute must, as it uses the Source engine to create a game with a very different feel from something like Half Life 2.

Bloodlines is great provided that you use the Unofficial Patch. Excellent sound, great graphics, true RPG systems, replayability through the roof... hundreds of hours of fun.