Vampire®: The Masquerade - Bloodlines™

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is a really amazing game, yet for some reason it doesn't get as much exposure as it should. I enjoyed this game as much as I enjoyed Fallout or Elder Scrolls RPGs, but VTMB is nowhere as famous as those 2. The GOG version already included the Unofficial Patch which makes the game easy to run on newer systems, and features cloud saving. For me, the most appealing part of this game is the atmosphere. It's set in the then-modern day world of early '00s Los Angeles. We don't usually see RPGs or immersive sims in contemporary urban settings. Combat is either melee or firearms, with some unique vampire moves like the ability to drain your enemy dry. Stealth is overpowered in this game, and I love it! You can sneak through most combat missions while doing stealth kills. Boss fights, however, are unavoidable and difficult. If they're too hard for you, you can just use the console to help. I should mention that VTMB has no quest markers or fast travel. However, it's not a big deal since the hub areas are pretty small, and the quest locations are easy and quite obvious. I love this game, and I will be waiting for the long-delayed Bloodlines 2.

Personally, one of the best RPGs ,in terms of storytelling and characterization, of all time. A must play for anyone who has an interest in urban fantasy though it has faults the pros truly outweights the small part of inconvience in each playthrough. I can only say for myself that I recently started playing games that are quite "dated" and having played several modern day RPGs I can see the replayability and narrative structure differ quite a lot from modern titles. The choices of clans to play as a vampire with different disciplines makes it a high recommendation to play at least two to three times with the various clans. Storywise, I can't really put a finger on why it is so good compared to other games, maybe it's the well crafted backgrounds and lore put together with expressive voice acting as well as memorable characters. Something I would like to say is that the combat could have been better. And I wish the game would be a tad bit longer with some more quests from the minor characters insted of just one or two quests. Other than that, I would really recommend this game as one of the greatest yet flawed masterpieces of gaming history.

С игрой связано много теплых воспоминаний. В свое время году в 2004, покупал на двух пиратских дисках (другого варианта просто не было у нас в городе), но дальше обучения к сожалению пройти тогда было просто невозможно, игра вылетала без вариантов. Потом рабочую версию удалось раздобыть года через полтора уже на одном пиратском DVD с каким-то патчем, который заодно фиксил проходимость эпизода в обществе Леопольда. Тогда я впервые смог её с упоением пройти примерно дня за 3 или около того, пока в 5 утра перед походом в универ не осознал что смотрю титры под шикарную LACUNA COIL - Swamped. Это был то ли конец мая, то ли начало июня 2005 года, и примерно каждые 3-4 года с того момента я перепрохожу её. Благодаря шикарному саундтреку, который навсегда поселился в моем сердце, я открыл для себя много шикарных рок-групп которые и по сей день частенько играют в плеере. Эта игра покорила меня с первого взгляда -- окончательно и бесповоротно. Вариативность здесь присутствует во всём, что существенно придает реиграбельности. Саундтрек просто великолепный. Графика и по сей день в отдельных моментах и ракурсах радует глаз. Таких шикарных и запоминающихся персонажей как здесь я вообще не могу припомнить где-ибо ещё, чего стоят только Жаннет, ВиВи, Беккет и ЛаКруа! Квест с отелем до сих пор в отдельных моментах легкие мурашки по спине пускает без единого прямого скримера. Локации очень ламповые, небольшие и вообще все действо в них разворачивается достаточно камерное, в хорошем смысле, как театральная постановка на малой сцене. Квесты интересные, даже те что выглядят сперва как "подай-принеси", и далеко не всегда обязательно их все выполнять кулаками, до сих пор удивляюсь как я удивился в одном из квестов уболтав горгулью из театра (за долго до описаний и прохождений в интернете). Проблемы игры практически все давно решены неофициальными патчами, последний из которых на сегодняшний день 10.5 вышел на днях. Русификаторы также на них периодически выходят. Это просто ШЕДЕВР!!!

When it comes to compuer role playing games this is one of these games that you must have played if you're into the genre. It does pretty much everything right, eith a few issues that can easilly be avoided. The game is extremly buggy at times but most of the times you can just noclip your way out of bugs, I didn't bother to look up mods or unofficial patches since the GOG version just worked perfectly for me. For combat you will have to stick to melee, I maxed my ranged weapons skill and still it just seems unplayable, U constantly ran out of ammo, weapons are inaccurate at time, the ai is just not made for shooting and you just get to do much more damage by goin melee but it still somehow manages to create some kind of challenge... it did for me atleast I thought it was all good enough and kept me hooked unlike many other games.

I played this when it first came out, and recently replayed it with the Unofficial Patch & Plus Patch. Loved the immersive story. The game does such a great job of invoking atmosphere with rich character expressions, mysterious conspiracies, and music. As you progress through the game, the TV, news, and radio reflect the events (well, some of them). The patches also made it look surprisingly good on my 2560x1440 display. To be sure there are flaws: some of the humour/writing hasn't aged well; combat is a bit clumsy; it can get tiresome running back and forth across towns on fetch quests, and a walkthrough will help you with a few of the puzzles. But I can look beyond those to be immersed in a world of darkness.