Despite I don't really like vampire themes (damn you Twilight), I must say I really fell in love with VtM Bloodlines. Why? It artfully blends interesting setting (yeah, Masquerade is awesome after all my vampire doubts), RPG elements, amazing story, noir atmosphere, freedom of choice and sprinkles some not really polished action on top of it. The game is full of well thought out and executed characters whose facial animations are still better than lot of today's games, interesting plot parts that take place in various environments, and atmosphere so thick, you can feel it in your bones. Playing with different character may change the pace and play through quite a lot, so it's huge plus too. And the music, it's really nailing it! Sure there are negatives. The game was a buggy mess when it was rushed out, but it is mostly solved now with unofficial patches (included in GOG). Combat is very unbalanced. And some parts are still awful and should be deleted - yes, I mean sewers (not sure, but I *think* one of the latest patches disables/shortens them). Despite those negatives, the game still works as an amazing noir experience that every RPG lover should play. As a Malkavian.
I might be a little too young for first two parts of Savant trilogy so those games missed me. I did spend a lot of time in other RPG gems like Dungeon Master 2 and mainly Fallout 1/2, though, before I tried Wizardry 8. And once I've tried it, I fell in love. I absolutely love the setting. It's perfect mix of science fiction and fantasy world, little bit on the dark side, without being silly or retarded. World is huge and diverse, with lots of interesting races and characters. The plot is pretty interesting the whole time with couple of twists and some very interesting options. Character customization is one of the best I've seen (from pictures & voices to skills and abilities). And I can't forget to mention great music and sounds that adds up to atmosphere. To list some of the worse parts of the game I have to say the combat, although it is very well made with lots of tactical options, gets to be a little repetitive with all those respawning mobs. Don't get me wrong, every XP counts, right? But the combat speed (lack of it) makes it lenghty. Luckily there is a mod that speeds up the combat and also speeds up projectiles, which makes this downside perfectly bearable. Reminder for everyone: This is not a short game! Last time I finished it it took me about 45 hours. I definitely did not speedrun it, but I knew all the places, plot advancement and those little shortcuts plus I had the combat speed bumped up a lot. So, take your time to appreciate this gem, it is totally worth it!
