Vampire: The Masqerade - Bloodlines The Belated Review
I think it is this which makes this game stand out so much compared to other rpgs's , the fact that is set in the modern world , and not in some far away whimsical countryside.
I really don't think this game got it just deserts. It simply slipped through the cracks, without becoming neither a commercial or a critical success. Why is this? One thing I found was that though many people enjoyed the game, everyone complained of technical problems. One of these problems was that the game had some bugs and was almost unplayable straight out the box. This is what put people off the game, and made them refuse to even give it a chance. The game now has a complete official patch with many fixes, and it also has many unofficial patches, mods and fixes thanks to the hardcore bunch who still play this game. An underground movement that refuses to let their favourite game die an early death.
With thse patches applied, the game is flawless. There are no technical problems at all. Also in cohert with the latest graphis driver, this game has msgically changed on my system. When I first played it when it came out, I had numerous crashes, bugs and had applaing frame rates even with a beefy system. After applying the latest official and unofficial patches ( all available from gamespot) and upgrading my ATI driver to 5.10 , the game no longer crashes and is buttery smooth. No game have I ever seen, that reacts so favourablly to simple patching and driver changes.
Another thing I heard, was that some people found the combat hard to control. Again I think this occured as they didn't give the game a chance. It's an rpg not a action game, but still It's action is alot better than nearly every rpg I have seen on the PC. It's real time, first person shooter and third
person fighting, I mean what more could you want. Also as it the game has a skill system, where you place experience points in to skills such as firearms, brawling and strengh, the control system actually improves as you play.
I really think this in one of the greatest rpgs ever made, and I urge all rpg buffs to pick it up and give it a try if you havn't already. Even if you don't particulary enjoy rpg's this game still has alot to offer with it's mission based gameplay, alternate paths (Although the game is somewhat linear you do have some choices )and fantastic action. It's a first person shooter , a rpg a fighting game and a adventure game all rolled in to one with a Vampire theme. That is how I would describe it. Now how many games are there out there that can be described like that. Not many, which is why it is a great shame when Troika closed it doors. Originality is dieing a slow painful death and is being replaced with the likes of Microsoft's and EA's cookie cutter bland commercial titles. Please Troika reopen., and save the games industry!!!