Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

I love this game for three reasons. First, it was the first PC game I played. Second, it was the first PC game I completed. And third, it was a present given to me by my fiance, who was my best friend at the time. Well actually, there are loads of reasons as to why I love this game, it's dark, funny, has got a great story, great voice acting, and of course, vampires that would tear chunks off a Stephanie Meyer book.

If you're not aware of the World of Darkness, and the Masquerade universe then I won't bore you. Basically, this game comes from the pen & paper roleplaying game (think Dungeons & Dragons with teeth) where vampires come in different 'types' and have to abide by vampire law (the aforementioned 'Masquerade'). Sounds dull, but if you think that then you obviously haven't played it.

Gameplay is either 1st or 3rd person, depending on personal preference. Characters are created by choosing a clan then levelling up in a standard RPG way of assigning points into skills. Dialogue is exceptionally brilliant, especially if you're playing as a Malkavian, as your dialogue choices reflect the outcome of the situation. Seducing your way out of things is great if you want to avoid violence, or you could just threaten and punch (or bite) to make things go your way. The most fun can be had with the Malkavian's Dementation dialogue options. There's nothing quite like convincing someone you're the pet turtle they flushed down the loo.

The game was built using Valve's legendary Source engine, meaning the graphics are delicious even five years after the game's release. Of course there is an emphasis on the female characters and their, ahem, assets... Jeanette Voerman (the blonde cutey on the cover art) in particular is a teenage boy's fantasy.

One big downside to this game is the amount of bugs and crashes that came with the completed game (The developer Troika were going under at the time and needed to rush the game out) so unless you get it patched, you will run into trouble, guaranteed. More quests and things to do would've been nice too as I managed to complete this game in a weekend, but the different clans and approaches to dialogue and gameplay give you enough to do with this game.

I still love Bloodlines after so long, it is incredible and I strongly recommend it! It certainly has teeth... happy biting!