this one is so tough to rank because it's highs are so incredibly high, they're virtually unsurpassed by any game since then. this goes for the characters, the writing, the choices and consequences, the RPG options (playing as a Malkavian or a Nosferatu results in a completely different experience), and the setting as a whole (it is so heavy in atmosphere, and just has a sexiness about all of it). what drags it down is virtually all of the combat, especially in any encounter after the sewers, and the ending, which feels a bit abrupt. it also was supposedly pretty broken upon release, but i played with the unofficial patch which fixed basically all the bugs for me. i think the good largely outweighs the bad, but not enough to give this a perfect score.