You haven't lived until you've played this game because:
While it wasn't as beautiful as Half-Life 2, Vampire made good use of the engine to create a nightmarish version of LA, based on the White Wolf RPG. And what a sense of humour too...
The amputation-fetishist attacking you with a severed mannequin limb; the Evil Dead mini-game in the graveyard; the werewolf, golem and Chinese-monster scenes where you realise you're not the nastiest thing this world has to offer; the four-way split-ending; the crazy combat and the multiple paths through every level; the enormously varied character classes; the endless moral and political content expressed through the exposition of the world. This is Deus Ex with vampires, and each time you play it rewards you.

People probably didn't play it because:
It was rushed out on the same day as Half-Life 2 was released! Duh, Activision! Also, developers Troika were shut down on the same day, so patches were left to the fans. Which was a problem because you couldn't finish the released version, due to a bug halfway through the game.

Stand-out moment of brilliance:
The old hotel in Santa Monica. This turns out to be a near-perfect in-game version of The Shining, full of poltergeists, kids' toys and a flashback that ends with you running through flames and plummeting through the vanishing ghostly floor of the hotel.

The panel's views:
Steve: "It's got that one with the big tits who looks like Britney Spears in it!"
Dan: "And the twist with her, which I won't say out loud, is just ingenious."
Will: "I like Vampire as it's been ignored: Troika have gone bust, Activision aren't interested - but there's a community that keeps it going with fan-made patches."

The conclusion:
The best buggy game ever released. God bless Troika, wherever they are now.​