I'm going to start off this review with an assumption. You are reading this review for one of two reasons. The most probable reason is because you have this game and are looking for justification and a kindred spirit. The second reason would be for the experienced gamers that realize hype doesn't always mean perfection.
As you know, Fable was forecasted to be the trump card for the Xbox, making it the Mecca for all RPG players to abandon their PC and head towards the more profitable console market. RPG purists will be sorely disappointed in Fable, because the similarities between role-playing and gameplay are far too diverse. However, action-adventure fans will easily make this a shrine and almost brag that they are now in the RPG elite sector of gaming. Where do I fall? In between, of course. I love role-playing games as much as I do adventure games, and Fable molds the two together seamlessly.
If you are like me and have read countless reviews on Fable, they all open the same way. "Big Blue Box over-hyped the game and failed to commit to their promises." Big deal. Here is where I have an advantage over other reviewers... I play the game for my enjoyment and not for review purposes. Sure, I take hype into my overall perception, just not enough to pre-judge it. With that said, Fable is one of the few, rare games that breaks apart from the traditional mold to create an experience that future games thereafter will shape themselves after. I agree that the change may not be as dramatic as one would have hoped for, but the small ripples Fable will cause will be evident for years to come.
This new direction of gaming is what the heart of Fable is based on... choice. Again, these choices are nowhere as dramatic as the media promised, but the direction is what struck me. These "choices" you make are truly no-brainers. Quiz time folks. Is beating up people, killing innocent people, stealing and trespassing good or bad? For you less-twisted people, the answer is "bad". The same goes for "good" decisions. Things such as doing good deeds for peasants are always considered good. These "decisions" not only affect your alignment meter, but also how NPC's react to you. This concept honestly floored me. As I completed more quests in the most respectable manner, my "renown" grew, and in turn, walking into town caused a hero's celebration for each quest I completed. Holding up victorious icons from completed quests would cause cheering and reverence, while targeting the innocent would cause cowering. Since these choices really aren't that dramatic, I was a bit disappointed that there weren't many gray areas within the game. In fact, I can only recall two or three choices that fell into that gray area. However, these few choices dramatically affected the game and storyline, which just shows me promises of future games to follow that will feature carbon copies of these gameplay elements.
I've heard contradicting reviews in regards to two areas within Fable. The first is the game’s storyline; I honestly felt that the storyline was Fable’s greatest strength. Not only was the story directly affected by your actions (which is overwhelming to say the least), but it’s also a damn good story. I truly felt like I was living out a good book, and my actions dictated the outcome of a great novel. The second contradiction I've come across is length. I've read numerous reviews which state that the reviewer completed the game in under 10-hours. I think it is truly shameful that anyone who has played Fable would finish the game that quickly. While I agree it probably is possible, you reviewers and gamers should be ashamed, because you are simply missing out on the reason we play games.... to have fun. The first time through I was able to finish the game in about 20-hours. I hit the majority of the side-quests; but ignored “hidden” goals. These types of goals range from buying a house, to getting married.
Gameplay is simplistic, to say the least. For melee weapons, mashing your “X” button attacks and “Y” blocks (which you rarely use). Landing consecutive hits or consecutively getting blocked will cause an icon to flash; giving you an unblockable “flourish”. This flourish can continue until you either miss or get hit. While I thought it was a great addition to fighting, there was one major flaw: The flourish is assigned to the “B” button… the same button used to run. Many times in battle, you need to quickly retreat to gather yourself and then attack. I can’t tell you how many times I got whacked because I tried to run when I had flourish. Although it seems insignificant, it was incredibly frustrating.
Ranged combat was very similar, and only different in pressure sensitivity with the “X” button. The longer you hold down the button, the more power there will be behind it.
Magic (called “will”) is also well done. Pull and hold your right trigger, and push the relevant mapped button and “wham”. The effects were very subtle and not overdone (a la Final Fantasy), which nicely complemented gameplay. Even with solid fighting and magic, the battle system was far from perfect. Trying to manage fighting an onslaught of enemies, while summoning spells was nearly impossible to perfect. Although switching from melee to range was easily done, it wasn’t efficient in a battle situation. This is why I recommend focusing your areas of development to one primary skill and one secondary. I first chose melee combat with supporting spells. The second time around, I’m focusing on magic first, with a secondary skill in ranged weapons.
Where would any RPG-type game be without experience? This is another area where Fable really stands out. After defeating an enemy, three things happen. The first is that you get general experience. The second is you get specific experience. Lastly, you get (or lose) alignment points. The experience points can be spent at the guild to upgrade your stats. What makes this so unique is that general points can be used on anything, while specific experience can be used on the skill you used to defeat an enemy. For example: If you kill an enemy with a melee weapon, you get strength points. If you defeat a baddie with a ranged attack, you’ll receive skill points. If you kill an enemy with magic, you’ll receive will points. This tiny concept is a great one that I hope other RPG developers will take note of. The alignment points are tied into your morality meter. Killing baddies will make your alignment go up, and doing naughty things will make it go down.
Want to know how to make a visually stunning game without groundbreaking graphics? Load up Fable and see for yourself. While the visuals are far from cutting-edge, the overall environment is beautifully done. What makes the game so visually appealing is the overall storybook feel to the environment. Each screen looks like it was ripped straight out of a classic storybook. The lightning and colors were perfectly done, and Big Blue Box did a fantastic job in balancing colors and ambience. Even in the “dark and gloomy” areas, the graphics never felt washed out and you could always see the crispness in the details.
Much of the hype surrounding Fable, always mentions that your actions dictated the way you look. I never noticed anything dramatic. I did, however, notice as my renown reached high levels that butterflies would tag along my journeys… huhm.
As much as I loved the visuals, character modeling and environments, there were a few noticeable problems. There were three times where I got stuck. Nothing is more frustrating than to get stuck in the middle of a quest. Each time I got stuck, I was caught in between an inanimate object, like a torch, a wall or a tree. Aside from moderate load times, I never saw a flicker or slow-down, even in the most chaotic battle scenes.
Hats off to the sound-team that developed Fable’s soundtrack. The score was nearly perfect. The music was dramatic and very well created. Each area produced a wonderful sound track and sound effects fit each mood wonderfully. I never got bored with the music and it rarely felt repetitive. Environmental sounds were also top-notch, with special note to the graveyard areas, where the sound effects were downright creepy.
Another slight flaw within the programming aspects of Fable, had to do with the game actually freezing during loads. Nearly a half-dozen times, the game would load (from one level to the next) and just stop. More often that not, it would stop spinning, but eventually it would start again. However, these six or seven times it stopped altogether. For the most part this is more of a frustration than an inconvenience. The game allows you to save at any time. The only exception is during a quest, where you can save the experience but not the current quest.
My last complaint is the actual progression of the game. As great as the story was, the progression was very inconsistent. The game started off slow as a child and magically you are an adult. The plot is thin at best, and about halfway through “BAM” you get everything dumped on you. After the midway point, the game rapidly excels in both storyline and progression and it’s hard to keep track of side-quests.
So for you procrastinators waiting for the Master Gamer to give his recommendation, I’m going to have to fall into the ranks with the masses on this one. It’s a great game, but sadly, was burdened with tremendous expectations. I scored the game so high, not only for the content of the game but also because of the extensive replay. As soon as I completed the game, I started a new character. How many games can you say you’ve done that with?
I believe if you purchase this game and take the media as a grain of salt, you will enjoy it as much as I have. Mark my words, just as Grand Theft Auto III was a glimpse into the future, so is Fable. Be a part of gaming history. Get the game, enjoy it for what it’s worth and for the love of Master Chief… Take your time.
