Friday, August 3, 2007
Fable (Action, Hack and Slash RPG)
Game Score and Comments: 7/10, Doesn't live up to the hype, but overall its pretty decent.
"Good or evil? The choice is yours"
It has been a long time since the announcement of Fable/Project Ego. It was first called Project Ego then later on it was renamed to Fable. There have been numerous delays and it has been a painful wait. I have been waiting patiently for this game to be release and now I finally had a chance to play it due to its recent release. Big Blue Box the developer behind Fable had many ambitious ideas. Due to these many ambitious ideas Fable became one of Xbox most anticipated titles. There was tons of hype following this game throughout the years. Some of those ideas never made it to the game as development progress. Peter Molyneux promised many things; in fact he promised that Fable would be the greatest rpg ever. Is it in fact the greatest rpg ever or is it the biggest bust ever, find out in my review of Fable.
As most people are aware of, Xbox is capable of some of the most gorgeous graphics for this generation of games. Fable offers a beautiful environment coupled with some great animations. The world of Fable or better known as Albion offers a rich and detail environment. The water affects are very nice looking, the rain effects are also gorgeous. Character models are nicely detailed. The animations are simply gorgeous. Everything from the animations of magic, to the sword fighting are all very beautiful. The one problem however is the frame rate. For the most part Fable's frame rate is steady and smooth, but sometimes it does lag a bit. Although Fable has some gorgeous graphics the minor frame rate issues dropped a point off.
Fable, since its first announcement was praised for its many ambitious gameplay ideas. While many ideas were cut what is left still makes Fable a worthy game to purchase. There are some ambitious ideas that remain that makes you realize how good this game is. The combat is basically a hack and slash game, you press a single button and slash your way through foes. However when you get a few combos in, a icon on the bottom right screen will flash which allows you to unleash a powerful strike. As you progress through the game the combat system does get a bit repetitive. You will find yourself just smashing the X and B buttons. Even though the combat does get a bit repetitive there are still enough things to do to make you play the game through. There are some impressive magic that can be used. My personal favorite is the lightning strike. You can upgrade your spells throughout the course of the game. You can also use bow and arrows, which plays very well. I like how it controls and it feels very smooth when you use your bow and arrow. While the combat is fun it is not the strong point in terms of gameplay. It is the expression system and the interaction with NPCs. As you go through the game you will earn different expressions such as farting, the middle finger, laughing, flirting and etc. It is a joy to walk up to NPCs and try different expressions to see their reactions. If you fart or flip them off you get a negative reaction from them. If you flirt with them they could show interest in you or give you an excuse such as, “ I am washing my hair”. You can get them to fall in love with you through flirting, giving gifts, show them your manly muscles and etc. A bonus is if an NPC gets on your nerves you can kill them, or at least most of them. Be careful though if you kill them in a town then you have to pay a large fee. Marriage is also possible, but you have to impress the girl by doing the right things. If she shows interest a heart appears over her head and if it gets larger it means she is becoming more and more in love with you.
Like the amazing Kotor, Fable also allows for good and evil decisions. While Fable dwells deeper into the good and evil decision I still feel Kotor's choices were more enjoyable. In Fable it is also pretty obvious, you can protect kids from bullies, you can snitch on a cheating husband to his wife. You can do evil deeds by killing NPC's when you see them on the road. For the most part Fable is very linear and you won't get loss very often. For most of the game you will get quest cards. You can make a boast before your quest that earns you more money. With the completion of quests you will earn money and renown. Through the game there are many things that you can do that is extremely fun. For example the first thing I did was punt the chickens in Fable. It was hilarious seeing the chickens fly. You can also chop an enemy's heads off and kick it away like a soccer ball. Another thing that I really liked was spending time in the towns and talking to NPC's and hearing there reactions to my expressions. The A.I in Fable is fairly good. The game is in no way difficult; you probably won't die very much. I did however find some of the enemies to be aggressive. Also as you become more well known in the world of Albion people will respect you and fear you.
Customization and story are also an important part of an rpg. Customization in Fable is very deep as you can choose which area you want to excel in. Do you want to be a powerful magician, stealthy or do you want to have raw power. The game allows you to choose which area you want to excel in with points you earn throughout the game. You can also choose what your character wears. You can wear clothes of bandits, magicians or armors that portray you as a powerful warrior. You can buy titles such as arseface or deathbringer. As you make your choices whether evil or good it will effect how your character will look. The way you look revolves on how you play. The story in Fable isn't anything special, but it is fairly good. Your family is basically killed by bandits and your off to revenge and on your way to revenge you will do quest and etc. Overall Fable offers a solid combat system that does get a bit repetitive, great character customization and a fairly good story.
Fable offers amazing music and amazing voice acting. From the opening scene, which was done by Danny Elfman and throughout the game, the music really sets the tone. The music even enhances the game and makes it that much more enjoyable. The music really sets the mood and really portrays the atmosphere well. The voice acting is also incredible. Each character has a unique voice and it really fits the game. Overall the game offers amazing voice acting and music.
Fable's main quest is extremely short, even if you do most of the quest and spend time talking to the NPC's you can still beat the game rather quickly. I beat the game in 14 1/2 hours with only a few side quests left to do. This is truly disappointing for an rpg, especially if you consider that this game has been in development for so many years. To say the least I am truly disappointed in Fable's length. There is a little incentive to play it again if you want to see the differences between good and evil. Even with that the extremely short play time hurts Fable a bit, although the game is short it is still highly enjoyable the time you do spend playing it.
Fable was not everything it was supposed to be, but what is there is still very good. The music and voice acting was superb. The graphics were great. The gameplay got a bit repetitive, but overall still a very good experience. The ability to built your character to be a big buff guy or a magic wielding sorcerer really shows how innovative the game was despite the fact that so many things were taken out. Like many others I wish Fable would have had more of the promised features, but what is still in there will still give you a more then good game.
It has been a long wait for Fable and was it worth it? I would have to say no, Fable is a enjoyable game, but not without flaws. While the combat isn't the greatest the customization of your character and the numerous things to do makes Fable an enjoyable game. Is Fable the greatest rpg as Peter Molyneux puts it? No it isn't, not even close. Is Fable the biggest flop in the history? Definitely not, but it is still disappointing considering the amount of hype and time that went into this game. While Fable isn't the best rpg ever it is however worth it too pick up. I would suggest renting it first because it is an extremely short game, but it is still an enjoyable game in its own rights.
Pros
+ Great soundtracks
+ Beautiful environments
+ Outstanding voice acting
+ Solid combat system
+ Deep Customization
+ Good and evil choices
Cons
- Very short quest
- Lacking story
- Minor frame rate issues
- Repetitive after a while
