Fable: The Lost Chapters

"Just another overrated, unsatisfying Peter Molyneux game."

It's difficult to imagine the gaming industry without RPG's. Where would we be without the likes of Baldur's Gate, Diablo II or Morrowind? These classics have shaped the industry and have left a very large legacy behind them. It is only natural therefore to measure any new RPG to one of the older classics. However, regardless whether you do that or whether you treat Fable as an individual game, you still end up with the same conclusion: Fable just doesn't cut it.

For a game that is supposed to be a Morrowind Killer, Fable is remarkably unoriginal and shallow. This considering the enormous amount of hype that was generated prior to the game's release. Apparently, this game is being called a 'classic' on the XBox. It really makes you wonder whether these people have ever played an RPG before. The PC port of the game comes with an expansion pack titled 'The Lost Chapters' which adds a few more hours to an already short game but regardless, Fable is definitely forgettable just like almost everything that Peter Molyneux tries to sell us.

Graphics (8/10)
The graphics of the game are smooth and flashy. The world looks fantastic and polished. Everything from the trees to the ground textures is amazingly well crafted. Shadows are handled terrifically and it is plainly obvious that the PC version of the game looks far, far superior to the X-Box version. Branches sway in the wind as the grass rustles on the ground below. Trees tower over the player in the forests and bushes and shrubs come to life before you.

Water, while it may look a bit botchy, is relatively well done. Ripples in the water indicate a fishing spot and reeds and other plants add to the ambience of the water.

The characters themselves look reasonably well. Your main the character, The Hero, is definitely one of the better-looking characters with his dark hair and strapping physique. NPC's also look great although there appears to only be 5 or 6 models for them that are constantly recycled. Guards are all identical on the mainland and only make a change in the village of Snowspire. Enemies look great though. The lumbering trolls look fantastically detailed and the fierce Balverines look vicious and bloodthirsty.

Buildings are highly detailed and are all constructed according to the theme of the city that you are in. Simple things like doors and windows have received a massive amount of detail and this extra bit of effort definitely pays off, as the cities look fantastic. They would have made excellent places to explore if it wasn't for the extremely poor atmosphere that the NPC's create.

The atmosphere is perhaps a bit too exaggerated. When you are in happier areas like towns, then everything is bright and green. However, when you step into different areas (such as haunted houses) the world looks gray and dull. This was perhaps a bit unnecessary (and unrealistic) and it does nothing to help the already weak plot

Sound (7/10)
In terms of audio, Fable is above average. The music and ambient sounds are great. Rustling branches and rippling water help the graphics to bring out a pretty good natural atmosphere at times. The music is not spectacular but it suits the game perfectly and it is difficult to find any faults with it.

Attention to detail was also paid to the ambient sounds. You will frequently hear chirping birds and wind as you traverse the merrier regions of the game. Once you set foot in the dark-themed areas, you will catch crows screeching and grayish music. Truth be told, I was impressed with the way the developers handled the ambience.

Voice acting is sub-par. Your main character has no voice lines apart from a few poses or expressions. NPC's have one male and one female voice between all of them (and even then, they only have about 9 or 10 lines.) The only characters who actually speak are plot related ones who have decent voice actors but then again, their overall characterization is poor. For example, you have The Guildmaster, who is supposed to be a wise old man and that's exactly what his voice sounds like. And therein lies the problem. The characters are flat and fit their roles far too well. All of them just have absolutely no go in them. If you want to see flawed, but great characters go and read David Eddings or Tolkien who show us exactly how to make characters 'real', unlike Fable.

Enemies sound much better than their human counterparts. Balverines howl with ferocious cries and snarl as they pounce on unsuspecting victims and Hobbes (small, fat humanoids) stutter out strange sounds as they clobber you over the head. The monsters and other various creatures have excellent sound effects. I found them to be oddly engrossing. The same can't be said for the bandits (who all have 2 voice actors and about 5 boring phrases such has "Cut yer throat" (YAWN) and other human enemies.

Plot/Setting (5/10
This is where the game begins to fall down. The plot is this game is wafer thin and seems to be just a mass of cliches and recycled ideas of the RPG's of yesteryear. You play a nameless hero who is separated from his family at a young age who goes off to join a guild of mercenary-like heroes who accept gold for completing various quests. This seems to be headed in the right direction until you realize how shallow the plot is.

You find yourself in the world of Albion (Amazingly original I know) This 'world' has various cities and towns that are separated by large expanses of untamed wilderness. There is nothing wrong with all of that except the fact that there is no major government of any sort whatsoever. Towns just appear to be clusters of houses that are guarded by a limitless supply of generic, boring guards. This lack of ruling only adds to the lifeless state of the NPC's as a whole.

One thing that has been greatly discussed about this game is the ability to be good or evil. This does set up nicely until you realize that the only things that get affected are your appearance and the way characters react to you. This has absolutely no bearing at all on anything. For example, merchants still give you the same prices regardless of your alignment and quest givers don't seem to mind at all. So unless you really enjoy scaring away little children, the alignment system becomes very useless, very fast.

The quests are incredibly lifeless and at times bring out the worst of the game. The main quest is linear and really clich&eacute;d. Along the way you will do things like 'escorting traders across the dreaded Darkwood' or 'killing the <insert monster here> because there are no other heroes available to do it' type quests that are usually linear and boring. The plot pans out poorly. I don't want to spoil the surprise for you but I will say it involves an ancient lineage, dark magic and sacrifice. If you can't piece together the plot from that they you haven't watched a movie for the past 10 years. It all adds up to a really poor attempt at 'epicness' and due to your lifeless character, it doesn't seem fulfilling enough.

The game is also morally repugnant. You can do things like beating your wife or assaulting young children in the school hall. It seems like an attempt to please 13 year olds who are the only ones who would enjoy doing those sorts of things.

Gameplay (3/10)
This is where the game fails to live up to that price tag. The gamplay is extremely poor and has no challenge. Everything about it is terrible and nothing is pleasing. I found this game to be deficient of any redeeming factors in this department.

Gameplay involves, accepting quests from either the Heroes Guild or from the various citizens and completing them. Most quests involve combat and are pretty straightforward. Quests are divided into Gold and Silver. Gold quests are essential to the storyline whereas silver quests are optional (although you will want to them to get some extra gold) For most quests you will be awarded with gold and either become more loved or hated depending on whether the quest was good or evil. Some quests will reward you with special items or weapons that can be useful although you could probably kill the last boss in your underpants (which has the English flag patched on for some mundane reason)

The alignment system is a farce although it is rather well executed. By doing evil things like killing people or breaking their homes up, you get evil points and by doing good things like helping villagers, you get good points. They add up and depending how many you have, your appearance changes and people treat you differently. For example, an evil character will grow large, red horns and flies will gather around him as villagers cower in fear and run for their homes. In contrast, a good aligned character will have a halo around him and butterflies will flutter about the light that radiates from you. Townsfolk will greet you and wallow in your presence.

Combat is nothing but button mashing. While it may seem to be a break from the often-complicated systems employed by other games, it eventually boils down to smashing buttons as quick as possible and grows tedious, fast. You have the ability to fight by mashing the attack button and can under some circumstances, use a special attack that damages and knocks it to the ground. That pretty much covers melee combat.

Ranged combat is also very interesting (Dubbed 'Skill' by the game). There are both bows and crossbows present in the game which both seem to have an unlimited supply of arrows to fire. When fired from the bow, arrows are affected by gravity and gradually fall down but when fired from the crossbow, arrows go on until they hit something (usually a wall or the invisible barrier that surrounds the narrow path) Ranged combat is made overly simple by the fact that there is an auto aim function that pretty much takes away any of the challenge.

The powers of Will are basically your magic. There is a whole assortment of spells available for the player. Some of them are not new such as Fireball or Lightning. Some of them are a bit strange such as Assassin's Rush or Multi Strike. Other notable spells include Berserk, which transforms your character into a hulking monster, Summon, which summons a creature to fight by your side and Multi Arrow which causes your bow to fire multiple arrows instead of just one. It should be noted however that most spells are completely useless unless coupled with either melee or ranged combat. For this reason, it is impossible to create a wizard type character.

There is plenty of different types of weapons and armors to keep you entertained. That being said, all weapons can be divided into to groups: Two handed weapons such as hammers, great swords and maces and one handed weapons such as axes and long swords. For some reason there are no shields of any kind in the game at all. There is a large number of armor to choose from and you can wear things like dresses and pimp hats if you want to. Armor really doesn't protect you all that much which was rather disappointing.

You have an unlimited inventory so you can carry everything in the game. I found this to be refreshing considering the extremely limited Diablo inventory used to make me swear out whenever I had to dump a good item. You can carry things like potions to heal your stats or give you experience and a lot of food that affect you in different manners. The inventory system is slick and polished and it's pretty well done.

Now, one of the main turn-offs about this game for me was the fact that you cannot role-play no matter what. Both the Skill and the Will classes are respectively far too weak to carry you through the game. You just don't do enough damage and won't be gaining any extra health unless you invest in Strength. In fact it is so unbalanced that you can completely skimp on both Will and Skill for the ENTIRE game, just giving everything to Strength and you will still breeze through it. The fact remains that combat is just far too easy and it will not challenge anyone.

Scattered throughout the world, are Demon Doors and Silver Chests. Demon Doors open for you if you meet certain requirements (such as 'do it' 10 times or wear a specific piece of clothing) The Demon Door itself will offer you a hint if you speak to it. This system was pretty good although sometimes, satisfying the door was just too easy. Silver Chests on the other hand, require you to have a specific number of keys in order to open them. The number is displayed in large writing on the chest itself. Keys are hidden all over the world (there are 30 in all) ranging from fishing spots to hard to find areas. The problem here is that while Silver Key Chests worked well in platformers of old, implementing them into a 'realistic' RPG is just not right. Amazing that the entire world can't open these chests considering that some keys are hidden INSIDE people's homes. The chests contain various treasures (mostly weapons) that make up the some of the more powerful equipment in the game.

Expressions form a large part of the game (or are supposed to) Generally there are 3 types: Good, Neutral and Evil. Good ones include the Hero Pose, where your hero extends his chest to look impressive, and the Arm Pump, where the hero err pumps his arm? Neutral ones include Flirt and the act of performing several embarrassing dances, which are self-explanatory. Evil ones are probably the most fun and you can do everything from zap people to grab your crotch and scream like a little girl. You can also do some rather unsavory things like break wind or belch in people's faces. These do nothing except add to shallow experience of the game.

During the course of the game, you will fight several bosses. Every single one of them is a cakewalk and they drop trophies that can be hung up in your home to increase the value. But seriously, this game is easy. If you can't beat it, then you should take every video game that you own and BURN THEM. Killing enemies is just far too simple for my liking. There's no Baldur's Gate challenge. It looks like it was made for young children. It is next to impossible to get the game over screen without purposely going for it. Seriously, you get things called 'Resurrection Vials&' that bring you back to life. For some idiotic reason, you can only carry 9 of them at one time. By the end of the game, your health bar will be a good three-quarter of the way across the screen and THEN YOU HAVE NINE CHANCES TO DEPLETE THAT BAR. The final boss won't even dent you with those stats. As soon as you leave the Guild, you will probably already have four resurrection jars and they cost very little so you can go buy the last couple pretty soon.

Leveling up was a complete flop. This is probably one of the worst methods of leveling up that I've ever seen. You need to go back to the Guild and enter a green portal in order to level up. WHAT THE HELL??????!!!!!!!!!! AT this portal you spend experience orbs that fall out of every single enemy that you kill. You get four types of experience, namely Strength, Will and Skill that you have to spend on the respective group and then you get general experience that you can spend on anything. You can spend your experience on the individual skills within the three groups. It allows you to increase your health in the strength or get new spells from the Will.

Also, every time that you enter the experience portal your age goes up. Wow, my character has been alive for so long but he hasn't aged at all because I didn't level him up. This makes no sense at all and what's worse is that, not only is the game super easy, but I managed to max my stats in 40 minutes. It's almost as though the developers had no idea that people who play RPG's want a challenge. This again reinforces my belief that Lionhead's intended target market was four-year olds. It certainly seems that way.

Enemies in the game were another waste of time. After 10 minutes of playing you could probably kill most of them with one blow. You get to fight things like bandits (who all wear the same clothes and for some reason sport the same haircut), trolls (apparently) although these things were pretty cool because they kill other enemies that wander onto the screen), Balverines (pathetic name yes but they were a pretty good idea. They're basically bipedal wolf like creatures), Hobbs (look like potatoes), giant mutant wasps and things called Minions that adorn double-bladed swords. All in all the enemies are nothing to start dancing for but at least they are some unique creatures. The bestiary, for the most part, does not compromise of stolen concepts from fantasy novels that some other games are notorious for.

There are also mini-games like drinking and making the screen go all fuzzy or playing pub games in the various cities. These pub games include things like blackjack, card matching, coin tossing (Quite a fun game really) and errr coin golf. When you complete these games you get a special hero doll of one of the characters in the game. THESE DOLLS ARE USELESS so there is no point to playing the pub games apart from making money (but you should be swimming in gold by the end of the game)

Probably the worst idea in the entire game was the mini-game, Chicken Kicking. If the name doesn't deter you then the game itself will. Yeah right, I want to waste my time kicking chickens around for points. It doesn't make you seem evil at all. I don't know who dreamed that up.

The game also allows you to own property. This is where one of the problems comes from. Each city has one house for sale. If you buy the house, you can decorate it (don't get excited, all you do is pay money to the sign in front of your house and all the furniture magically gets better) and you can sleep there for free. You can also rent the house out to someone and they will pay you a miniscule fee in return. You can kick them out whenever you feel like. This all seems good but it is so boring. You can go on a killing spree, slaughter an entire town, buy every house and rent it back to the people. You can also own shops and bars but you can't get free stuff even though you own the shop. You get a 10% discount. WHAT???? 10% AND I PAID 40000 GOLD FOR IT. You can't even customize the shop. All it does is give you that worthless discount. Complete waste of time although it is fun to own entire towns and to collect a bucket load of rent each day.

Another thing, the game has an endless supply of NPC's who are all exactly the same. After you pillage a town and kill everyone you would expect it top be empty but Lionhead had other ideas. Every 3rd day, the exact same people repopulate the entire town. They all appear in tavern and go live life again as though nothing happened. What morons! And the guards are even worse. You can murder thousands of them yet they just don't go away. They instantly re-spawn and carry nothing of value. Another complete waste.

That leads me to my next point: Crime. There are quite a few crimes that you can commit including assault, murder, theft and trespassing. Oh and 'attempted lock picking'. The crimes all carry bounties that you have to pay in order for the guards to stop molesting you. Murder the entire town and the guards let you off with just a fine. Hmmmm great idea. The justice system is complete junk. Not only do you not go to jail for mass murder but you can actually skimp out entirely by just staying out of town for 15 minutes. That's right, your bounty is forgiven after time and in this case, not decades, but minutes. Woohoo, I'm gonna massacre Oakvale and then hide out for 15 minutes and the guards forget about me completely. This is the worst justice system ever implemented in a video game PERIOD.

It has been well documented that you can get married in this game. For all the hype, it's actually rather boring. You woo your potential spouse by giving him/her (yes the game is respects everyone) gifts and flirting. After a few minutes, he/she will want to marry you. You need to own one house (no problem since I owned the entire town on my first attempt) in order for the marriage to work. You don't even know the person's name but yet s/he agrees to marry you. You then see a long cutscene (blah blah blah) and you get your hands on a nice fat dowry. Then you kill your spouse on the wedding night and get a new one and another nice dowry. Great ethics.

You can customize your character with tattoos and clothes but don't ask me what that does. The problem over here is that you are stuck with the same generic male character every time you play. No matter what he wears, he still has that face that I feel like punching. You grow red horns if you're evil and get a halo if you're good but that idiotic face is still there. There is ABSOLOUTELY no way to change that. You have one character from beginning to end. I wouldn't have minded playing through as a female, what with the moral devoid gameplay and all, but no. Some 'great' RPG this is...

There is an economy in the game... in theory. It is dynamic meaning that if there is less stock then it's more expensive and if there is a surplus then it's cheap. This is great and all. I mean it's amazing that the economy is changing all the time except for the fact that it IS COMPLETELY BROKEN. The game allows you to buy in bulk. Now if you've been paying attention, you would have seen a fundamental flaw in the whole thing that allows you to exploit the economy in order to become super rich. This breaks the game and is a horrible oversight by the programmers. If you haven't picked it up, I'm not going to ruin any sort of joy you might get out of the game by telling it to you.

Side Quests include things like Fight Clubs (where you fight people with your fists), archery contests, and some other interesting ideas but most of these are fetch quests that suck the life out of you and the game at the same time such as finding books and bringing them to a school. Dear Peter Molyneux: please if you reading this, go and buy Baldur's Gate 2, load it up and SEE WHAT REAL SIDE QUESTS ARE and stop feeding us this trash, expecting Microsoft to bail you out. You might have got away with Black and White but this one is taking it too far.

Replay Value (5/10)

This game is incredibly short. I mean really short. You can breeze though it in a few hours at most. Coupled with the over-simplistic gameplay, this game will not leave anything for you to remember it by. Apart from wanting to experience the evil alternatives to quests, there is no reason to keep it installed on your PC.

When all is said and done, this is the worst RPG that I have ever played. Sure it may look good and sound good but the plot is weak and the gameplay is truly pathetic and shallow. This was supposed to be a 'Morrowind Killer'. I can't believe that Peter Molyneux thinks that this truly awful pile of garbage is going to even shine Morrowind's shoes. DO NOT BUY.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/25/08

Game Release: Fable: The Lost Chapters (EU, 09/23/05)