"RPG? What RPG, Fable?"

Fable

Introduction

Fable is set in a mythical age where magic and sorcery still lives. From a young boy, you set out to journey through the lands of Albion.

This game is all hype. It doesn't live up to its name, and I don't see anything fantastic about the game.

Graphics - 6/10

The graphics are lush, and greenery will sway with the wind. The landscape is somewhat decent.

The character you start off as is, to say the least, chunky. The XBOX boasts superior qualities, yet Fable doesn't take advantage of this. Where rounded lines are supposed to be, all one sees are straight lines trying to be curved.

While I am amazed by some of the environments, it is not the best. There are the odd graphical glitches, and while not harming the story, it isn't helpful towards helping this game score high.

The camera angles are decent, with the ability to zoom in closer to your character, and you can also zoom out should you want to.

The cut scenes aren't too good. Too mediocre, nothing dramatic, nothing earth shaking. There is a lack of story development in the cut scenes. And the graphical mediocrity carries on from there, as well as all the glitches on occasion.

Game play - 7/10

The game play system, however, is pretty decent. You have to develop your *nameless* character, to use some weapons. For example, if you buy too heavy a weapon, your character will be weighed down and drag the weapon behind him if you unsheathe it.

In towns, if there are chickens, you can even kick them.

The combat system isn't that great. I can think of other titles with far better combat systems. First, for the tougher enemies, you'll get killed in a matter of a few seconds should you not have the proper weapons. And in terms of ranged weapons, there isn't much choice.

Not everything about the combat system is bleak, though. The swords are pretty good weapons against all enemies.

What I thought would make this game better was to employ an immunity system, similar to the one used in Jade Empire. This adds more variety to the mix, allowing players to vary their battlefield tactics. And having more comprehensive melee combat skills, instead of just weapons and magic would have been nice, too.

The attacking system is straightforward. Too straightforward for my tastes. All you can to is attack, attack, and attack. No strategies are really needed, aside from dodging enemy arrows and 'flourishing' occasionally to burst through an enemy's block. Too little variety is the killer of a game. Stat-enhancing weapons would be nice, and more powerful pick-ups from fallen enemies might have worked wonders too.

There are many shops hidden throughout Albion, as well as traders who wander about, who you can also buy things. From tattoos to a new hairdo, the wandering traders will have them.

The level of customization is high in this game. You can even modify your 'good/bad' meter with different clothes, hairstyles and tattoos. So for those who want to become more on the 'good side' they can buy things that modify their alignment toward the good side.

One can even purchase customizations to improve their social life. You can buy new styles to get that lover you always wanted.

There is this thing about the main story quests. Should you run out of time to play Fable during the age where your character is a child, you have to start from the beginning since the whole of your childhood is a single quest.

Also, I don't like the fact that I can save as and when I want to (save). I also can't save during a quest and start off where I last stopped, instead, starting from the beginning. This applies also to when you die during quests. You'll have to start from the beginning of the particular quest since most games will revert to the last saved point should your main character die.

There are also too many glitches to exploit in this game, like the well-known quest exploit, where you can save and start the beginning of the quest with all the items gained prior to the save. Too many glitches is tantamount to a less enriching game play. These days, most people want decent games, since most don't have much time.

Story - 5/10

While not the greatest story, this game's tale is decently crafted. You can even have a hand in marriage, and can also choose to be good or evil.

Depending on your choice of being good or evil, the townsfolk in towns will react accordingly, for example, if you're purely evil, the citizens will make themselves unknown.

At certain points of the game, it assigns you titles, like 'Chicken Chaser'. You can also buy titles, if available (as in unlocked).

But one glaring problem is that the game is too linear. I saw little, if not any side quests at all, which for an RPG, is unforgivable. Even if there were quests, it was only for advancing the story. You can't go to a town and talk to people to get side quests, unlike some RPGs out there. The only way to get a quest was to go to your base (where you go for everything else, like upgrading skills/ buying new skills).

There are many dialogue choices, and actions to choose from as well. There are some moral issues in the game, but there is one particular point in the game which I find distasteful, but I cannot include it in here as it would be considered a spoiler, and therefore rendering me unable to post up this review. To put it bluntly, fighting is unjustifiable (to get your own way) in most cases. In fact, fighting to get your way (as opposed to self-defense for yourself, and the protection of others) isn't justifiable at all. It's unethical, and shouldn't be rewarded ‘good points' for that.

The character development is decent. Your character's face will have scars from his exploits, and you'll even grow horns if you're evil enough. However, I find it too gimmicky, because apart from evoking reactions from villagers, there isn't anything actually useful to be gained from it.

Exploration is always an important part of an RPG. However, there aren't many options to explore. There just isn't a point to explore the game if there aren't that many (if at all) side quests. Just pointless to do so, but you can find some stuff should you do some exploration.

A sign of a good in-game story is the level of character development, and the ability of the writers' to grasp the player's imagination and be able to hold them captive to the game for hours on end. Fable has little of it, and the ending didn't give me any satisfaction whatsoever. The ending should be the best part of the game, and Fable fail on that, much like many other games.

When I finished the game, I felt really cheated. I sat down for so many hours, expecting a fantastic finale, and when the ending game, I was “What? That's the ending?” I never felt so cheated. Only once before I felt so cheated *cough*Halo*cough*2*cough*

It was also short, which was better for Fable, rather than worse. If the writers' cannot grasp the player's attention, then the story will not fall in place like a good book. But then again, I cannot complain, since most of the good stories are also too short for my liking.

Sound - 5/10

If there was music in the game, it is too unnoticeable. I could barely hear any music during normal game play, and it wasn't any better that there wasn't any ambient sounds. The only time I heard music was when I was in a castle, and this Gregorian-type music came up.

However, the songs that I heard were wonderfully orchestrated. The music also suits your current position, like when you're in the Guild castle, there'll be the Gregorian chanting, and outside, you hear more pleasant music.

The voice acting is also substandard. Call me a Halo and Jade Empire brat, but those games had excellent voice acting, almost enough to merit the high review scores that the games deserve.

One thing that bugs me is that whenever you pass by people, they'll talk, as opposed to you initiating a conversation with them. It's really irritating to hear things about “he's so dreamy” and “When are you going to get me a wedding ring” over and over and over again. I like the Irish accents in the game for some of the characters, though. It was a nice touch to the game, making it more mystical than it already was.

Replay value - 1/10

I won't replay this game *ever* again, but there is a whole host of options that one can make on subsequent replays. There is enough levels of customizations, enough dialogue choices and more than enough ways to become good/ evil, that it will sure be enough to sustain some for weeks on end. However, I believe the endings for both good and evil choices are the same, which for me, defeats the purpose of playing the game a second time around.

And the game is very short, which makes replaying the game somewhat less satisfying.

Then again, most games don't have much replay value, save for racing titles.

Reviewer's Tilt - 4/10

This shouldn't be called an RPG. There is way too little diversity for this to be called an RPG. Instead, it should be called an action-adventure game, which suits Fable more than the prestigious title of RPG.

There is also too much hype surrounding the game when it first came out. And despite all that hype, this game didn't live up to my expectations. I can't believe I paid USD$55 to pre-order it, and counting down the days till when I could collect my order from my local gaming store.

I recommend that those who want to play the game rent it as opposed to buying it. The game is better off being rented; as you won't be left disgruntled the same way I was when I finished the game. You can buy it should you want to play it again.

Pros

Somewhat interesting story
A wide array of weapons to choose from
Somewhat okay graphics.
Irish accents a nice touch

Cons

Too short
Little replay value
Too many glitches to exploit
Too linear

Final Score 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/05