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Fable's elongated adventure hits Xbox. When Fable was originally released for Xbox, it was a seemingly monumental occasion since the game had been announced about three years prior. Black & White leader Peter Molyneux and his Lionhead Studios teamed up with Big Blue Box to bring an epic, one-of-a-kind adventure to the Xbox. There were lofty claims made by Mr. Molyneux including that Fable would be the best RPG of all time. While that is debatable, Fable proved to be game that really makes you care for your character as your actions will directly affect him and the rest of the game. Fable: The Lost Chapters makes the previous game even better with the inclusion of new content. Though the game was originally developed to let PC gamers partake and find out what all the talk is about, it has now hit Xbox at a budget price.
At the game’s outset you are introduced to a young boy who needs to gather some gold for a gift. All is well for a bit but once you return with the gold, you’ll find that some the village was basically destroyed and your sister, as well as your mother and father are missing. In the game, you’ll avenge the raid on your village, as well as your father’s death. Fable includes many endings which you’ll receive depending on your morality (i.e. were you good or bad along the way).
Fable doesn’t waste much time with the pleasantries. Immediately, you are introduced to the game’s “choose your own adventure” gameplay style as there are many ways for you to earn the initial gold you need. Along the way, there were also numerous activities taken place in which you can choose to help the person out or flat out use the situation for your own advantage.
Back to the story, after the village is raided, time passes and the child is now a teenager. You’ll find yourself training at Heroes’ Guild where you’ll learn how to use the power of will (i.e. magic), as well as a bow and arrow and melee fighting. Melee or archery combat are both rather simple as they usually require you to press or hold the attack button, X. Magic is a bit more complicated to execute since it is a bit cumbersome but nothing that you won’t figure out practically immediately. Once you’re done with training, which takes up very little of the game, it’s time to become an adult and really play.
The Lost Chapters storyline picks up after the end of the original Fable’s storyline. It fits very well with the old storyline, and is essentially like getting an expansion pack for free. In the new storyline, you’ll have to control a new threat. This means you’ll travel to new locations complete with new goals, items, and monsters.
Although you can spend much of your time completing optional side quests, the main adventure in the game is fairly standard stuff. You’ll go through missions that require you to take out certain bad guys, escort some people to their destination, among others but none are very challenging, particularly since you can restart should you fail. The game attempts to make these more interesting by allowing you to wager on completing the mission in a certain amount of time or with some other gratuitous goal.
Throughout the game, you’ll earn experience points which you will use to increase your character’s strength (health, power, etc), skill (speed, stealth, archery skills, etc) or will (maximum spells and power of said spells). You’ll earn experience points in each of the categories by using the main ability. Additionally, you’ll also earn general points which you can use in any of the categories. The game discourages you from focusing on one particular category as eventually, you’ll need a much larger amount of points to see very small gains in a particular skill. You can also use points to customize your character.
Combat in the game is serviceable but nothing spectacular. There are many enemies in the game, most fantasy related (like werewolf-like creatures) that come at you and behave rather intelligently as they change their attack pattern depending on what you do. You’ll occasionally use the bow and arrow, but for the most part you will rely on melee fighting and of course magic which will help you incredibly as it can boost your stats or provide powerful attacks.
And while the game would be good on its own, the real star of the game is the character progression. You start off as a child, then see the character as a teenager but once you control him as an adult, you’ll see the character progressively age (quicker if you use too much magic) and change in appearance depending on the moral choices you make in the game. If you’re good, you’ll have an angel-like appearance or perhaps horns if you’re naughty. The game takes into account your appearance as you wander through the world since characters will have nicknames for you and will react accordingly. If you’re bad, they’ll be scared of you and issue mean comments but they’ll be pleasant if you happen to remain good. Fable: The Last Chapter adds more personalization features than was found in the previous game, allowing you to have an even more defined character.
In keeping with the seemingly open-ended nature of the game you’re able to accomplish many crimes and you’ll have choices of what to do as a result. You can even get married if you wish! The amount of control you have over your character is undoubtedly Fable’s best feature.
One of the most controversial aspects of Fable is its length. The game can be completed by a seasoned gamer in around ten hours if you don’t bother too much exploring and doing side quests and the like. If you do take your time, explore the game and complete plenty of side quests, you’ll still only get something like twenty or twenty-five hours out of the game. For an action-adventure game, that’s pretty good but for an RPG it’s only average. There are some who proclaim that they are getting hundreds of hours of play time out of the game, and technically they are right as Fable lets you continue exploring the world for as long as you want after you “beat it.”
In terms of visuals, Fable is excellent from both a technical and style standpoint. It is refreshing to see a game announced so long ago retain such technical fidelity like Fable so easily does. The environments are large and full of little details that add up to bring the caverns or taverns that you travel to life. The lighting and particle effects in the game (including the many spells and water) look excellent, as well. All of the characters in the game are technically solid, although some look very strange. The main character, however, is the visuals’ highlight. Watching him grow and age is a truly magnificent sight.
The game’s audio is magnificent. The entire package is excellent and really brings the game’s presentation to first-class standards. The background music is excellent and very dynamic, as you’ll notice when it changes to accompany the on-screen action. The voice acting is very strong, with excellent and oft-times humorous writing. Lastly, the sound effects complete the package with their pleasant nature.
All in all, Fable: The Lost Chapters does a very good job of lofty proclamations of visionary Peter Molyneux. The game addresses one of the chief concerns of the first Fable, its length. With additional content and a longer story, the game is definitely recommended for first-time fans. I mentioned in the PC review that Xbox players should just wait for Fable: The Lost Chapters to be at a budget price. While I think that the new content is worth the additional money, it should be noted that saves don’t transfer over so you’ll have to start from the beginning even if you already finished Fable. -- Jake Wilson, PGNx Media
---- Oct 23, 2005
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