 | | This new rendition of Fable has a bunch of sweet additions, such as this brothel, which you can even *ahem* use. Apparently |
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Fable on the Xbox was a somewhat saddening story - much like Doom III - of over-hype and failed promises. It's also one of those titles that split people like nothing else. Going back to my original
blurb on that game from last year, I was obviously very much a fan, but for every Diggler there was a whiner.
Now Fable appears on the PC via its new "Lost Chapters" subheader. It's the original Xbox game with spruced up graphics, more quests and a bunch of added subplots. Lionhead Studios apparently continued work on Fable right after the Xbox game came out, and a year later, this is the result.
The Good, the Bad & the Pretty
Right off the bat, it's the graphics which strike you; they're stunning. Fable's got a graphical style very much reminiscent of Warcraft, so expect hyper exaggerated cartoons over razor sharp realism, but it works great, fitting in perfectly with the game's zany humour. With a top range PC and everything chucked up to full, Fable feels oh so much sharper than its console cousin and a million times smoother too. The shadows still falter slightly as before, but it's a small blemish on an otherwise true beaut to look at.
 | | Fable looks great, often resembling WoW in terms of style and direction |
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Unfortunately, while technically it's seen an upgrade, in terms of control and gameplay, I fault Fable for not working quite so well on mouse and keyboard. The lack of gamepad support is also worrying, as it plays nowhere near as well without one. In particular, the lock-on and blocking system are hard to swallow, and took me an awful lot of keymap fiddling before finding something ideal. Perhaps worse of all, I hate the camera in this version, which is very tricky to use when in cramped interiors, and has a lot of wobbly motion sickness to it.
Once you settle in and become accustomed to this stuff though, Fable begins to shine once again, and these problems are really my only complaints whatsoever with this version.
It's also worth noting that the increased length has boosted the gamespan by a good four or five hours, all of which is pure meat, fixing up what must have been the biggest fault of the original; its incredibly short game length.
Fable 101
 | | The interaction with the world and characters are what I love about Fable. Like breaking into this house and stealing money |
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For those who never experienced it console-side, Fable is an adventure game in which you play a recently orphaned young boy. Your village burnt to the ground at the start of the game, you're taken under the wing of the Hero's Guild, who build you up to become a fighter and discover the truth of what happened to your family.
Throughout this story, you both level up and age in a more organic way than in most adventure games and RPGs. Your physical appearance alters depending on what you do, so constantly using magic will turn your hair white and make you look old, helping villagers and making the world a better place will make a faint halo appear above your head, and raping and pillaging the locals will turn your skin veiny and eyes bright red. You also accumulate experience points based solely on the skills you use, so hack away at foes and your strength will improve (and thus your physique), or opt for a more slender archer type and become more adept at speed and guile. Choice is really what Fable's all about.
 | | Shoplifting is fun, and can save you some mega-bucks. Just don't get caught... |
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Replaying the game for a second time, this emphasis on choice is what I exploited the most. This time out I dropped the weaponry and concentrated on magic and thievery - skills I completely avoided last time - and Fable felt like a completely different experience to my first outing. In particular, the shoplifting and lock-picking skills surprised me and increased the interactivity of the world tenfold. Don't wanna splash out 50,000 on a house? Just pick the lock and you're in.
And that's always been my fave aspect of Fable; the sense of a fully realised universe. The central story that runs down the spine of the game is fine, but it's by no means the reason to play this game; what Fable does so well is creating a complete world. The villagers, shops, guards and enemies all act perfectly to their surroundings at all times, whether it be playing in the street, walking to the pub on a summer's evening, opening their shops the next day, or mugging passer's by in the woods. If you hang around some towns in the middle of the night you'll even see some of the local males sneak out and engage in a midnight fight club (which of course, you can enter and win).
Thrown in with the optional side quests - escorting the locals, collecting clues to buried treasure, wooing the local mayor into bed - Fable's universe becomes one of the deeper and more fun to explore, and a far cry from the more two dimensional worlds so often seen in videogaming. Yeah, it's not as epic (or as serious) as the Elder Scrolls titles by any means, but there's so much downright fun content and little easter eggs of joy to uncover, it's actually easy to miss huge chunks of it.
Built-in Sequel
 | | The Lost Chapters includes about four hours of additional storyline...a sequel of sorts |
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In terms of that main quest though, it features everything of the previous version, with a new third act bolted onto the end. Long gone is the abrupt, somewhat anti-climatic feeling of the original, thanks to this.
Now just as you think it's all over, one final and truly epic quest kicks in; one firmly utilising the game's emphasis on choice and morality. It's tied up nicely by a great Lord of the Rings/Mount Doom moment at the very end that results in a much more satisfying conclusion.
This new version is also coming out on Xbox at a reduced price, but despite all this newness, I'm not convinced there are quite enough additions here for owners of the original to justify a repurchase. Grabbing the PC version is a different experience though, one better in some ways, worse in others, and one I recommend.
It's good to be back in Albion.
This review/report was created by the great team at TPSreport.co.uk:
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