extended play of Fable

[muse hunter]

There seems to be too many people moaning about this game especially on the lionhead forums, but i can't see why. Fable is based in an imaginative, beautiful, active world that is the complete oppsite of many games we see lately (getaway, true crime, etc), i can't see much to fault about the game gameplay wise either, with involving missions, the game just forces you to check every thing and slaughter the imaginative creatures populating the world. The musical score also compliments the game very well. People complain because many of the promises that were originally stated were removed, but if you forget that you won't mind. The game does have a few problems such as slight slowdown and a bit short but are nothing much in the long run. But this is a game that kept me up playing all night and its been a long while since that has happened.

For me fable is up there with vice city and animal crossing as the best games of the current generation, very refreshing when you see the many characterless games that are out there. Fable is what i always imagined games will one day be, and heres hoping that a version of fable in the form it was originally meant to be gets released for the xenon.

Whats your thoughts

[dataDave]

"We ain't fayound shiet!"

Seriously disapointed (sp?) with Fable. Very short. Very glitched. Very lacking in terms of quest feel. Very PC'ish.

[icarus0]

I was extremely disappointed with Fable especially as I had been looking forward to it for so long.

Even if you forget the parts had been removed from the game, what is there is still disappointing and, IMO, falls well short of a triple A title. Everything just seems so lightweight and lacking; the game world is small and linear, there's a lack in the number and variety of enemies, weapons, armour etc. and a pitiful number of main and side quests.

Admittedly the renown aspect was interesting at first and the way certain clothes and haircuts affected what people though of you was fun. But the whole 'good/bad' feature and alternative methods of completing quests was flawed. And hearing the same villagers voice scream 'That's my man!' at you for the 1000th time got very irritating.

Despite what I've just said I didn't completely dislike the game and certainly enjoyed what was there. As muse hunter says, the music was great and the graphics and locations were, in places, beautiful.

I also liked the way the game portrayed the passing of time with day becoming night and people going about their lives; working, going to the pub, sleeping etc. It certainly helped with the illusion that you were part of a living breathing world and is something which is missing from a lot of RPGs.
There is definitely a strong building block to base the sequel on.

I think it was a post on Gamefaqs which said it best for me - that Fable seems more of an elaborate technical demo than a full game.

[SharkAttack]

I can understand people being a little bit upset with Fable based on missing features. It's like if people were hyped about the DS having dual screen, touch screen and wifi and then on release it was just a GBA SP with a built in mic. It might be fun - But it isn't what they were looking forward too.

[MartyG]

It's fun whilst it lasts, which is about 12/14 hours. The world is wonderful to look at, definitely makes you feel part of the game. Had some nice comedy moments too and I liked the stat tracking.

It definitely wasn't without its problems though; loading times, difficulty (or lack of it) and the narrative simply wasn't that interesting. I completed it and continued playing for a bit, buying up the houses in the villages, but ultimately there wasn't really wasn't very much to do once the quest had been completed.

[Ryan]

I copied it to the hard disk to play, and it played like a dream from there. The story was a bit short, and just seemed to stop (as if they'd ran out of cash).

Still, excellent game.

[oracle]

but going round with the sword of ages/eons is fun tho seroius pwnage

[KempStar]

I thought it was absolutely fantastic- A real pleasant suprise. Its been a long time since I literally could not stop playing a game. I bought it on a Friday night and completed it by the sunday. Put it this way, on the saturday, I started playing it in the morning when I got up. I stopped playing to watch Match of the Day (10.30 pm) :P

The music was utterly, utterly superb. In general the whole game was hugely atmospheric. Yes it was flawed, yes it was incomplete, but what was there was great. To be honest I benefited because I had all but ignored it and all the hype about it. I assumed it would be rubbish. Somebody posted on here about how much they were enjoying it, and I took a chance. Really glad I did.

[HaHaUK]

played it for about 5 hours and loved it. great how you can interact with all the characters and 'develop' your own self.

and also having wives in different villages, is an added bonus.

[Prine]

Thought it was fantastic. One game i'll remeber when we go into next gen

Fable 2 is my current most wanted game right now

[DSD]

Interesting to note how peoples' expectations coloured their experience with the game. I was well aware of all Peter Molyneux' promises for the game, so couldn't help but feel underwhelmed (although I still enjoyed it). I lent it to a mate who had never heard of it, and he has completed it twice, proclaiming it the best game he's ever played.

Go figure.

[Mardigan8]

I think those of us who knew what they were attempting with Fable were left wanting!! Quite a few ideas that were talked about during production didnt make it into the game or were dumbed down!! IMO it was a great game, very refreshing and implemented a fantastic growth system for your character. There really were so many ways to make your character an individual. The hype set the bar SO high for this game and there was always going to dissapointed people who wanted everything they heard about. Few games gives you the sense of control over your fate that Fable does!! Also had a kick ass solid combat system... very simple but very effective once mastered!!

A great achievement which sets the bar for future games of this genre... if they do a sequel it should cover nicely anything we thought was lacking!!

[Squirtle]

Great game. My only gripe is that the environments felt a little small. I wanted some big open lands to wander around in. Fable with Stranger's Wrath's engine would be fantastic.

[evilmatt]

Looks like the PC version gets all that cut content put right back in - Fable: The Lost Chapters

[mezzanine]

I liked it a lot while playing it. But the poor end to the game and the complete lack of challenge (apart from that mission where you rescue the boy) were very disappointing. I still think it's one of the most interesting releases of the last two years though.