“Hello Arseface!” was the greeting that met my arrival in a nearby village, the locals applauding and bellowing “Hooray!” What did my character do to receive such acclaim’ Slay a few enemies, perform a couple of good deeds and suddenly, I’m slowly becoming renowned around Albion for being an all-round nice guy – not for much longer though.
Upon my arrival, I’m forced to relinquish my weapons. An empty bed, which doesn’t belong to me, looks appealing, so down my character settles for a sleep. When I awake I find I’ve been given a fine of 20 gold pieces for sleeping in someone else’s bed. Now, do I pay the fine or kick up a fuss and start reigning carnage on the village’ Decisions, decisions…
Pah! Who wants to be the good guy all of the time anyway’
After a few choice attacks on some of the guards, I’m suddenly the object of fear as I wander around the village talking to various town-folk, who nervously greet my presence. The sheer scope of Fable is incredible; you can do virtually anything. Woo the ladies by showering them with gifts; a heart appears above their head and the bigger it gets, the more attractive they find you. Marry that special lady and become a homeowner – even if it means slaughtering the original occupants so the premises is vacated first.
Things like catching the Fisherman liasing with a woman who isn’t his wife for example. Watch as he attempts to bribe you into not telling his wife – do you choose to accept or not’ Choosing the former will earn you a gold-piece; earn another by telling the wife what her husband is up to. It’s an intuitively devised system; everything that you do, the choices you make, will have some bearing on the hero or villain you become.
The main quest will see you start out as a young lad; running about the village of Oakvale, either causing mischief or being a good citizen – depending on your choices. A chain of events then occur after you have completed the first few objectives, which sets the story in motion; a feeling of “been there, done that” crops up, but that’s fine, because when the game is in full flow and you’re witnessing your hero take his form, everything else becomes secondary. Once you have completed your training under the tutelage of the Guildmaster, you then visit the Heroes Guild to obtain new quests; the quests are varied, but progress the story on accordingly. However, you will find yourself side-tracked, since it’s not really a case of what you can do in Fable, it’s more of a case of what you can’t that makes this game so exhilarating: side-quests, mini-games, those ladies, getting drunk and watching your waistline expand are just some of the things that Fable game-world lets you dabble in. The game also doesn’t make the cardinal mistake of leaving you in the dark at any point, since your objective is highlighted on the map, with a gold coin indicating your destination.
Effectively, Fable is an action game with role-playing properties, as opposed to being firmly rooted into the role-playing genre. The usual suspects such as various weapons, magic and different forms of armour can be obtained and levelled-up accordingly as well as your Will, Toughness, Health and Guile to name only a few. You are also able to alter your appearance as well by acquiring or purchasing cards, which allow you a new haircut or tattoo when taken to the relevant trader; this of course has a knock-on effect on your appearance on whether the residents, or more importantly, the ladies of Albion find you attractive or scary.
For a game that has been in development for a long-time, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that it is very polished. Voice acting is flawless with all the characters having a variety of accents, the score is grandiose and hits all the right notes, all held together by the polish and slick nature of the aesthetics, which can’t be faulted. I’ve barely scrapped the surface of what Fable is capable of. Fable’s magic lies in its ability to involve the player in every decision; it’s your choice whether you slaughter the occupants of a house that you want, it’s your choice whether to destroy Twinblade, it’s your choice whether you want to marry and own three homes.
Choice can be a wonderful thing, and it’s better to have that choice than not.
