This game has so many great things going for it. It is a pity that it is hampered by some major flaws. Rent it first.
Description
Since the beginning of my Xbox life, I have been hearing of this RPG to end all RPG’s. Go back a few years, and the buzz was about a game called Project Ego that was being developed by Lion Head Studios. This game was supposed to offer fantastic graphics, a ground-breaking battle system, a completely open-ended and explorable game world, a multiplayer mode that allowed multiple players to do battle with each other, and a seamless transition from childhood to adulthood to old age. Zoom forward to September 2004 and you have a renamed Project Ego coming out under the name Fable. Does it accomplish its goals? Here’s what I think.
Fable is one of the best "feeling" games ever created. The graphics are gorgeous, the characters are wonderful, and the environments are highly detailed and created with a clear vision by talented artists who obviously invested much passion and love into their creation. The musical score is top notch and the voice acting is very good. The story is wonderful as well. The battle system is smooth and easy to learn.
On the other side of this coin are some pretty valid complaints. I was expecting the world of Fable to have a very open ended, explorable feeling. This isn't the case. The world of Fable is made up of point A to point B map points. Although the towns are very explorable, the world of Fable is not. It's obvious to me that the lofty goals of Fable were crippled in the end by the need to get the game out the door. I get the feeling that the folks at Lion Head felt that four years was a long enough development cycle and started hacking away at some of the features in order to get Fable out the door. This is a true pity as this game could have been perfection.
Also, the length of the game is really an issue. I did most of the side quests and still finished the game in fifteen hours. This just isn't acceptable when the developer is expecting you to shell out fifty bucks for the game. Yes, Fable does offer some replayability, but "Come on!"
Pick up this title as a rental before you shell out the bucks for a purchase. Perhaps you will be charmed enough by the elements of Fable to shell out the purchase money. If not, you'll definitely be able to finish Fable within the week rental time, so you'll only be out six bucks.
