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| Game: |
Fable |
| Genre: |
RPG |
| Developer: |
Lionhead Studios |
| Publisher: |
Microsoft Games |
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| Related Links: |
Coming Soon. |
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Recently msxbox-world were exclusively invited to Lionhead Studios in Guildford for an in depth hands on with Peter Molyneux’s epic RPG Fable. Due to hit shelves in the US in the next couple of weeks and then in the UK later in the month of September we got to grips with the basics of the game and got an insight into the games vast and immersive world. Rather than sit here and describe the game’s manual for you like some others have opted to do, I am going to outline some of the cool features that the game has to offer.
Upon starting, the player is introduced to the leading character of the game in what feels like the opening to many other RPG’s. At this point your character is a small boy running errands for his father in a peaceful looking village. As with most games this tranquillity is interrupted as all hell breaks loose. Right I’m going to stop there as I do not wish to reveal anything about the game’s plot at all. Once the overall premise of the story has been outlined players bear witness to their character growing up. It is here that the player is given their first taste of things to come with a comprehensive training program being the order of the day. This teaches the player the basics of movement, magic and attacking with melee and ranged attacks using a sword, bow and arrow. Using a lock on feature players can circle strafe enemies, block and roll away from incoming blows. This was incredibly easy to perform and will take most players little time to master. The bow being equally easy to use as you could opt to zoom in on foes in first person or simply shoot normally.
Once training is over, players get to explore the rich world of Albion at their leisure. It is here that the game begins proper and where we began to see some of the nuances of this great looking game.
The first thing we noticed was that you are able to ignore the main quest if you choose and deviate off the path and start exploring the lands from the offset. Well naturally we decided to do just that as we initiated conversations with NPC’s and visited the local tavern. Here players are able to socialize with others, play mini games or have a few drinks, perhaps even buying drinks for others. We were actually able to plaster someone with drink until they were totally worse for ware which resulted in many strange and humorous mumblings from our now drunken recipient. Players are also able to express themselves in a wide variety of ways with a touch of a button to NPC’s. So when a sassy barmaid walked by I decided to give it the old charm, however she was having none of it as I was simply another patron of her employer’s establishment. This situation highlights the core nature and importance of the games structure. In Fable it seems that everyone has an opinion of you from the offset and depending on what you do or who you are will react to you accordingly. So at the beginning of the game you are an unknown in a world full of wannabe heroes and larger than life characters. This means that NPC’s will treat you as a normal person and will air their views of you without hesitation whether that be a sarcastic comment about your appearance to wise cracks that may grate or even hurt your feelings. Although depending on where your from, the accents used may make you chuckle especially as each person has a wide variety of lines which will vary depending on what they think of you.
In a woodland area we came across some villagers being attacked by giant wasps, we didn’t have to step in as they were desperately trying to fend for themselves however being helpful we entered the fray and killed all the wasps to much praise and applause from those who were rescued. So from this early stage in the game we could see the importance of how people react to you. Although due to the limited time we had to play the game we were told that those people we rescued would then report our actions to others which would then change the way they perceived us. Another neat feature was being able to purchase a title such as assassin or asswipe, this labelling would stick with you as NPC’s would make references to being an asswipe when talking to them. I suppose it all depends on how good or bad an asswipe I would become that would ultimately sway the NPC’s opinions of an asswipe such as myself.
At the beginning of the game, players will all have the same look but differences under the surface would be different already depending on what deeds and actions the player takes. Players can opt to partake in random acts of evil or be particularly nasty in general. This was more evident when it was time to level up the character as the stats would reflect how I was playing the game so for an example if I spent a lot of time fighting then this stat would have more levelling up potential the same if I had been more of a magical type character. As players progress through the game then more skills are added which makes for a comprehensive list of attributes that develop the basis of your character depending on how you have played. What is also rather neat is your appearance which apart from your clothes causing a reaction from NPC’s (you can buy many others) but more so your actual body. Become an expert fighting force and your character will develop muscles to suit, meaning you will be able to wield some of the bigger weapons in the game like the two handed war hammers. We’re told that should your character be too weak to wield these great weapons then they will simply drag them along the ground due to the weapons weight. Luckily there are a wide variety of weapons the player can find or buy as well as finding secret ones scattered across the land. Some weapons are customisable which means players can add enchantments to their chosen weapon. These enchantments imbue abilities such as fire damage for those that are weak to fire.
Over time depending on what you have done in the game your physical appearance will take on a new look entirely especially if you opt to tattoo your skin which creates a very individual look. The bottom line is that if you act evil then you will begin to look evil simple as that. People will react accordingly as we witnessed an evil character trying to chat up a female villager in the tavern. She was overcome with fear and cowered away from him not interested in his affections. We were also shown one of many demon gates where players had to commit an act of evil in front of the gate for it to open. Once opened, these gates would lead to expansive secret areas that housed many a great prize for any would be hero whether good affiliated characters could enter these places will have to be seen when I get my hands on the game.
Albion is a rich world full of detail and activity where day turns to night seamlessly and people go about their daily lives. In Fable instead of giving people names as you would find in other RPG’s the people here are just people. So no matter what you do or who you kill there will always be people. Wipe out a small community then you can do so however eventually the community will rebuild itself with probably more distrust and hatred of you than before (this feature pointing to Molyneux’s roots namely Populus). Trading is also very easily managed as an extensive economy system is used to a level of detail unrivalled in many other games. Players will be able to trade in the various towns and make runs from one to another buying cheap then selling elsewhere for profit. Again players may even go the whole hog and directly affect the economy by either killing people to lower demand or by saturating the market. Albion is rather a large place and although its beauty is one to behold, not all adventurers are going to want to wander across the lands especially if trading. Luckily there is a teleportation system that players can use if they choose taking a lot of the legwork out of running from town to town.
On the subject of wives players can woo female and were told male characters if they choose. Eventually forming a relationship where their chosen woman or women wish to marry you. Apparently players will be able to have multiple wives who will comment on appearances and such (like with all women they will need to be kept happy). Having multiple wives may feel cool but their upkeep maybe too much for some. If wives were ever to meet then you can be sure that it’s not going to be pretty. We did not get to engage in acts of a sexual nature although were told that these moments will be censored to a degree.
Players will also be able to have other characters join them such as bodyguards. These will follow your character and aid in battle; however they will automatically deduct their fee from your funds based on how long you have them by your side. Players can opt to have good or bad affiliated bodyguards on their side however having both may cause some arguments as one may wish to get stuck in while the other maybe reluctant depending on your actions. Other characters can join you as well including normal folk and perhaps your wife if you choose.
The magic itself appeared to be a heady mix of the usual RPG type abilities such as elemental attacks to more devastating moves which involved things like summoning creatures to do your bidding, taking the form of the last enemy you killed or perhaps possession whereby you could turn your opponents onto themselves. All magic abilities being upgradeable through levelling up the skill and being a welcome addition to the characters repertoire of moves.
Whilst there was generally a lot to take in with the limited time we had playing the game, I was left with a feeling that due to the nature of the game’s laid back approach where everything is up to the player, those who want to have the full experience can do so as well as those who simply want to plough through the game on their own level whether that be from a casual or hardcore players standpoint. The game’s story mode can be completed in reasonable time were told however there are so many other things to mess around with that were talking 50-70+ hours of game play and that’s not including those who wish to create different characters. While perhaps sharing some similarities with the recent Sudeki after playing the game we discovered Fable to be a far richer and deeper experience.
It seems like Molyneux and his team are doing something right here as Fable is like no other and will be extremely welcome when it’s released in the coming weeks. If players can forget what’s not in the game and focus on what is, then I can assure you that disappointment will not be a factor. I simply can’t wait to get to grips with building my character and messing around in the beautifully crafted game world. Having witnessed first hand what the game has to offer I can say that us gamers are in for a real treat.
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