Fable

By Morgan Bates

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Most Xbox owners will agree that the Xbox has only had a few decent RPGs, the most recent being Sudeki. Unfortunately, BioWare's Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic aside, there have not been many 'killer' RPG's out there but Big Blue Box may be set to change all of that with Fable. Fable has been touted as an RPG where you can affect the way your character is perceived by other characters in the game by choosing different ways of doing things, for example; if you choose to kill everyone you meet the other characters will be weary of you. On the other hand, if you are nice to them, they will be more inclined to help you on your journey.

Fable will feature a real time battle system, which is standard in most RPGs developed in Western countries. Big Blue Box Studios and Lionhead Studios have teamed up to develop Fable to help raise the number of quality RPG?s available for the Xbox. Dungeon Keeper creator Peter Molyneux oversaw development of Fable, he has a history of producing some of the best PC games to date. Fable is also the fastest selling Xbox game in North America, at the time of writing breaking records and selling through more than 375,000 units (grossing roughly $18.7 million U.S.) However, with the likes of Halo 2 around the corner, do not expect the game to keep that title for long.

As you can see below Fable has been getting some great press in the United States already and has been breaking Xbox sales records (above) with some impressive sales figures surpassing even Halo: Combat Evolved.

"Fable was the best first-week title on Xbox that we've ever had" - "The game has exceeded our expectations, and we're confident that this strong sales trend will continue." - Jim Tyo, vice president of EB Games Canada.

Fable is set to be a great single player game on a console that focuses heavily on Xbox Live online gaming. Some people have described Fable as the RPG equivalent of Black & White, because your character changes in appearance in accordance to choices you make in the game, becoming either more or less evil looking. (I am looking forward to trying this feature out for myself, to see how evil I can make my character look.) On top of all the technical advancements Fable represents in game design, Fable will have a good story and plenty of side quests that should keep gamers entertained for a few months.

Features:

• Forging a hero based on actions: Heroes age and evolve through the actions players choose and the paths they follow - be it for good, evil or in between. Those who play the way of the sword will see their muscles bulge. Those who weave the dark arts will witness power crackle at their fingertips. In addition, those who rely on speed and stealth will develop lightning-like reflexes and eagle-eyed accuracy.
• Engaging in intense real-time combat: Players collect battle scars as they duel with cunning foes and deadly creatures. They can master an array of deadly weapons as they hone the art of blade-craft, hunt their quarry using subterfuge and stealth, or weave death from the elements as they harness the dark arts of the arcane.
• Building a living legend: Through deeds and actions, "Fable" players build a name for their character across the land. They can recruit allies and followers, gain glory or notoriety, make friends and enemies, the whole time interacting with a living world of people, places and events all reactive to them.
• Shaping and exploring a living, evolving world: Players champion or manipulate an ever-changing land with competitive and cooperative heroes, dynamic weather systems, and environments teeming with cultures, creatures, citizens and cities.
• Honing scores of unique skills and extras: Players master new abilities and add possessions as their character develops. They can master the art of thievery, acquire a family, real estate, clothing or tattoos, and more.
• Never playing the same game twice: Once an adventure has been completed, players can forge a new tale full of unexpected twists and turns, with new skills, powers, influences, allies and enemies.

Fable is scheduled for release on October 14 for the RRP of $99.95 Pre-Order your copy today. NZGamer will have a full review soon.

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