A decent game
User Rating: 7.3 | Fable XBOX
Fable had the potential to be an amazing game, even with all the innovative features that ultimately had to be removed. The only problem with the game is that it has a very unfinished feel to it. The graphics are exceptional. Some folks may feel the bloom lighting is overdone, but I found it helped set the mood for the game quite nicely. The character models are alright, and the way the character changes as the game progresses is simply amazing. The sound is good. The sound effects are well done, and tend to fit the setting well...birds chirping in forests, boats and waves in harbors, even the way the sound of your footsteps changes as you cross different terrain all help with the immersion. The minor NPC's voices are decently well acted, and the major characters are very well done. The music in the game is excellent, and does a good job of giving the game an epic feel. And that is the problem with the game. It has a very epic feel. There has been a lot of talk about the length of the game, to which most folks say "if you rush through and ignore all the side quests you can finish in 10 hours." That's true. But what no one has pointed out is that it's hard to make the game last longer than 20 to 25 hours. There's one...count it, one...random quest in the entire game...and the only thing that's random about it is when it shows up. That quest shows up again, and again, and again. And you can do things like get married, buy and rent property, and have sex. But it all becomes very boring. Take getting married, for example. You convince an NPC to marry you by repeatedly doing the same getures and giving gifts. Once you've done that in one town, you can move on to the next and repeat the task..give the same gifts and repeat the same gestures. Every NPC works the same way. There's not even an element of figuring out who wants what. The same goes for convincing your spouse to hop into bed...only without the need to give gifts. The mechanics of trading aren't all that much more difficult. They are a little better than I've seen in some other games, because the amount you buy or sell effects the price...but that's about it. So after a little of that, the only choice is to go back and work on the main quest. Add to that gameplay that is exceptionally easy. It's possible to play the entire game without once getting killed. There are more than enough healing items and mana potions to keep you going through any battle. In fact, the GS review mentions the "healing phials" that automatically restore your character if he gets killed, and complains that there are too many of them around. I played the entire game without once using a healing phial. I never died, I never even got hurt badly. Fable is a decent game, it's far from the best RPG on Xbox. The openended gameplay is there, but it's pointless because there's just not much to do. The graphics are nice, but they don't have a very good story to convey. And the music sets a mood that the game doesn't keep. 
