Welcome to World Zero - Reviews for the hardcore gamer

Xbox - Big Blue Box - RPG - M

What is non-linearity? In the mind of many contemporary gamers it’s simply the ability to wander off the beaten path, to not be confined by your environment or to be told where to go within said environment. This, however, is incorrect. Non-linearity is choice. While the literal interpretation of defying a linear path is a valid assessment, there is so much more to choice than environmental freedom.

Fable is both a game of choice and a game of consequence; so much, in fact, that the game sometimes takes on the role of a fantasy hero simulator more than an RPG at times. In short, it’s simply an innovative game, which is what you should come to expect from a developer that previously let you take on the role of God; Fable being the brainchild of Peter Molyneux, the mind behind games such as Populous, Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper, and the more recent Black and White. Molyneux’s past efforts have arguably been groundbreaking titles that consistently offer a new angle on what we have previously seen in gaming, and Fable is no different.

Fable starts off cliché enough; Bandits raid your hometown and murder your family. You are taken under the wing of a powerful mage who happens to belong to a local Hero’s Guild. You are soon trained in the arts of combat and magic and are then sent out to extract your revenge. In Fable’s own unique take, however, you actually get to play the hero as a young boy, through his teenager years at the academy, and ultimately to old age.

As a boy, you are immediately introduced to Fable’s strong sense of choice and morality. Your initial day in Fable also happens to be your sister’s birthday. Your quest begins as your father explains that he will reward you with a gold coin for every good deed you perform. You are then set loose in the small village of Oakvale to do as you wish. Ultimately, the goal of this introductory “stage” is to accumulate three gold coins in order to purchase a box of chocolates to give to your sister for her birthday. In reality, the intent is to give you a taste of Fable’s sandbox mentality confined to a single town. Here you are presented with the underlining morality that is connected with almost every action you will perform from here on out, as well as the consequences that follow.

You will soon find that the quickest way to those three gold coins is to perform bad deeds, but they come at a price; the village is small and both your father and the town guard will catch wind of mischief very quickly. For example, you may stumble upon a man cheating on his wife. If you confront him, he will offer to bribe you with a gold coin to keep your mouth shut. Quick and easy, but immoral and most likely followed by a scolding by the guard and the beginning of a bad reputation with the townsfolk. Search out the cheating husband’s wife, snitch him out, and report back your father for the same reward but with the bonus of your father’s praise and a good reputation. Use your head, however, and take the cheating husband’s bribe then go behind his back and snitch him out and you’ll cash in on twice the reward. While the consequences are very small in this initial outing, it sets up the possibilities of bigger, more meaningful choices that you’ll need to make later on.

Eventually, the story will progress to the Hero’s Guild where you will learn the ways of the game’s three main “classes” (a term which should be used very loosely in this game), defined by archery, melee combat, and magic. Your training in the Guild will consist of several years within the game’s own story, although it is merely divided into noteworthy segments with narrated cut scenes unfolding the less significant parts to avoid keeping the “tutorial” section of the game from dragging on too long.

Once you finally complete your schooling and graduate the game “releases” you, so to speak, from the confines of the Guild and finally sets you free upon the world of Albion. This moment is a remarkable experience as the sensation of freedom is truly overwhelming. Even though the game’s environment is not completely open akin to that of, say, Morrowind’s (you are often confined to paths restricted by trees, fences, etc.), it’s the feeling of choice that conveys the experience. The Guild Master informs you that some townsfolk are being threatened in an area outside of the nearest town. You can choose to help them, procrastinate and visit said town, explore the beautiful wooded scenery outside of the Guild, or even further explore the Guild and its inhabitants, libraries, and shops. Once you make up your mind, the possibilities branch out even further. Upon opting to explore the environment outside of the Guild, you’ll quickly encounter a bully tormenting a destitute old man with whom you may choose to help, hinder or ignore. Just a few steps away (depending on the time of day) you may notice a traveling merchant that wants an escort through the surrounding woods. You can decide to accompany him, for which he’ll reward you with gold upon arrival, or outright slay him and take the reward and perhaps even some of his own merchandise. All this literally within footsteps from the Guild entrance.

Once you begin to interact with the townsfolk, the complexity of Fable’s artificial intelligence really begins to shine. Firstly, NPCs will react based on your appearance. A hero wearing wicked looking clothing or armor and covered in scars will get varying degrees of scoffs, shudders, or individuals outright fleeing in fear at the mere sight of them. If said NPC hasn’t already run away in sheer terror from your avatar of destruction (yeah, as if you took the virtuous route), you are able to interact with them in a very unique manner. Apart from outright punching them in the face, you are able to communicate via Fable’s expression system. Expressions can range from apologies and greetings to showing off your muscles or even giving a villager the finger. Think of it as emotes from an MMORPG, only that the NPCs will actually react to you, form an opinion based on your relationship with them, and retain said opinion in virtual memory. Return to a villager whom you constantly abuse (be it physically or verbally) and he’ll react as you would expect; cowering in fear, hiding from you, or if he’s a brave soul, telling you to piss off whenever you show your ugly mug in his town. On the other hand, constant flirting and gift giving (yes, you can even give presents to the villagers) will easily have said villager eagerly awaiting word of your arrival (especially when combined with a high renown), and could eventually result in love and even marriage. But it doesn’t stop there; marriage can result in sex, divorce, or even adultery. This is simply a fraction of what can be achieved with Fable’s AI, and merely an example of just the townsfolk you will encounter within the first half hour out of the Guild’s walls.

Let’s jump back to the thought of NPCs reacting to your appearance. Similar to the villagers’ AI, your own avatar is composed of its own dynamic microcosm; every single aesthetic customization you can provide your character with produces variables that cause reactions in NPCs. While there is no character creation (you always start with the same canvas, so to speak), there really wouldn’t be a need for one as you are capable of developing your character through consequence and in-game actions far more meticulously than a simple character creation system could. Eating too much food will result in a pot belly; neglecting food will result in a wiry physique. Wearing negligible armor and getting into sword fights will actually produce scars. Training in melee combat makes your character’s body becomes burlier, while excessive training could eventually turn you into a hulking brute of a warrior. Developing your character via stealth actions nets you a slender, muscular frame. Excessively train in magic and you’ll soon notice a faint glow about your hands and eyes. Extremely excessive magic training will ultimately result in actual azure runes manifesting all over your body; the sign of a true mage. Don’t like your character’s hair? No problem. Just find your way to the nearest barbershop and walk out with one of the game’s countless hairstyles. Even facial hair is completely customizable. Similar to barbers, Fable offers tattooists that can work their art numerous sections of your character’s body.

Even the result of your moral actions affects your appearance. Constantly perform good and heroic deeds and your posture improves, your character begins to smile when idle, even your hair will start to turn an angelic blonde. When taken to extremes, a faint halo can be seen hovering above your avatar’s head, and even ethereal butterflies will soar around you, occasionally resting on your nose. Opposite of the virtuous hero (and no doubt more interesting) are the aesthetic results of immoral choices and villainous behavior; you’ll begin to frown or show your teeth, your posture will become poor and hunched. Excessive evil behavior will eventually result in your hands and feet turning a charred black, the front of your hairline will recede, replaced by what appear to be tiny horns. The outstandingly wicked will be granted blood red eyes, hands and feet that look like they were burnt by hell itself, a pair of massive, charred horns, and may even be accompanied by a swarm of flies.

In addition to the game’s distinct take on choice, consequence, and interaction, you also become quickly familiarized with Fable’s fantastic style and twisted sense of humor right off the bat. All this interaction would be moot if it yielded no creative results, and Fable does not disappoint by any stretch of the imagination. Albion is just drenched in a unique fairy tale atmosphere that makes adventuring simply a joy to experience. The game’s dialog is witty, often times hilarious (especially the reactions you get from children), and voiced to perfection. This creativeness is augmented ten fold by a soundtrack in which the description of perfect would be an understatement. Composed by Danny Elfman, the score captures the whimsical, yet dark undertones of Fable flawlessly and reinforces the inspiration of Fable’s own Tim Burton-like qualities. This is a soundtrack so precise, so faultless that it actually enhances the experience. Horrifying an entire town by running around in your underwear while simultaneously flipping the bird and breaking wind could only be backed by the mind responsible for the theme to Pee Wee’s Big Adventure; just the same as digging up the remains of the dead at a moonlit cemetery to a melody created by the man responsible for scoring Tales from the Crypt.

The detail and depth within nearly every aspect of Fable is not only impressive but completely and utterly enjoyable. However, no game is perfect and Fable’s own crutch seems to be its length. While the game is truly limited by your own creativity, the game world and main quest are relatively small when compared to other RPGs, and the game would simply be a much better end product if you were merely given a larger sandbox to play in. Fable isn’t a twitch shooter or scrolling brawler; it’s a deep, atmospheric experience, a literal role playing game in the true sense of the term. And so, it deserves a near infinite setting to mirror its near infinite ambitions.

A seemingly more significant flaw in Fable is its save system. Considering Fable is a game of choice and consequence, a “save anywhere” system was definitely the wrong choice. Get caught breaking into a shop after hours or looting through a villager’s dresser and don’t want to pay the consequences? Just reload and the slate is wiped clean. I would have much rather preferred an auto save system similar to that of Diablo II or perhaps an MMORPG; one where you have no control over manipulating your saved progress or even reverting it. Worse yet, quests and even optional side quests end your game’s progress if failed. Manage to get the prisoner killed that you were attempting to save? Instead of forcing you to live the rest of your adventure with your mistake (possibly even having to pass by the prisoner’s widow on your way to the local shop every time you visit his home town) just isn’t going to happen. Instead, you’re prompted to a game over screen and are forced to reload your last saved game. This is definitely the wrong approach for a game of this nature.

In summation, Fable is a good reminder of why we all game in the first place. Even though we may long for a virtual fantasy life that could last an actual lifetime, the short time spent in Fable is enjoyable down to the last second. Fable is a game of imagination, and the more imagination you have, the longer and more fun your adventure within Albion will be.

Rating	The rating scale in detail
9.5	++ Absolutely stunning. Beautiful environments, atmospheric surroundings, and creatively designed characters.
10	++ Flawless voice acting that never fails to deliver the game’s witty, dark sense of humor. ++ Possibly the most spot on soundtrack of the last ten years. Easily the most well composed score since the glory days of Yuzo Koshiro.
9.0	++ Enjoyable level up system, extraordinary AI, and unprecedented character development. + Rewarding real time, action-oriented combat. - Non complimentary save system prevents the experience from fulfilling its full potential.
9.5	++ An unsurpassed visual style accompanied by fantastic presentation and droves of atmosphere. Imaginative on a level few games can even fathom.
6.0	+ The more imaginative you are and the further you actually role-play your character, the longer the game becomes. -- The game world and main quest are simply too small in comparison to the game’s own ambition.
9.3	++ An extraordinary, albeit shorter than expected, experience that isn’t afraid of pushing the genre.