[Bond]

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/359/359900p1.html

When last we left Peter Molyneux's Project Ego, the game was enduring a phase of over six months of gameplay testing. From what we understood, the game's animations were being refined, but the bulk of the engineering and design were done. As a massive open-ended world with a deep storyline and an almost unlimited variation in character progression, testing for PE would have to be far more extensive than in most any other console game. It's been a few months since the last progress report at the Game Developers Conference and with E3 comes new details on Molyneux's RPG masterpiece.

The first thing to note is that Project Ego may not be called Project Ego anymore. Though the final name has not been announced, it's rumored to be Fable. Whatever the name, the story remains the same. As a young lad of only 15, you return home from an errand to find your parents kidnapped and your dog nailed to the front door. Ouch. The rest of the story involves your lifelong quest for revenge, ending with you becoming the greatest hero the world has ever known. How you get to that point is what makes Ego one of the most ambitious RPGs to ever hit the console world.

New on display was Ego's combat system. The game is a long ways off from being finished, as professed by creator Peter Molyneux, still the combat system seemed complete enough to evaluate. Combat in Ego varies based on the weapon you choose to wield. In the demo, the character was a master with a frying pan. Combat's in real time with actions and combos similar to what you'd find in an adventure game.

Enemy AI is very high. Bad guys hide in wheat fields, surround our hero for better attacks, and learns from the players actions. The world of Ego is massive, and it's rare for an RPG to have such a smooth combat system. Ego's a deep story with near limitless possibilities and a beautiful design. Tag on a quick, easy, combo-oriented combat system and you have a game that could be one of the best ever. But don't expect Ego anytime soon. The game won't be released until at least 2003.

Big Blue Box never really did set a suspected release date, but a lot of people thought it would come out at the end of this year. 2003 isn't so bad though for the 'best RPG ever.'