Ginormous Fable Preview

Acebot44 · 08-09-2004, 05:47 PM

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Fable went gold in July

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While you wouldn't think it to look at the game, Fable is replete with layer upon layer of statistics. Traditional RPG enthusiasts will be in heaven, trying to squash every last point into such esoteric categories as how often you puke, how much sex you have and your furthest chicken kick. At the same time, you're not overwhelmed by numbers as you wander through the game world. One of the defining characteristics of the game is that the depth is there if you're looking for it, but you're not going to be forced to deal with it...

Professor S · 08-09-2004, 06:08 PM

This is just awesome:

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With the progression of videogame technology, one of the most important and unseen areas of advancements has been in artificial intelligence. Fable has five AI systems running simultaneously, governing the world and its economy, non-player characters and their relationships with you, and enemy monsters. The malleability of these was ably demonstrated during quality control by a teenage tester at Lionhead who sought to determine the depth of the economic system. He moved into a town, and subsequently went on to kill every resident. This caused a severe drop in property prices, which he took advantage of to buy up every building in town. Once people started to move back in, he - as sole landlord for the entire village - simply raised the rent on all his property and proceeded to make a fortune. Albion - the setting for Fable - is imbued with a full economic system, and this is just an example of what's possible. Only your lack of imagination will anchor you down.

As is this, but I already knew this. Its just nice to see it still made the game.

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There are more than fifty different weapon types. Of these, bows deserve special mention, as they are an integral secondary weapon for long-range attacks. The left analog stick is used to aim, and the strength of the shot is determined by how far you pull back the arrow using a face button. Your weapons have another, more visible effect too. Wielding large swords requires more strength, and the more you fling around your mighty blade, the stronger - statistically and visually - you'll become.

This also has a couple of nice tidbits in it.

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What's more impressive is that each of the 22,000 lines that make up Fable's script is fully voiced. While it's fairly common these days for a game to have voice acting, most of them only take around ten hours to compete. Fable, on the other hand, clocks in at an impressive 20-30 hours, and that's if you ignore every non-essential facet of the story and speed your way through as fast as you can. Surprisingly, British voice actors have been used throughout. While this would seem fairly obvious, considering the birthplace of the game, it's still an impressive leap of faith on the part of the developer in an industry currently dominated by North America. Despite the paucity of big-name talent, the quality is impeccable and complements the detailed script to a T.

I haven't finished reading it yet so if I find anything else of note, I'll pst it. Nice find Ace!

Typhoid · 08-09-2004, 06:10 PM

Thats cool, but when it says the kid moved into a town and killed everyone, it was talking about NPC's right? Or can you kill actual people in it? Just for fun, you know.

And, might i add, WOO!!!! this is, and will probably the best RPG released for a while.

EDIT: Opps, added 3 extra letters( thinking about Shenmue).

Acebot44 · 08-09-2004, 06:13 PM

Haha, it's not an MMORPG. Never was...you're joking right?

Dyne · 08-09-2004, 06:15 PM

Fable and Morrowind sort of fit into the offline MMORPG category.

Professor S · 08-09-2004, 06:21 PM

Here's a note for those of you concerned about graphics:

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In a game filled with so much to do, it almost seems an insult to discuss how it looks. There have been some rumblings to suggest that the game is looking worse over time. Let me allay your fears. Fable looks great. It is not the best looking game on the Xbox, but at the same time the production design speaks of a focused team with a vision of how their world should look. There is consistency and vibrancy in every item and person in the world. Character models are detailed and animate superbly, even during the fast-paced battle sequences. There is no slowdown evident in the near-final release candidate we played, and despite the massive scale of the world, there's no popup either.

And here is their final word:

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When the game was first announced, Molyneux predicted that Project Ego (as it was titled back then) would be the best RPG ever made. What we have seen and played would have us thinking along the same lines. Fable is huge, gorgeous and a joy to play. There is a distinct disparity between story-centric and gameplay-centric titles, and Fable seems to be in a unique position of being able to cover both approaches. Certainly, it's one of the most ambitious titles of this or any other generation of videogames. But it's much more than that. Fable is a sterling example of the best that videogames have to offer, and come autumn, it will be responsible for turning millions of gamers into something more - heroes.

One month is too long to wait.

Crono · 08-09-2004, 06:24 PM

After reading that... wow... just wow... I need to buy an Xbox.

Canyarion · 08-10-2004, 04:18 AM

Kicking chickens?

Is it the new cow-tipping?

Seriously, they shouldn't suggest things like that in games.

(and don't give me crap that Zelda had you abusing chickens, it was different)

Professor S · 08-10-2004, 10:34 AM

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Originally Posted by Canyarion

Kicking chickens?

Is it the new cow-tipping?

Seriously, they shouldn't suggest things like that in games.

(and don't give me crap that Zelda had you abusing chickens, it was different)

They don't make kicking chickens a part of the quests or even suggest that you should do it, they just let you know that you can do it if you want to. Its just one of the many moral decisions that you can or cannot make in the game.

Don't blame the game, blame the player because he is the one who has decided to abuse the animals, the game just allowed him the option of doing it if he wished (just like... *gasp*... real life)

Null · 08-10-2004, 12:14 PM

Can you pick up the chickens and carry them? because in zelda i always enjoyed throwing chickens off a cliff or such.

in this it would be fun to carry a chicken to the top of a cliff, then give a big kick off.

Acebot44 · 08-10-2004, 05:10 PM

Well, you can kick heads off of hills. Hopefully you can pick up chickens and move to a desired spot to punt them

That's gonna be fun!

bobcat · 08-10-2004, 05:55 PM

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Originally Posted by Acebot44

Well, you can kick heads off of hills. Hopefully you can pick up chickens and move to a desired spot to punt them

That's gonna be fun!

is that a chicken??

@.@ It looks like a fish

Acebot44 · 08-10-2004, 05:57 PM

Look closely...it's the head of a Bandit who you just decapitated

Swan · 08-10-2004, 05:59 PM

This game looks great. I wish I had money for an X-box.

What are you going to do if you get it? I mean are you going to play evil, good or in between?

Typhoid · 08-10-2004, 06:24 PM

While the graphics are good, they are still meh to me. I mean, i thought the decapetated head was a fish too. And deep down i still do. Any game where a fish is mixed up for a decapatated head has some graphicular problems. Im not knocking the whole thing, its just all i heard about was " The graphics in fable this and that" and they dont really blow me away like i thought they would.

And Deej, never ever ever EVER put a hyphen between the "X" and the "b" it doesnt belong there. They dont go together. Like liver and sugar, they just dont work.