Reviews// Fable

There are plenty of opportunities to exercise your violent tendencies outside the context of the main missions, which makes combat a central part of Fable. For the most part, the fighting sequences are implemented well with an action system similar to any generic hack ‘n’ slash. There’s a sizeable selection of weapons: ranging from katana swords to extremely unpleasant looking pick-hammers, and you can combine melee moves with attack magic and projectile weapons. It’s no Ninja Gaiden, but it works well and maintains a steady pace of action. But again, it is when you take this out of the context of the main storyline that fighting comes into its own; with a variety of arena tournaments and street gang fistfights opening up as the game progresses.

Just like numerous other RPGs, gambling mini-games are an important constituent of the distractions and can be an important way to win, or lose, money. You can also place bets to complete certain missions under special ‘boast’ conditions: like battling a rock troll wearing only your pants. There are also more standard gambling activities: blackjack, spot the pair and penny golf, among others; but best of all is the opportunity for revenge in the event of failure. If you’ve just had to battle a horde of monsters, and accidentally splurged all the subsequent loot in a flutter on the blackjack table, you can’t just go back to a custom made save-point – you’ll have to go all the way back to the beginning of your last mission. This prevents the customary loop-hole exploitation where you backtrack over any unlucky mistakes, and it also means you do get genuinely upset when you lose. This, in turn, makes the option for a bloodcurdling revenge even more satisfying. You can hit those characters you know you’re not supposed to (this was made frighteningly clear in the opening tutorial section when we ‘accidentally’ clouted a six year old girl in the face)

The incentive to deviate from the paths of the main missions is increased with the pleasing level of detail gone in to constructing the environments and characters. The graphics and the style of design are both of an excellent quality and really contribute to adding to Fable’s immersive nature. There’s also plenty of comedy tongue-in-cheek moments, many offered by the surprisingly wide array of British regional accents: Geordies, Scousers and Brummies are all present and correct alongside the standard scrumpytastic Albion accent, which seems to be rooted somewhere in the depths of the West Country. In moments of desperation or boredom, continuing this Cornish tradition, it’s also possible to get leathered on a few flagons of cider: the world around goes a bit swirly for a while, and then you throw up suddenly and without warning, perhaps in the lap of a blushing young suitor.