| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Review Archive >
Video Games
> Results: Fable
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
Referred to by many in the video game industry as a man with a Midas touch, this soft-spoken British game maker has enjoyed a string of critical and commercial successes, beginning with 1989's ﾓPopulous.ﾔ Then, in 1994, there was ﾓTheme Parkﾔ and ﾓMagic Carpet,ﾔ followed by ﾓDungeon Keeperﾔ in 1997 and his last best-seller, ﾓBlack & White,ﾔ in 2001. Molyneuxﾒs latest magnum opus, ﾓFable,ﾔ is now available, a game that took more than four years and 70 developers to create. So, does this Microsoft Xbox exclusive live up to the hype? The answer is yes and no. While this ambitious fantasy role-playing game (RPG) is a wonderfully open-ended and deep adventure, some technical niggles hurt the all-important suspension of disbelief. ﾓFableﾔ begins like many other RPGs ﾖ in a peaceful medieval village that falls under attack by an army of ruthless warriors. As a young boy, you take cover to evade harm and soon discover the invaders were searching for you. A mysterious figure appears, and then whisks you away to the Heroes Guild where you begin your training as a fighter and magic wielder. The rest of the story depends on your decisions as you begin to explore the world of Albion and take on various quests. Hereﾒs where the game gets interesting -- depending on your actions, players will become a respected hero or feared villain. Should you help a poor woman find her stray husband or slay her to pillage what little she has in her home? Your reputation will precede you; characters may applaud your good deeds or panic at the sight of your presence. Similar to LucasArtsﾒ ﾓStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic,ﾔ another RPG for the Xbox, your appearance will change over time to reflect your benevolence or malevolence. Enjoy a divine glow if you become a beloved hero or sprout horns and watch your eyes turn red and angry if you become evil.  Players can also purchase shops to make money. Your character can fall in love, get married and have kids. The game does a great job in making you believe you can do almost anything imaginable. ﾓFableﾔ enjoys a unique balance between action (via melee combat, range weapons and spell-casting), puzzle-solving and exploration. The game has mandatory quests and optional side-quests, plus other mini-games and challenges. An example of the latter is ﾓDemon Doors,ﾔ a stone face that blocks entrance to rare weapons and items. They can only be opened once a riddle has been answered. The biggest beef with ﾓFableﾔ is the load times between areas of a map. For example, walking from one part of a forest to a nearby town may have four or five separate load screens the player must sit through. This is unacceptable in video games today. Not only does this hurt the flow of the game but it affects the playerﾒs immersion in it ﾖ something a fantasy RPG requires for optimum enjoyment. Plus, Microsoft has touted its Xbox hard drive as a way to speed up load times yet weﾒve seen PlayStation 2 titles such as the ﾓJak and Daxterﾔ and ﾓSly Cooperﾔ series with virtually no load times at all ﾖ and there is no hard drive under the hood. A smaller issue lies in the bland-looking characters that give you quests, not to mention the lip-synching looks horribly off as their mouth movement is out of sync with their voices. If you can get past these few annoying shortcomings, ﾓFableﾔ will surely satisfy RPG fans for its incredible depth, open-ended game-play and a good story that gets even better about half-way through the adventure. Yes, Molyneux has done it again. Itﾒs just too bad the game isnﾒt as technically impressive as the content it somewhat hampers. Kid Factor Fable isnﾒt much of a game for kids as it contains extreme scenes of violence as well as strong sexual situations that include innuendo as well as heterosexual and homosexual acts. The sexual acts are heard and not seen, but trust me on this one, you donﾒt want your young kids hearing this. As with all things, use your best judgment as to what your children can handle but Iﾒm suggesting 16+. Kid Factor by Jason McMaster Ages: 16+ ESRB Rating: Mature Developer: Lionhead/Big Blue Box Publisher: Microsoft Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Fable |
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
