RangerWickett
Legend
Addicting, yes. Pretty, yes. But the story is not good.
Fable is fantasy's Grand Theft Auto III, watered down. It gives you a lot of options, and lets you be as evil as your sick desires demand, but in the end nothing you do really matters. Considering how much the hype and the game itself harp on being able to choose your path -- good or evil -- what does it all amount to? Well, if you're good, people have hearts over their heads, since they like you. If you're evil, people run away.
That's it.
Be good, be evil. It doesn't matter. You can't influence any of the major characters (most of whom you barely interact with except when you fight them). Sure, it's easier to get a wife if you're good, and it's cruelly fun to be evil, but the plot is not influenced a bit by what you do.
Now, I haven't played Knights of the Old Republic, but from what I've heard, it actually matters what you do. The storyline branches, at least a bit. It is actually a roleplaying game, in that part of the game is how you act.
If you compare Fable to, say, Final Fantasy X (a game which I loved), they seem to suffer the same 'problems.' I mean, in FFX, you can't change the plot. In FFX, all you really do to win the game is fight the things the game tells you to fight. In that sense, yes, Fable is just the same. But FFX has adventure, drama, engaging characters, and an intriguing concept for the world.
Fable's story is just bland. The illusion of choice lures you into playing it for hours, and sure, leveling up is fun, but it's just not good enough. The monsters get repetitive, items aren't cool enough, and those few characters you actually are intrigued with don't do anything.
Minor spoiler. At one point, you have the chance to kill or spare one of the main characters. If you do, you get a special prize, and there are no repercussions. If you don't, you get warm fuzzies, and you never see the character again. So really, the game doesn't care what you decide.
After playing the game for 15 hours, the only choice I care about is that I wish I hadn't picked up the game in the first place.
For interesting ideas and gameplay but a disappointing failure to live up to any of the hype or pioneer anything, I give it a 2 out of 5. If you want a roleplaying game with all the character-building aspects of Fable, but with an actually interesting plot, play Def Jam 2.
Fable is fantasy's Grand Theft Auto III, watered down. It gives you a lot of options, and lets you be as evil as your sick desires demand, but in the end nothing you do really matters. Considering how much the hype and the game itself harp on being able to choose your path -- good or evil -- what does it all amount to? Well, if you're good, people have hearts over their heads, since they like you. If you're evil, people run away.
That's it.
Be good, be evil. It doesn't matter. You can't influence any of the major characters (most of whom you barely interact with except when you fight them). Sure, it's easier to get a wife if you're good, and it's cruelly fun to be evil, but the plot is not influenced a bit by what you do.
Now, I haven't played Knights of the Old Republic, but from what I've heard, it actually matters what you do. The storyline branches, at least a bit. It is actually a roleplaying game, in that part of the game is how you act.
If you compare Fable to, say, Final Fantasy X (a game which I loved), they seem to suffer the same 'problems.' I mean, in FFX, you can't change the plot. In FFX, all you really do to win the game is fight the things the game tells you to fight. In that sense, yes, Fable is just the same. But FFX has adventure, drama, engaging characters, and an intriguing concept for the world.
Fable's story is just bland. The illusion of choice lures you into playing it for hours, and sure, leveling up is fun, but it's just not good enough. The monsters get repetitive, items aren't cool enough, and those few characters you actually are intrigued with don't do anything.
Minor spoiler. At one point, you have the chance to kill or spare one of the main characters. If you do, you get a special prize, and there are no repercussions. If you don't, you get warm fuzzies, and you never see the character again. So really, the game doesn't care what you decide.
After playing the game for 15 hours, the only choice I care about is that I wish I hadn't picked up the game in the first place.
For interesting ideas and gameplay but a disappointing failure to live up to any of the hype or pioneer anything, I give it a 2 out of 5. If you want a roleplaying game with all the character-building aspects of Fable, but with an actually interesting plot, play Def Jam 2.
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