Magic: This game has some great magic. There are 16 spells, and so far I have achieved seven of them. You can upgrade the magic four times, as well as combine spells. I usually do not play RPGs as a magic character, but the magic in Fable is very accessible and fun.
NPC interaction: You can marry people, buy and rent property, own shops, plus more. There is an expression system, and you learn more expression as your quest continues. I just learned Sexy Hero Pose, which works great on the ladies. You can also give people the finger, sneer at them, and the maniacal laugh is pretty good too.
User interface: Both the HUD (heads up display) and the button configuration of Fable are well designed. The controls to get to your magic spells and favorites are right under the R trigger. The XBox controller is really well designed for the large number of controls of an RPG. The HUD does not get in the way and you can set it to be semi-transparent, I wish more games would do this. Switching from melee, to ranged, to magical combat is very smooth. Fable's user interface design is well thought out.
Graphics and sound: Fable has lush environments to walk around in. Very pretty eye candy all around. The score is great. Nothing to complain about there. The voice acting is above par. The NPCs get repetitive, but you will always have that.
Creature design: The creature design and the amount of different creatures in the game are well varied. Cool stuff.
What I did not like:
Time and age: If you play through as a mage, and just use magic, you will age very quickly. If you use ranged weapons you will stay younger longer. I have one character that is very old and one who looks not that much older then the 19 year old kid leaving the Heros Guild for the first time. Both characters are in similar parts in their quest. It is not annoying, just odd.
Frame rate: This game skips frames every so often. And I have found it to be jumpy when it is only you on screen and not you with a swarm of enemies (although that has happened too). It is not enough to be terribly annoying, but it is noticeable.
Picking up Items: If you examine something, and it has an item, you have to pick it up, you cannot leave it. I would have liked a system closer to Morrowind where you have the choice to leave items, as well as drop things. You receive evil points for stealing, so you have to weight the consequences unless you are going for the evil side of things.
Article comments