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Fable: The Lost Chapters - Hands On Preview
Chris Leyton
09/09/2005
TVG returns to Albion in the search of the lost chapter, new quests, spells and much more...
Never one to usually crank out titles the fact that Lionhead have three games coming out in relative succession is surprising alone, although the most cynical could argue that Fable: The Lost Chapters is merely what should have come before.
TVG recently got its hands on a complete build and have been busily reacquainting ourselves with the wonderful world of Albion. Set for release on the PC towards the end of the month followed by a cut-price Xbox adaptation, Fable: The Lost Chapters is brimming full of new content right from the start.
For those unlucky enough not to have sampled the Xbox version Fable: The Lost Chapters presents an RPG where the player defines the hero, whether good or evil. Despite its positives the game however did attract criticism, largely stemming from the high expectations surrounding the game and for the most part focussing on the relative lack of content. The Lost Chapters is a time to make amends, with new quests, items and areas to explore; although weāre never going to complain about more Fable, the question does arise that perhaps this is what the original should have been perhaps if somebody hadnāt been so desperate to launch for the crucial Christmas 2004 period!
One major enhancement immediately evident is the load times, or lack of them to be precise. The Xbox versionās lengthy interruptions hindered the flow of the game and emphasised the feeling that instead of exploring one cohesive world the game was in fact a series of split areas. Although thereās a brief pause whilst the map of the new area is displayed, the progress between one area and another is almost instantaneous and extremely welcome.
Starting out as a child and developing into an adult is still a regimentally structured experience, although even these ātutorialā stages contain new content such as a cut-scene between the boyās mentor Maze and a mysterious hero. When the game properly gets underway the surprises continue, from finding hallucinogenic blue mushrooms (one of the tripped-out travellersā sounds just like Danny the drug dealer from cult-classic āWithnail And Iā) to a chicken kicking competition on the Bowerstone pier and a heavily demanded fishing contest.
Itās not just a case of new people to see and new areas to explore, Lionhead have added two epic magic spells; Divine Fury and Infernal Wrath are both charge spells with dramatic effects, hold the button for a few seconds and watch opponents in the vicinity take major damage ā“ naturally one is good and the otherās evil.
Every aspect of the game has also been closely looked at and polished. One particular flaw with the Xbox version was the sheer ease to make lots of money early on in the game from the āPairsā card game in Bowerstone, thus making it possible to purchase a mighty weapon from the start and progress through the game with few difficulties; for The Lost Chapters Lionhead have reduced the target time on this particular example from 40 seconds to 30 seconds, thus making the aforementioned strategy almost impossible this time around.
We wouldnāt want to spoil any further surprises for Fable fans looking forward to seeing what Lionhead have in store (weāre the same, and something about Microsoftās embargos puts us off), suffice to say thereās a surprising amount presented right from the start and expanding as you get further and further into the game.
One aspect that has become more noticeable is the appearance of rival heroes. Comments made before the release of Fable suggested that the completion of quests would be against such competitors; however its implementation was slightly shallow and largely missing on the Xbox. Extra cut-scenes and seeing the other heroes out and about create the sensation that youāre not the only hero, significantly closing the gap on the original vision and emphasising the main characterās rise from nobody to the greatest hero Albion has ever witnessed.
With the wealth of new content Fable fans and RPG aficionados alike have something to look forward to with the forthcoming release; itās charming appeal and accessible take on RPGās should also be a tempting prospect for those put off by the typical complexity. Sadly there is one area which is looking likely to disappoint when compared to its origins on the Xbox, this game just wasnāt designed around a mouse and a keyboard. Controlling the character, camera and basic manoeuvres is swift and responsive; the larger array of emotions/items mapped to hot-keys is also handy. There is however a large amount of keys to use in conjunction with the mouse whilst magic requires holding onto a key in combination with the two mouse buttons, as you can probably gather thereās a lot of switching as you desperately attempt to get the right spell and then go past it! The targeting system, or more specifically switching between targets, is also a clunky affair, which largely leaves free combat as the best means to progress.
The PC adaptation throws up another advantage in being able to play at a higher resolution, bringing the true majesty of Fableās visual style to the screen. Fable was a great looking game on the Xbox and still continues to look impressive close to a year later; the game is packed with detail however itās the overall style that sets this out from the rest of the crowd.
Anonymous
Date Added:Sun 4th Mar 2007 00:16
Anonymous
Date Added:Wed 13th Dec 2006 03:43