GameBanshee Feature: Fable Preview

We've posted a preview of Big Blue Box's Fable, in which Baedden discusses the RPGs of 2003 and why this upcoming Xbox RPG could be a strong hit in 2004. An excerpt:
Despite being in development for four years, little is still known about Fable's gameplay. We know that it's supposed to offer exactly the kind of experience that, on paper, would satisfy both PC and console RPG enthusiasts. The game claims to have fast-action twitch-type combat that involves special moves and the like, but also an incredibly reactive character and environment that evolves based on the gamer's play style as much as his moral and ethical decisions.

Fable's hook is that any action you take will affect the rest of the game. If you consistently choose to use your sword instead of your magic abilities, your muscles get bigger. If you spend a lot of time doing nothing, they get flabby. If you get scarred in a battle, the scar lasts for the rest of your game life. If you save a damsel in distress, the people of her village start to follow you around like you're a celebrity. But doing so causes a rival hero to decide to do something about the fact that you're muscling in on his territory, since the people who once followed him now follow you.