More Hands-On Previews of Fable
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Okay, so I've covered all of the meaty gameplay areas. Sure, there's more to touch on but this is a 400-page preview, there's just no more room to go on about combat and NPCs. Don't worry, once I get my hands on the gold build of Fable I'll delve deeper into as many aspects as possible before the final review. Moving on, there's still plenty of other smaller details to discuss. This game is so big and so obviously deep, I could go on for another novel or two. But I won't, because I'm lazy.
One aspect of Fable that shines from the very beginning and seems to carry throughout is the humor. The Carter brothers are some funny cats and that British humor translates well into the world of Albion. The reactions of NPCs are a riot. I mean, there just seems to be an overall sense of levity about people that is, well, realistic. Even in the darkest times, people are still going to crack jokes. It's not that humor is a focus of the game, it's just a byproduct of the people. Plus, a lot of the humor you'll be providing yourself. Just seeing the reactions of someone who is asking for your help only to then be served a knuckle sandwich -- oh it's priceless.
The second is at GameSpot:
Once you're out in the world you'll need to take a look around and decide if you will help or terrorize people. If it helps, we humbly suggest not helping too many people too soon. Helping others may help mold your reputation, but helping people can be a drag. Once you set a precedent in the game as being helpful, plan on being harassed a lot. For example, not long after your first foray into the real world, you'll rescue a group of picnic refugees who are being terrorized by a giant bee. If you manage to kill it and its spawn, the grateful townies will sing you praises and lead others to contact you for such help. The nice bit to all this is that once the bee is dead, you can equip the head as a trophy to raise basic appeal (by running around and showing people the severed head). An onscreen meter will clue you in on how many available eyes you've found to show it to. When triggering the meter, you'll start a timed minigame that will challenge you to show everyone in the town before times runs out. You'll restore time on the clock by showing the bee's head to people, which gives you an extra chance to get a perfect score.
The third is at GameInformer:
To help gain experience and increase my renown I've taken on a number of quests, some of which are even geared towards being a good hero or an evil one. One quest had me clearing out a forest out gigantic insects while another had me aiding some ruthless bandits as they tried to pilfer the goods from a local farm. Unfortunately Whisper showed up on the side of the (good guys) and I had to show her a thing or two about being a strong fighter. She vowed that our meeting won't be the last, but I'm just happy to walk away with all the gold that I did. With each Quest that I do complete a new one appears at the Guild. Although some of them require that I reach a certain level of renown before I can accept them, there seems to be no shortage of other Quests that I can participate in. One fun Quest had me protecting a bunch of merchants through a dangerous marsh as evil Hobbes, these odd dwarfish trolls, attacked. Once I guided them to their merchant camp I was awarded with a hefty amount of gold, although I rounded out my fee by cutting down the merchants and their comrades. To make accepting Quests easier my world is full of magical transports that allow me to instantaneously travel back to the Guild. As I come across new towns and locations, they're added to the list of available spots that I can transport to.
And the fourth is at TeamXbox:
Fable uses a combat system that resembles an action title more than an RPG. All combat is performed in real-time and there will be no queuing of attacks as in KotOR. Being you are only dealing with one character as opposed to a party, this system works extremely well and the controls are about as intuitive as they can be for a game of this scale.
