With no expectations Fable's not too shabby...

[whiteboyskim]

You know I've been playing this in fits and starts since I got it a couple weeks ago, and the last two days I've really been able to play it for about an hour and a half straight each day. In that regard, it's actually pretty cool. I think it's just a really pretty world to run around in, and it's cool to look around the beaten path and see if there are any "secret" paths that go off to random treasure or silver keys. I can see where the gripes would come in as the maps are not only very linear but also very small and after each one is that blasted load screen.

Regarding the history of Project Ego, I never really payed much attention to it. It was a Peter Molyneux game which, by definition, I'm not interested in until I hear enough good things to peak my curiosity. So it's not the soul-crushing disappointment for me that apparently it was for everyone else.

Running around and wacking things, then farting then flirting with the local barmaid is, for whatever reason, just what I was looking for right now. I see a lot of stats and such (and I still have no idea what the hell this combat multiplier is or how to get it higher or what the little 5-4-3-2-1 counter is in the top left corner that appears every now and ten) and leveling up pretty consistently is cool. It seems like a solid B title in my book, though I honestly don't see how or why this thing took so damn long to make. Oh well.

Also, any thoughts on what I can't figure out would be greatly appreciated.

[Jeff]

I very much enjoyed Fable, but like you, had no mountain of hype to overcome, and just took it for what it was, which is a basic hack n slash action RPG.  It incorporates some new ideas, and as you say the world is nice to look at.

The production values are extremely high. The voice acting, music, sound, and artwork are all top-notch.

I just finished it a few days ago, and sold it for $30 on half.com, and I certainly got $20 of enjoyment from it.  For the record, my final play time was 22 hours.

I'd recommend this one for people once it hits the $29 price mark.

[HankRaptor]

Oddly enough, I just got this title yesterday myself.

I really am enjoying it, it is really nice done, not TOO rpg for my tastes, and with the beginning of the game, I say it does a nice job of making you care about the carachter's in the game.

The best aspect is of course the very Molyneax GOOD AND EVIL concept.

I say Bravo! well done game, not the second coming it was billed to be, but good fun.

[Hamlet3145]

Any word on if this is ever going to come out on the PC or PS2?  (The two systems I own . . .)  

[Boxcar]

I think it's an Xbox-exclusive title (for now, at least). I wouldn't think it would be that hard to port over to the pc, but I've not seen or heard of any such plans.

[Beer Goggles]

Fable is on my to-do list.

[phormio]

So it's not the soul-crushing disappointment for me that apparently it was for everyone else.

I still have no idea what the hell this combat multiplier is or how to get it higher or what the little 5-4-3-2-1 counter is in the top left corner that appears every now and then

While not "soul crushing" for me, I was a trifle disappointed at first, even taking into account the Molyneux Factor. But that quickly evaporated as I got deeper into the game.

And I think "the little 5-4-3-2-1 counter" is the combat multiplier. Is it the one that appears in a little blue crossed sword emblem? As best I can tell without RTM, the more you can hit w/o being hit, the higher it goes and the more damage you do per hit. I think...  :? Should've paid more attention during my academy training I guess.

Anyway, overall I'm really liking Fable and I think I would give it a B+.

[Jeff]

And I think "the little 5-4-3-2-1 counter" is the combat multiplier. Is it the one that appears in a little blue crossed sword emblem? As best I can tell without RTM, the more you can hit w/o being hit, the higher it goes and the more damage you do per hit. I think...  :? Should've paid more attention during my academy training I guess.

Anyway, overall I'm really liking Fable and I think I would give it a B+.

A B+ is about what I'd give it overall too.

The combat multiplier works like this: It goes up 1 number for every time you hit someone, but if you get hit, it knocks it down again (I forget how much, but it's more than one)...  the multiplier does not affect damage done, but rather how many XP's are gained when you get a kill. If you'd normally get 40 xp's, but your mp is at 10, then you'd get 400 xp's for that kill.

[phormio]

Ahhhh, I see (now).  Muchas gracias Mr. Jones!

[Yossarian]

the weak ass ending drops it a full letter grade imo.

[Turtle]

If you find any "Ages of..." potions, wait until your combat multiplier is higher to use them.  Normally it's just 100 xp, but I've gotten 3-5000 xp depending on how high my multiplier is.

[whiteboyskim]

the weak ass ending drops it a full letter grade imo.

So I've heard. I just beat The Arena quest last night and got some more backstory (of course, doing the Arena while naked proved to be a bit more of a challenge, and that final boss and Whisper both sucked ass) and then I called it quits for the weekend. At the rate I'm going then I should be able to beat it within another week or so, and that's after getting slew of things. For example, I got married last night and rocked her world twice. My actual wife was laughing her head off, then stared agog at me when I wondered aloud whether I should get married in a couple other towns too. Fun stuff, that.

I can't decide whether I want to go back through as evil, mainly because it would result in me slaughtering everything and everyone in my path, and what fun is that unless the game is called GTA? Thus far, it's a solid B game for me, but if the ending sucks as badly as I've heard, then it may drop a bit.

[Jeff]

the weak ass ending drops it a full letter grade imo.

I kind of agree. I was gonna give it an A, ended up giving it a B+. I'm still very impressed with the overall production values of the game.

[EngineNo9]

If you find any "Ages of..." potions, wait until your combat multiplier is higher to use them.  Normally it's just 100 xp, but I've gotten 3-5000 xp depending on how high my multiplier is.

Man, I had no idea!  D'oh!

[vagabond]

The combat multiplier works like this: It goes up 1 number for every time you hit someone, but if you get hit, it knocks it down again (I forget how much, but it's more than one)... the multiplier does not affect damage done, but rather how many XP's are gained when you get a kill. If you'd normally get 40 xp's, but your mp is at 10, then you'd get 400 xp's for that kill.<<<<<<

This isn't exactly right, it goes up not based on how many "hit's you get but how much damage you do. If you hit the same thing with a stronger weapon it will go up more. It also takes much more to get it to go up the higher it gets. It also drops on it's own whether you get hit or not, just by not hitting anything yourself. The higher it is the faster it drops on it's own so the harder it gets to get it any higher.  I wouldn't worry about it too much because it is far too easy to get experience in this game and the combat is too easy as it is. I played through the first time without even making the tiniest effort to raise it any.

[Thin_J]

I can't decide whether I want to go back through as evil, mainly because it would result in me slaughtering everything and everyone in my path, and what fun is that unless the game is called GTA?

Other things change when you go to the evil side.

The "Vulgar Thrust" is one thing I found ridiculously hilarious the first time I saw a raging huge musclebound axe-carrying guy with horns growing out of his head doing it to a bar-maid.

It's become such an in joke to say "Come ooon" between my friends and I that one of them actually did the thrusting motion and said it when he was inside the Geoffrey the Giraffe costume at work.

One day we plan to take video of him doing it to someone else in the Care-Bear costume we have.

[Sepiche]

It's become such an in joke to say "Come ooon" between my friends and I that one of them actually did the thrusting motion and said it when he was inside the Geoffrey the Giraffe costume at work.

One day we plan to take video of him doing it to someone else in the Care-Bear costume we have.

Hang on... you have access to a Geoffrey the Giraffe costume AND a carebear costume and you haven't ALREADY made vulgar videos of them in compromising positions?!?  What's the hold up?

s

[CeeKay]

the weak ass ending drops it a full letter grade imo.

I kind of agree. I was gonna give it an A, ended up giving it a B+. I'm still very impressed with the overall production values of the game.

I agree too.  The final boss was way to easy, but then again I did have alot of stuff maxed out by the time I got to him.  I basically used level 4 lightning bolt on him-  he couldn't move or do anything except for the few seconds when I rehcarged my mana.

All in all I got 25 hours of play time out of Fable, which made me happy.

[Gratch]

the weak ass ending drops it a full letter grade imo.

I kind of agree. I was gonna give it an A, ended up giving it a B+. I'm still very impressed with the overall production values of the game.

Amen to that.  I had a blast with the game, but just like so many other recent hack-n-slash games (Baldur's Gate II, D&D Heroes, Sudeki, etc.), they forgot to actually give it an ending.  

Solid B game in my book.

[JLu]

I liked it quite a bit (no expectations going in however).  Only ran into difficulty on a timed mission and the arena (first time i neglected to load up on health potions).  Took me about 20 hours I'd say, and not much replayability for me unfortunately, but it was well worth the purchase for me.