Fable: The Lost Chapters. Lionhead Studios XBox and Windows PC

This highly anticipated, and very much hyped RPG from Peter Molyneux which featured a lush and (even today) well-rendered world, various character interactions, and a Good-Evil system of game play, which allowed for NPCs to react positively or negatively towards the player depending on how Good or Evil you decided to be.

The game was pitched with many promises that just didn't make the cut (Similar to Molyneux's Dungeon Keeper some years earlier) such as trees growing over time, or an open environment (Sandbox style). These features were removed for technical, time, or simply Not Needed reasons, though many critics (and some players) were understandably upset that they didn't get the so-called "promised features" in. Another complaint was that there were sections of the game and bits of story that felt "half finished". It turns out that this was partially true, as Fable: The Lost Chapters was released with additional story, additional characters, and a post-game section of game that takes place in the previously mentioned, but unreachable Northern Wastes. The PC version of Fable was ONLY available as "The Lost Chapters", whereas the XBox version came out as both. Fable (Non-Lost Chapters) is available on Microsoft's "XBox Live Marketplace" as one of the XBox Originals.

Game play: 7/10.

The interface, controls, and layout of the game are good without being groundbreaking or great. Everything fits and feels right, straight out of the box... The XBox, that is. The controls on the PC are iffy at best, and no easy way to use a game controller instead of mouse and keyboard (Yes, this is one of those rare games where it really DOES work better with a controller). You can, of course, tweak the controls to better suit you if need be.  The only major gripe I have is the same one Peter Molyneux had: The Mini-map. See Graphics below.

The overall plot involves you as a young boy performing errands to save up money to buy your sister a birthday present. It turns out that your sister has been having prophetic dreams of destruction, and has even kept you up at night with her nightmares. As you give her your present, bandits raid the village killing everyone, though at your sister's request you've hidden yourself. As you run back to town, you see your house in flames, people dead in the streets and a bandit coming at you.

A wizard, named Maze, comes to your rescue, and brings you to the Guild of Heroes, a grand, if a bit inaccurate, name for the place where everyday folk bring news of missions and requests to those brave and strong enough to fulfill them. Not all of the missions are Good, however, as you will have many occasions to destroy a farm instead of save it, or kill a group of merchants instead of escorting them.

Throughout the game you will find merchants who can sell new hair and beard styles (your hair grows over time), armour and clothing that can affect your attractiveness or alignment, or tattoo artists who can make you look more fearsome or friendly. There's even a Nickname merchant, so you can run around as Ranger or Avatar instead of the default Chicken Chaser. People respond and refer to you as your nickname, as your screen name has no baring at all on the game.

Another point of criticism is that there is very little character customization. None apart from those mentioned above. You will always be the same little boy, and the same teenager, and not until you're an adult can you change any of it.

Food plays an important role in the game as well. It will heal you, in the traditional RPG way, as well as make you fat if you eat too much, drunk if you drink too much alcohol, and some even make you more good (tofu) or evil (live baby chickens).

Your hair and facial features change over time based on damage taken, alignment, and age. You do age rather quickly compared to everyone else in the world.... They never get a day older.

Lastly, we have marriage. There are no same-sex or polygamy laws in Albion, so take as many husbands or wives as you want... Just make sure you have a residence for them. There's even a brothel, but that involves spoilers, so you'll have to find that out for yourself.

The world is divided into sections, so no Oblivion-style world encompassing vistas here. In regards to running from area to area, the style is closer to traditional JRPG (with more camera control).

Graphics compared to Modern Games:  7/10

Even though this is an XBox 1-era game, the developers did a masterful job on the visuals, whether it be the way the sky changes from day to night, or the soft glow the world has that makes it seem more magical, or the beautiful (if limited) layouts of the cities and dungeons. People are recognizable from a distance, and the mildly cartoony style fits in with the magical-fantasy genre without a backwards glance. The fact that everything is segregated into sections makes this possible without performance loss, but does make the game feel smaller.

The GUI is, as I said, simple and well laid out. The major issue is the aforementioned Mini-Map. It sits like a big ugly stamp at the upper right of the screen, and has no option of being turned off.

Now, it does serve it's purpose: Some of the areas can be a bit confusing to navigate, due to the grasses and trees, and it does show enemies, quest characters, merchants, and exits, however it does so in such a harsh way as to distract you from the world around you. This is quite possibly the best LOOKING world of the XBox/PS2/GameCube generation, but you'll spend more time looking at the map than you will at the game.

Sound and Music: 8/10

The score is wonderfully done, and very subtle. No overpowering Ultima VII combat music, nor the sudden often-times mismatched styles of a Final Fantasy (Suddenly entering combat from Ipsen's Castle, anyone?)

Sound Effects are also produced in a manner that fits the style, fits the game, and isn't overbearing. Again, subtleness was the aim and is key in making things flow together. Whether it's the people speaking to each other, children playing, or the sound of a chicken being kicked(!), none of the sounds overpower the others, aside to some of the more powerful spells... But that's as should be.

The surround sound is well-balanced and welcome as it lets you hear the people and creatures behind you, but due to the mini-map, it really doesn't come into play often as anything more than just a "Nice Feature"

Overall compared to modern games: 6/10

Sadly, as beautiful and overall FUN as this game really is, it's just too "small" in scope to compare to a Lost Odyssey or Oblivion, or even Eternal Sonata. If you want a quicky game that looks good, plays great, and is just fun for the sake of fun, I highly recommend it. Don't pay more than $15 for it, though.

With Fable 2 coming out this year (we hope) and all of the promises made and SHOWN this time, maybe returning to Albion will become as desirable as returning to Tamriel

Plot: WARNING! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

After you leave the guild, you're set on a number of quests (some with the choice of good or evil versions), and you end up finding out about the back-story of your family, and your future.

It turns out your Mother was one of the most famous Heroes of all time. Another former Hero, Twinblade, has your captive, blinded sister as his personal seeress. At first you think he's the one who raided your village and kidnapped her, but it turns out he saved her. A third former Hero, Jack of Blades, is running the Ablion Arena where you and your former childhood playmate/rival Whisper have to fight through round after round of enemies.

In the end, Jack is the Ultimate Bad Guy. He sent the bandits to raid your village. He sent Maze to track you until you fulfilled your destiny (and allowed Jack access to more power), and he was supposed to kill you and your sister after. He also kills your mother shortly after your reunion, and when you kill him, you have the choice of destroying him forever or becoming him.

That's where Fable ends, and The Lost Chapters pick up.

It turns out that in the far, frozen, distant Northern Wastes a new evil is rising. You travel to the north with the help of a Flying Dutchman style ship (need to light a special Lighthouse, etc etc) and find out that the Oracle there knows all about the history of the world, where various NPCs you've known are (assuming you didn't kill them), and how to defeat the new evil. After more Good/Evil decisions about how to get the needed items to defeat the new Evil, you finally face a giant red dragon........ AKA Jack. Yeah, he's back. Again. Once you beat him, you again get to choose between being Good or Evil.

This is actually the weak point of the game: The story is OK overall and fits the game well, but the end-game is very generic overall. The world and its history seem to be well thought out and well rounded, but not really used. Heck, the entire game takes place on one coast and some islands, really. Hopefully Fable 2 will make better use of the world and its history.