After 4 years, 'Fable' finally arrives on Xbox

When Peter Molyneux, the head of Lionhead Studios, unveiled his latest creation, "Fable," to the gaming world nearly four years ago, he promised it would be the best role playing game ever made.\nFour years ago that may have very well been true, but now that the game has finally hit shelves, and several features that would have made the game groundbreaking have been removed, it's now merely a very good RPG.\nThe graphics in this game are very bright, varied and stylish. The world of Albion is reminiscent of a European countryside, and it really comes alive as you walk through it. Unfortunately, this breathtaking scenery also confines the player to set paths, so there's not much more to see beyond what's immediately visible.\nMusic and sound effects are also quite good, though not even the Danny Elfman-composed opening theme is particularly memorable. The music and sound effects fit the scene, and that's about it. Voiceover work is of a particularly highquality, however, and many of the one-liners in a cockney British accent made me crack up the first time I heard them.\nBut stylish graphics and a worthy soundtrack can only take a game so far if the gameplay sucks. Luckily, "Fable's" gameplay does not suck. A system that keeps track of good and evil choices similar to another Xbox RPG, "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic," is just as entertaining here. For some reason, randomly killing villagers because they boo you just doesn't get old.\nCombat, while only requiring two buttons to swing a melee weapon, is quite fun, and knowing when to block and when to use more powerful attacks and magic adds a nice bit of depth. I certainly prefer it to the turn-based borefest of most modern RPGs.\nWhile "Fable" may not be the best RPG available (sorry, that definitely goes to "Knights of the Old Republic"), it's still a damn good game and well worth $50.