Fable: The Lost Chapters

The Good
The new content, more quests, more areas to go and just more than the original game

The dragon quest was amazing, with great graphics and fluid movements. It was challenging and felt better of an ending boss than the original games ending boss.

Avo's Tear was really cool because i was always good and really wanted the Sword of Aeons in the original game but i had to throw it away.

The money glitch is really cool in TLC and is (probably) better than the glitch in the original. When you get level 7 guile, sell all gems to any trader and than buy them back and you get 100+ gold for each.

Also, during the souls quest, if you go through the demon door in Darkwood Bordello, look around for a digging spot and when you dig there, you will find an exp. augmentation.

The Bad
You couldn't do the glitches as in the first game such as the dig glitch.

It is really hard to get the 30 key chest since one of the keys you need to get requires you to marry lady grey but that isn't the end of the quest since there is more to lady grey ( i wont spoil what she did but if you tell the guard about it you get good points and become the mayor of Bowerstone but if you marry lady grey you have to (i believe) accept to cover up the incident and get evil points for it).

ONE VERY BAD THING: They brought down the damage of every weapon in the game so the Sword of Aeons in the original game (550) was brought down significantly in the new game (230) and now the weapon with the most damage is the Solus great sword (315)

The Bottom Line
A game that should be in all gamers libraries and is defiantly worth the money (xbox version is 30$ less than the original's price on release).

The Good
The best aspects of Fable: The Lost Chapters to me was the music and audio. The main theme song was composed by Danny Elfman, a veteran of the movie soundtrack industry and it's such a fitting and memorable tune that you shouldn't be surprised if you find yourself whistling it to yourself every so often! Sound effects and voice-acting are also top notch so Lionhead definitely didn't fail in those regards.

The game itself is one in a small niche of games (including the likes of Knights of the Old Republic) that explores the ideas of moral alignment and which have virtual denizens that respond accordingly (i.e. cower in fear if you're evil, or cheer you on if you're good).

The amount of detail put into your character's physical appearance is also worthy of merit. If you get beaten up too much during fights, it will show in the form of battle scars over your body. You can also equip your character with different clothes, hair styles and tattoos (which you can make yourself if you're the creative sort). Your character also ages with time, so as you approach 60, you'll start noticing more wrinkles and liver spots.

The Bad
Even though the game is apparently longer than the original Fable on X-Box, it is still rather short for a RPG. I finished the game in ~30 hours and that's after completing probably 90% of the quests for a particular alignment (good or evil). The ending was also slightly lackluster, hinting towards a sequel IMHO.

Even though the graphics overall are good, shading is a bit of a problem on modest video cards. I have a Radeon 9800 Pro and I couldn't put the maximum shadows setting on. The reason I was attempting to was that the shadows looked rather blocky on the models, even though everything else looks exceptional.

For a PC RPG, there may be the impression of limited freedom when compared to its counterparts. As this game was ported from an X-Box, areas tend to be small and there'll be a lot of loading screens to go from one location to the next (however this is reportedly much quicker on PCs than the X-Box, so it's not too much of an issue). Most of the times you pick to do good or evil things only have two choices rather than games like Knights of the Old Republic 2 where you have multiple choices and where the good choices don't necessarily turn out that way.

The Bottom Line
Fable: The Lost Chapters would appeal to console gamers out there who want to try an RPG with slightly more freedom than standard fare or for PC role-playing enthusiasts who want a short but fun action-oriented RPG. It is nothing revolutionary but it does manage to carve its own niche by borrowing some of the "good vs evil" elements from games like Knights of the Old Republic and some of the simulated life antics found in games like The Sims. Not exactly "the greatest RPG of all time" as Peter Molyneux would lead you to believe, but a fun game in its own right.

The Good
Fable, the ambitious game formerly known as “Project: Ego” Was leaked to the public in about 2002. From the get go it seemed like one of those games that would never come out. It seemed to be just too big of a project, even for Lionhead Studios, whom have always been known for pushing the envelope. I preordered the game and when it shipped I raced home to play it. In the end it was not as unique as I was led to believe but still a solid RPG. Later Fable: The Lost Chapters came out. Having enjoyed the original version I had to play this one. For 20 bucks I got a more complete Fable, and found myself enjoying it again.

Fable begins with you, as a lad in Oakvale, a sleepy village in Albion. After playing a portion teaching you learn about the morality of the land as well as a few other things. After this tutorial, Oakvale is raided by bandits, you survive, few others do. From here you are taken to the Hero’s Guild. Where you train to become a great hero.

After you graduate it is up to you how you will carve your destiny. You can be a righteous warrior, a seedy assassin, or powerful mage. This is really where Fable shines. The freedom you have in what type of character you play as well as how you play it is excellent. Yes other games have done similar things. But in most of those games you choose these things before you start playing. This game reacts to your actions.

You also have control over the way your warrior looks. That includes haircuts, tattoos, and the weapons and armor you use. NPCS will even react to how you look! Woman and even men will either fall in love with you or be disgusted by you. Your prestige also plays a factor in this. The more popular you are the more people will like even if you are unattractive, kinda like real life.

By completing quests you gain prestige and become more popular. You can also show off any trophies that you have won on quests. You can also be an example to others. If being evil is your goal you can make the populace fear you. This can be achieved by taking evil quests. And by committing crimes and just being rude.

You even have freedom over your class. Drinking habits. And sex life. You can be hetero, homo, or even bi, sexual. You could even opt to be chaste.(But what fun would that be?) However before any of that sort of thing can take place you must marry. You can marry once in every village. For a total of 6 wives. (Why would you want more than one? Insanity?)

There are some discrepancies in the morality system, but more on that later. The plot is simple but enjoyable and to the point, with a few plot twists thrown in for good measure.

The Graphics in Fable are incredible. The detail put into the areas, monsters weapons, armor, and characters are great. The power of the Xbox is shown here in full force. The lighting effects are superb as are spell effects. It is hard to put into words how great this game looks, so I will stop now.

The Music and Sound department excels as well. With the main theme of Fable composed by Danny Elfman, how can you go wrong? The rest of the music is up to snuff as well. The voice acting is quite well done. The similar dialects of the inhabitants of Albion help make the world seem more real. The sound effects are very good. This is often neglected in RPGS not so here. Play it in 5.1 surround sound for maximum effect, if you have the means.

The Bad
The morality system could use some work. For example, killing your spouse only nets about 25 evil points, while getting a divorce gains about 1,000. What? Furthermore the game is designed for those who follow the good path. There should be an “Anti Heroes Guild” or something.

Why would you become evil after witnessing an evil act as a child? What is this a horror movie? Would Batman become evil? This game is short and can be cleared in under 20 hours even with the new content. This is not necessarily a bad thing however. But for most people it is.

The occasional bug kills gameplay. For instance once I was in a village and I was attacked by an assassin. Yet when I went to defend myself I was fined for murder. WTF?

The Bottom Line
Overall Fable: The Lost Chapters is an enjoyable RPG. Now with a $20 price tag, and 15% more Fable, you can at least try it. It may not be Lionhead’s best game but it is certainly worthy of the name of the legendary developer.