Fable
Preview by Al Giovetti, 02/14/97
Review by Al Giovetti, 06/06/97
Price: $50
Genre: graphic animated adventure
Release: March 1997
Developer: Sirtech
Programmer:
Music:
Art:
Producer:
Publisher: Sir Tech Software
Phone: 315-393-6633
Website: www.sir-tech.com
Requirements: Windows 95 or DOS 5.0 or higher. 486 or better, 8 MB of RAM,
VESA 1.2 or higher, 2x CD-ROM drive or better.
Company line: Fable is an adventure game in the classic mold, complete with lush graphics, challenging puzzles, and a slightly warped sense of humor. As the wide-eyed young hero, Quickthorpe, you must rescue your village by slaying the four foul creatures that terrorize your world. At least, that's what they tell you . . .
Explore four strange new kingdoms in your quest, from the underwater Engulfed Fortress, to the swampy Land of Mists, to the, um, frozen Frozen Lands. Encounter more than 40 bizarre characters. Talk TV with a turtle. Or try to pick up a sleazy Siren. All with full speech, naturally. Fly in airships, steal candy from babies, and go straight to hell on an elevator. Solve a passel of puzzles along the way. And get this: the puzzles actually advance the story!
History: Sir-Tech has a long history of producing quality products. Fable is a quality product that deserves your consideration. Sir-Tech achieved international renown with a product called Wizardry, which we now await the ninth reincarnation. Other hit series published by Sir Tech include the games from across the pond , Shadows of Arcania series by Star Trail and the Jagged Alliance games.
Plot: A young adventurer, Quickthorpe by name, sets out to cast four demons from the world. Find four jewels in four far flung fantasy lands complete with ice, mist, water, and fire. (No this is not a Myst clone. Ed.) Somewhere along the way, the hero becomes disallusioned with his role.
The ending leaves much to be desired. The ending was different depenting upon whether you bought the game in Europe where the ending was "It was all a dream," while the American version is more conventional. Many will not be too dismayed by the bad ending since the game is involved and rich in plot and interaction with the surroundings. Those who liked the old time graphic adventure games will love this one.
Humor: Any game worth its salt has a good sense of humor, and Fable is well crafted in the humor department. The humor is definitely of the Brittish variety, kind of wry and a little underplayed but humorous none the less.
Game play: The main character can die from a misstep driving you mad and requiring you to restore the game yet once again. Games like Shadoan that automatically resurrect your character or Secret of Monkey Island that will not allow your character to die and end the game in senseless frustration are much more enjoyable.
Parser?: The game has an interactive verb icon that cycles when you push the right mouse button. You can cycle through look talk and use icons, which are not context sensitive, meaning that the verb icons do not react to the items they are clicked on, adjusting them to the correct actions.
Puzzles: You go about the land collecting items, combining items, and using items at the precise time and place needed as with all treasure hunt puzzles. An obligatory maze must be navigated and mapped. An automapping and auto travel system is a mandatory accessory to games of this ilk, but the designers may have left it out in a divisive attempt at adding game play.
Graphics: The graphics are hand drawn and beautifully rendered.
Animation: Drawn by an ex-Disney animator to contain all the detail one expects from films made with mouse ears.
Voice actors: The voice overs are well done and not overacted. The characters who talk are believable. The actor here is the same actor who worked in Simon the Sorcerer.
Music score:
Sound effects: Birds chirp and water drips to form the ambient sound effects these romps are known for.
Utilities: Save the game anywhere.
Documentation:
Multi-player: The game has no multi-player options available.
Cheats, Hints, and Walkthoughs: The Walkthrough to Fable
Future plans: We hope to see more games of this ilk.
Journalists:
Publish your own version of this game right here by sending us your article text by email.
References:
http://sir-tech.com/coming/fable/
Janet Blackburn, Computer Games, number 76, March, 1997, pg. 98, 50%.
Bernard Dy, Computer and Net Player, volume 3, number 12, May, 1997, pg. 86, 70%.