Fable gone gold

[Kolzig]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/08/24/news_6105607.html

[Intrepid Homoludens]

[Roderick]

Any news on a Gamecube release?

[Kolzig]

Xbox exclusive

[Beef]

pc version is a possibility, as they are looking into a pc version right now

please pc version, I don't own an xbox and I don't see sh*t anyway on such a small resolution

[Farbror]

Let's just see if it's worth all the hype...

[tabacco]

Any news on a Gamecube release?

Microsoft as publisher pretty much guarantees an Xbox-exclusive release, at least for the time being.

[jokemaster]

I'm gonna get it, and sell it when they announce the PC version...

[Erkki]

The consoles have gotten pretty cheap. But I think I'll buy a PS2 for San Andreas, rather than Xbox for Fable.

[Erkki]

No, strike that. I just read the IGN's 8-page Fable review, and now am reading the other 8-page review that they linked to. And I'm getting pretty damn excited. I never paid that much attention to Fable so far, deliberately I think, to ignore the hype, and somewhat because I never really intended to get an Xbox. So I'm not really disappointed that it misses some of the hyped features. I simply have to play this and I am almost certain I will love it.

San Andreas will come out on PC/Xbox later anyway, and I've always played the GTA games on PC. So I might get an Xbox after all. Then I might even join you guys in drooling over psychonauts. But I just checked that the consoles aren't that cheap after all, I only saw a temporary discount on Xbox some time ago, but I don't remember where And I don't know where they sell Xbox games here either.

[SiN]

i REALLY wanna play fable, but i theres no way im getting an xbox to play it on ... i just spend C$ 2000 on a top-of-the-line laptop, so i cant afford anything right now. im willing to bet it'll be coming to the PC too ...but it'll take time. im a patient guy, so ill wait

it looks to me like fable will actually be delievering on most of the hype, which is a good thing in, seeing as most games are all-hype nowadays.

SiN

[Roderick]

May I remind you that the game that raised the bar in hypes about six times was Lionhead's own Black & White? How many times did I hear that that game would absolutely deliver according to hype? But apart from the somewhat original idea, the game was a poor disappointment. So I'm not as easily buying in on yet another 'can't possibly stink' Lionhead hype.

(though I know it's not actually the Lionhead crew making the game)

[Angella]

I'm really looking forward to playing this. Too bad so many games I'm excited about are being released at the same time. I don't really have time to play them all (or any of them actually).

[Lindset]

Praying for a PC version...

[SiN]

May I remind you that the game that raised the bar in hypes about six times was Lionhead's own Black & White? How many times did I hear that that game would absolutely deliver according to hype? But apart from the somewhat original idea, the game was a poor disappointment. So I'm not as easily buying in on yet another 'can't possibly stink' Lionhead hype.

(though I know it's not actually the Lionhead crew making the game)

ive said it before, and ill say it again ... black&white delivered on MOST of the hype it created ... its just that people started making up hype in their own heads, expecting the game to be great & amazing for each and every person, some form of super-game maybe. obviously its still a game, and many would naturally be disappointed. lets try and remember what it hyped, and what it delivered ...

HYPE : your actions would reflect upon your morality, and how the people viewed you.

REALITY : delivered. the hand changed appropriately, and being evil really felt evil. having watched my friend be a good God, i can safely say there is a world of difference between the 2, in terms of looks & even gameplay.

HYPE : your creature would be able to learn things that you'd teach em.

REALITY : delivered. each creature was a unique beast. i really felt like i taught my creature stuff. granted, it was pretty tough to figure out whether what the creature was thinking, but thats a minor flaw.

HYPE : each villager would think individually, and have advanced ai.

REALITY : somewhat delivered. heres where they didnt quite deliver on the hype ... the villager ai wasnt all that great, and when u think about it, even if it was, u wouldnt notice it. the fact that there are 100's of villagers means that u wouldnt notice how great their ai was anyway. but ill admit that they didnt quite deliver over here.

HYPE : ud be able to sync ur ingame weather with ur real-life weather

REALITY : delivered. it apparently worked, but i didnt try it.

HYPE : the game would have great physics, which ud be able to use to your advantage

REALITY : delivered. and an excellent implemenation too. i never thought flinging fireballs at enemy villages would be so much fun!

HYPE : ud be able to move ur hand around to cast spells (glyphs)

REALITY : delivered. another excellent one. it worked great, it helped with the atmosphere, and if u couldnt do it, u could always go back to the temple.

now look, i could go on, but the fact of the matter is, lionhead delivered on MANY things and they didnt on a few. in a world where even the most generic games dont reach their very basic hype, im glad lionhead dared to be different, and took a stab at making an extremely ambitious game. they didnt succeed entirely (and even Peter Molyneux admits that) but at least they tried and somewhat succeeded ... thats more than u can say for most developers

SiN

[Farbror]

I agree that Lionhead made a good decision when trying to do something different, but I still don't think they managed to make a good game. Perhaps they lived up to the hype you mentioned, but did they manage to make it fun?

Peter once said in an interview that "In Black and White, you'll control a really big hand, and you can do anything that a really big hand can do." (or something like that...)

Yeah, true, but it wasn't really fun being a big hand...

[Roderick]

It was really Lionhead's own fault, since they actively strained the hype to its limits, with the designer diaries from Steve Jackson that ran for years, and Molyneux himself triumphantly claiming "Black & White will be the best fucking game ever!". It's true that that made me essentially buy a game in a genre that I cared little for, but in my eyes the game was just too flawed. Not only very buggy, it also suffered from the horrible localisation and the fact the gameplay just didn't seem fleshed out enough.

But let's concentrate on Fable. I'm not saying I hate the game already (), but I'm remaining calm and expectant of it, in a realistic way. That way I can accept the game for what it is.

[SiN]

I agree that Lionhead made a good decision when trying to do something different, but I still don't think they managed to make a good game. Perhaps they lived up to the hype you mentioned, but did they manage to make it fun?

IMO, yes they did. in your opinion, maybe not. i think the main flaw with B&W was the fact that it was too repetitive. for me, it wasnt such a bad thing ... i mean yes, black&white was repetitive, but isnt every bloody fps on the market 10 times more repetitive? i was totally engrossed & entertained by the game, which is more than i can say for most FPS's.

But let's concentrate on Fable. I'm not saying I hate the game already (), but I'm remaining calm and expectant of it, in a realistic way. That way I can accept the game for what it is.

excellent ... thats the mind-set ur suppose to be in. hype will always be there, and people will always hype their games ... hell, when im programming games, i hype em too, developers cant help it, its just great to talk about what ur working on. however, if u remember that its just a game, and u dont create expectations that are too high, u wont be disappointed.

SiN

[Ginger]

I heard off some guy (someone I work with who is pretty hardcore) that a straight play though of fable takes 9 hours and a pretty much complete play through can be done in 22 hours. That's just not long enough for a RPG to feel truly epic, I want at least 40 hours of standard and 100 hours for the complete.

IMO (just guessing now) Fable will be the same as B&W it'll bring a lot of nice new features to the genre but it’ll be ultimately too flawed to be considered as a classic in its own right. But that's just one man opinion and to be honest I hope I'm wrong.

[Chris]

40/100 hours? Please. Some of really don't have the time or inclination to fully complete a game that takes 40 hours at the minumum. Frankly, I'm all for games getting shorter as long as the narrative is tight and I get my money's worth.

[Farbror]

I really think game length is a matter of personal taste.

But I agree, if a game is supposed to feel epic, then I don't want to able to complete it in two days, but I suppose there are always exceptions, like games with really good storys or awesome gameplay/replay value.

[Erkki]

It all totally depends on the game, whether it actually justifies a kazillion hours of gameplay or only two and a half. If I had my druthers, of course, there'd be an ideal number of kazillion hour games, two and a half hour games, and everything in between. One kazillion hour game a year is probably enough. But if there happen to be two insanely great kazillion hour games released in the same year, well, what can you do?

Well said. I completely agree.

[MrHoatzin]

I played Beyond Good and Evil back-to-back twice. Hardly ever have I done that. I don't think I played Grim Fandango that way. Longer games may more ofthen than not leave a drawn-out aftertaste in my mouth so that I just don't want to play them twice.

[tabacco]

Yeah, but I think the point of Fable is that it's only a long game if you want it to be.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Half-Life had the same effect on me - loved the experience but wasn't interested in replaying the whole long thing. But Splinter Cell and Max Payne 2, replayed these again and enjoyed them.

I can't ever fathom how some adventure gamers claim to love replaying, say, The Longest Journey. WhyTF would you wanna subject yourself to that moronic ducky+pliers+glove+tampon puzzle over and over? Especially when you already know the solution? Story? puh-LEEZ, you already know what happens, the only excuse left is that of sentiment, and I find that to be a crock of bs. Just an excuse to avoid better replayability titles like Beyond Good & Evil, or Windwaker.