Since it was first introduced as Project Ego several years ago, Fable has been under a deafening amount of hype. It was clear that this was being designed to be the premier RPG for Xbox. Now, the game has finally arrived, and does it live up to the hype? Well, that may depend on what type of game player you are.

 If there’s one area you can guarantee that Fable does not skimp on, it is most certainly the graphics department. Everything is finely detailed, from people moving about their daily tasks, to chickens wandering around the outskirts of the town. Your character also looks great, and truly is what you make him. By finding items in-game, you can customise aspects of your character such as hairstyle and tattoos. Not only that, but based on what skills you upgrade (and even how much you make your character drink alcohol and eat) determine his physical size, and your character may even get scars from taking too much damage in battle. As if this were not enough, unlike in other RPG’s, as you give your character new equipment and weapons, there is a graphical representation of this (further changing the look of your characters). While there could have perhaps been more variety in the types of equipment that are available, it’s still a very impressive system.

But Fable is not just about your character. Towns are bustling with activity, with workers hauling boxes to new locations, and merchants seeking patronage. Even if some of them do give similar responses, it really makes the locations feel more alive, which is great. Be a good character, and the townspeople will praise you and even sing you songs, or be evil and have people cower in fear whenever you walk by. It’s a great feeling, it’s as if one little thing you did affected everything around you, and no other game has come close to it.

Fable’s graphical system is not perfect however, as every once in awhile; you may encounter some minor graphical glitches. One of the most frequently encountered glitches is having the ground appear swampy, and not completely textured, and then just suddenly show up. Similar things can happen with characters just suddenly disappearing and reappearing as well. Also, there is some relatively noticeable slowdown in between some cut scenes and gameplay. These are certainly not major problems, and should probably be expected in a game the size of Fable, but are still worth mentioning.

The soundtrack in Fable is another highpoint. It is professionally done, and the quality shows, and whether you are in a town or in a cave and fighting enemies, the music will always be satisfactory. Every sound effect in the game is also well done, from the crude noises you can make to insult villagers, as well as every clang of the sword in battle. Adding to this effect, every NPC in the game has a voice of some kind (even if some are repeated). Fable’s world clearly represents Britain, as every character in the game has a British accent of some kind. However, the voice work is very well done, and adds even more atmosphere to the in-game world.

As you can see, the graphics and sound work has set us up for one hell of a game. So how do all of the other major elements in the game factor in? Control in the game works well, and the game is handled more like an action game than that of a traditional RPG. Using the two thumb sticks, you can move and look around (like in Morrowind). Using the face buttons, you are able to attack with a melee weapon, as well as block/roll. You can also easily switch between melee and ranged weapons on the fly, as well as magic and items. Fable uses hotkeys, meaning you can assign your most useful tasks and expressions (how you can react with other in-game characters) to directions on the D-Pad, to for example, have easy access to health potions while in battle. While there can be some minor issues where your character accidentally does something that you did not mean for him to do, these are few and far between, and overall the control scheme works well.

There are several different types of magic, and many of them produce fun results (using Force Push is really fun, as is Lightning). However, it should be mentioned that you are penalized a bit too harshly for using magic, as your character will age really quickly if you are constantly using magic.

How many hours of gameplay you squeeze out of Fable really depends on the player. While the game is a good deal more linear than originally expected, there are plenty of side quests to focus on. Sure, you could blow through the main quest in the game fairly quickly, and in this aspect, some players may be disappointed. However, you’d be missing a lot of interesting things that can be done. While the world may not be as expansive as the one in Morrowind, the central storyline is more focused and interesting.

 Through your actions, you can alter the alignment of your avatar, and make him either good or evil. Want to be a saint and help everyone along the way? Go ahead and start doing chores for the townsfolk. How you balance good and evil tasks is up to you. It is possible to attack every NPC in the game, although it should be mentioned that guards do respawn, so it is not entirely possible to kill everyone in a town (it should be mentioned that if you kill the shopkeepers, they’re usually dead for good, so if you want access to good items, I’d suggest keeping them around). However, it is possible to build up Stealth, break into someone’s house, murder them, and then buy their house out. By doing this, you could essentially control a whole town and become very evil (as well as grow some cheesy looking horns).

There are many other things your character in Fable can do. From kicking chickens and drinking beer, to gambling and taking on quests, there certainly is not a shortage of things to do. It is even possible to get married in the game (you can woo would be spouses with gifts and expressions). This aspect of the game seems to be scaled back though. While you can have sex with your wife (which is only represented by suggestive sounds, don’t get all excited over that Mature Sexual Themes descriptor on the back of the box), that’s about all you can do, it is not possible to actually have a successor. Also, your wife apparently has no sense of time or fashion. No matter how long you spend away from her, and how much your character changes, she will still be in love with you as long as you do not attack her. This makes marriage seem like a petty afterthought added in by the developers, and it could easily be expanded in the inevitable sequel.

Another major side quest to do is to decorate your house. As I said before, it is possible to kill anyone and then buy their house. After you do this, it is possible to buy upgrades for major houses, or even rent them out to other people to make extra gold. You can also place trophies in a house to show off your accomplishments (trophies are gained by completing major quests). As if having your own house and wife were not enough, it is also possible to hire henchmen to fight alongside you in battle, for as long as you choose. However, AI can be a little spotty, particularly in the major stealth missions, so you’ll want to get rid of them before you reach that point.

A lot of material obviously had to be cut out of Fable in order to get it released at all, and this is evident by story scenes that show what was once likely planned to be playable. Even if the final product lacks some of the original promised features, and is a lot more linear, Fable is still an excellent action-RPG, and deserves to be in any major Xbox fan’s collection. Do yourself a favour and pick it up, and take your time playing through it. You’ll be glad you did.