While Sony's focus will be on those four titles, the company is also expected to highlight some other games, with Dreams from Media Molecule confirmed for the show. It's likely that Sony has some surprises up its sleeve as well, so PlayStation enthusiasts should be sure to tune
Controlling combat is the familiar button mashing affair that gamers are used to with Fable . Battles normally boil down to repeatedly hitting the X button (melee attack) with the occasional magic spell thrown in for good measure. The combat can get boring quickly, but every now and then the hero pulls out a fancy finishing move that makes it worth not checking out during battle. The problem is the finishing moves are completely random and players can do the same combat actions 10 times yet only see the finishing move o
The sense of freedom became apparent in the early stages of the game during the tutorial. There was no fighter, mage or rogue class; the player simply trained in archery, melee combat and spellcraft. How these skills developed was based on what approach was used in battle and doing successful combos with any of them would multiply the gained experience. The experience was divided into the three combat categories along with general experience that could be distributed as desired. Personal experience seemed that mastering consistently high combat multipliers with the bow was tricky, but by halfway through the game the character would easily be a formidable magic using tank. Bandits, balverines and trolls quickly changed from dangerous enemies to cannon fodder.
The Journey takes place fifty years after the events of Fable III. Players take on the role of Gabriel, a dweller who is living a happy, but simple life with his tribe in Albion. After a sudden lightning storm, Gabriel is separated from his caravan and forced to find an alternate route to reunite with them. Soon after, our hero is caught up in the attack of an earth-shattering force known as The Corruption. Narrowly escaping the spreading darkness, Gabriel meets the mysterious Theresa. The last of the hero bloodline, she’s tasked with protecting the world from evil that threatens it. Gabriel must help restore her power by taking her to the Tattered Spire. To assist in this quest, spell-casting bracelets are harnessed to protect them from the evils of Albion.
Besides combat and travel, there are plenty of other motion-based opportunities throughout Albion. Activities like corralling chickens, lighting lanterns and moving obstacles may seem mundane, but serve to enrich the experience, making sure there’s always a fresh task to keep players interested. Most of these secondary actions have their own unique movements to avoid redundancies. Not content to let your arms have all the fun, there will be times where multiple paths can be selected from by bending your torso left or right. With all the different movements, it’s clear Lionhead was content on utilizing the full potential of motion-control.
As is common with Kinect, enjoyment of the title will largely be based on how accurate your set-up is. I played the game with a 42" TV in moderate lighting conditions and adequate space around me. Some will experience the game in better conditions, but I prefer to review Kinect releases with what I feel is a realistic representation of most gamer’s arrangements. To calibrate, there’s a special tool that has you cast spells at stationary enemies. It seems easy enough, but after using the new settings, attacks were going all over the place. It took about four calibrations to get it as accurate as possible. Once calibration is correct, there is a learning curve to get spells accurately cast. To really nail it, your arm must be fully retracted before extending, with the palm facing up at all times. It sounds simple, but remembering to keep correct form during the heat of battle can be tricky.
The game begins by taking control of either the son or daughter of the hero from Fable 2 , the prince or princess of the fantasy kingdom of Albion. Choosing to be the prince means the character's father was the hero, while choosing the princess means it was the character's mother. The game takes place 50 years after the events of Fable 2. The industrial revolution has swept across the land, and things in Albion have changed drastically. The protagonist's brother is currently the king, but he's ruling more like a tyrant. From there, destiny requires leaving the safety of the castle (with a faithful dog of course), becoming a hero, garnering the support of the people, overthrowing the oppressive brother/king and becoming the ruler of Albion. How this is gone about is up to the player to dec
What better way to reinvent a gaming franchise than taking away the controller? It’s a risky proposition to turn one of the most successful Xbox franchises into a Kinect-only title, but that’s exactly what’s been done with Fable. Instead of producing a family-friendly mini-game based game, however, Lionhead Studios have created a full-blown Adventure games collectibles that manages to rival the main canon in scope. Not only is Fable: The Journey an evolution of the series, but a crucial experiment to see if Kinect can manage to produce a story-driven experience with nothing but the player’s body.
