OT: XBox - Fable

[kurtism]

Just read this preview for the most highly anticipated XBox game (for me, at least) since KOTOR. Thought I'd share

[SirFozzie]

Jade Empire!

[kurtism]

That is #2, in part because it is further down the line. KOTOR II is also in the mix, as is the Bard's Tale game that is coming soon. Have been playing Sudeki, which is pretty fun, but haven't had much time lately...

[ISiddiqui]

Fable sounds like it'll be awesome. It is one of the most highly anticipated X-Box games in the console's history.

[Blackadar]

Fable may be the game that finally makes me buy an XBox

[kingnebwsu]

Halo 2 baby. Also Jade Empire and KOTOR 2. The next 6 months is a great time to be a gamer.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Aaaaauuugggh!! Not Halo 2! GRRrrr.

Sorry, I don't know why I have an adverse reaction to even reading anything about Halo 2. I'll be fine.

I'm looking forward to Fable too.

[ISiddiqui]

Halo 1 was a 'meh' game. Hopefully they got some competent level designers for the sequal.

[kurtism]

Since I mentioned it above, here is a link to the Bard's Tale preview - welcome back to my childhood!!!

[Sublime]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Halo 1 was a 'meh' game. Hopefully they got some competent level designers for the sequal.

I'm looking forward to Halo 2 not so much for the campaign but for the multiplayer which had to be Halo 1's best feature, and now w/ Halo 2 being X-Box Live capable...I jsut don't know what i'm going to do!

[ISiddiqui]

I don't have X-Box Live, nor do I plan on getting it in the future, so the multiplayer stuff doesn't matter to me .

[stevew]

If Fable is half as good as I hear it will be, I am getting an Xbox.

[SackAttack]

Fable probably is half as good as you hear it will be. I don't get the sense that it's much better than that, based on the time I spent with it at E3. Their proudest accomplishment appeared to be the ability to randomly give people the finger. It'll be a decent game, but if it comes anywhere close to approaching the hype level (especially after all of the additions and near-immediate subtractions), I'll be stunned.

[gstelmack]

Sounds a lot like Black & White

[ISiddiqui]

But this game actually has a plot and stuff to do .

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

especially after all of the additions and near-immediate subtractions

Now which ones are those exactly?? I heard that they initially intended on having the player choose between a male or a female, but took out the latter...and something along the lines of the possibility of "killing children" in the game were taken out as well. Do you have a complete list, by chance? Mostly for curiousity's sake. I haven't been keeping up to date on the game, and probably missed the announcements on sites or what not.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm looking forward to Fable. I haven't heard of that many subtractions and would be interested in hearing specifics.

[sabotai]

Fable is one of the reasons I got an XBox. I'm anxiously awaiting this one.

[The_herd]

Originally Posted by hukarez

Now which ones are those exactly?? I heard that they initially intended on having the player choose between a male or a female, but took out the latter...and something along the lines of the possibility of "killing children" in the game were taken out as well. Do you have a complete list, by chance? Mostly for curiousity's sake. I haven't been keeping up to date on the game, and probably missed the announcements on sites or what not.

Initially there wasn't a leveling system. You got better at doing things through repetition. Your character got stronger from swinging a big sword, faster by running a lot, ect. That was scraped for the current level-based progression. Thats the biggest difference in what they had hoped to put in the game and what they actually realized was realistic.

[druez]

Originally Posted by The_herd

Initially there wasn't a leveling system. You got better at doing things through repetition. Your character got stronger from swinging a big sword, faster by running a lot, ect. That was scraped for the current level-based progression. Thats the biggest difference in what they had hoped to put in the game and what they actually realized was realistic.

That is disappointing. I'm a big fan of skill based games instead of level based games.

Ultima Online, skill based muds, the hybrid morrowind system... I like em all.

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by The_herd

Initially there wasn't a leveling system. You got better at doing things through repetition. Your character got stronger from swinging a big sword, faster by running a lot, ect. That was scraped for the current level-based progression. Thats the biggest difference in what they had hoped to put in the game and what they actually realized was realistic.

I guess that's the one major component at the least. What I'm curious about, though, is as to whether or not the NPCs still age and grow as time passes. I saw some of those E3 video previews at the IGN site. Not sure if it was my connection or what not...but some of the videos looked a wee bit 'choppy' in some places. Kind of like Halo 'stutter' when you reach the 'checkpoints' or something.

[tucker342]

My List:

1) Halo 2
2) Fable
3) Jade Empire
4) KOTOR 2
5) Ghost Recon 2

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by hukarez

I guess that's the one major component at the least. What I'm curious about, though, is as to whether or not the NPCs still age and grow as time passes. I saw some of those E3 video previews at the IGN site. Not sure if it was my connection or what not...but some of the videos looked a wee bit 'choppy' in some places. Kind of like Halo 'stutter' when you reach the 'checkpoints' or something.

Yes, and no. A lot of the 'aging' is done through artificial acceleration of the story. Kind of a "go to jail when you're 15, and resume the game when you're 30" situation.

There's plenty of stuff that got added, and then scrapped. One of 'em was just mentioned, so I won't touch on that too much.

They originally planned for a multiplayer component very similar to Animal Crossing's. You'd take your character and visit your buddy's game world, and vice versa, with the ability for either character to impact either world. That got scrapped approximately a week after it got announced. I'm exaggerating, but not by much.

One of the biggest things they originally claimed was going to happen was the fact that the game world would be dynamic - that is, if you cut some trees down when your character is 20, if you return to the forest when he's 40, you'll see the impact you left on the wildlife. Yeah, that got scrapped too.

The ability to get married and have kids is still there, but it's grossly stripped down from what it was. What's left at this point is basically a Sims-style game dynamic. Buy a house, offer enough gifts, and the chick marries you. A kid pops into the world soon after.

I'm not sure whether or not the ability to play as either gender is still there, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn it's not.

So, yeah. Fable as the most-hyped RPG ever? Without question. Is it gonna come remotely close to that hype? Not a chance in hell. Still might be worth a purchase, we'll see when I get my hands on final code, but if you go into this expecting this game to be anything close to what Molyneux has promised, well...you probably bought Black & White, too.

Speaking of Molyneux projects, though, The Movies actually looks intriguing.

[sabotai]

I wonder if their scrapping of some of the features after announcing them came from the limitations of developing for a console...

Besides, features get cut all the time from games. I'd rather have someone work on a bunch of features/ideas and have a lot of them get cut than a few. The whole "shoot for the stars, you'll get the moon" thing. But I'm weird. I judge games by their final product, not a comparison of final product to hype. Guess I'm the exception.

And I'm more excited about The Movies than I am about Fable.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I wonder if their scrapping of some of the features after announcing them came from the limitations of developing for a console...

Besides, features get cut all the time from games. I'd rather have someone work on a bunch of features/ideas and have a lot of them get cut than a few. The whole "shoot for the stars, you'll get the moon" thing. But I'm weird. I judge games by their final product, not a comparison of final product to hype. Guess I'm the exception.

And I'm more excited about The Movies than I am about Fable.

sab, I'm more concerned that they announced the features before they had any idea whether or not the features were plausible, if that's the case. Hype is fine, but it's a two-edged sword. If you overpromise and underdeliver, it's going to hurt you in the long run.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by tucker342

5) Ghost Recon 2

Woohoo!

[The_herd]

Playing as a female was scapped as well. Molyneux, at E3, said that they just didn't want to go through the process of testing the game for both genders. The game was a pain to test with one gender and another would take away from time getting other stuff straightened out.

Not sure if it was my connection or what not...but some of the videos looked a wee bit 'choppy' in some places. Kind of like Halo 'stutter' when you reach the 'checkpoints' or something.

This was a concern that the Gamespot staff had when they got ahold of a playable version a couple months ago, but from what they are saying, its straightened out and although the game does slow down a bit when the screen is full of monsters and spell effects, it doesn't effect gameplay.

I'm looking forward to the game, but I'm not all that optimistic that this is going to be a great game. My biggest fear is that Fable ends up being like Black and White in that its cool at first, but you quickly see though the few cool things, in this case character customization and aging (for example), and you realize the game has no actual depth.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

sab, I'm more concerned that they announced the features before they had any idea whether or not the features were plausible, if that's the case. Hype is fine, but it's a two-edged sword. If you overpromise and underdeliver, it's going to hurt you in the long run.

uhhhhh...yeah. from what i originally read about the game (before it was named Fable) it seemed like a much grander game in scope. now i'm sure it'll be a stellar game, but as for being the greatest, most unique RPG ever...guess it depends on how much they keep from what they promised to have in the game.


someone breifly explain what Jade Empire is about.

[The_herd]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

someone breifly explain what Jade Empire is about.

Martial Arts meets KOTOR.

[Anthony]

well, i did say "brief", didn't i.

[The_herd]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

well, i did say "brief", didn't i.

Jade Empire is BioWare's upcoming martial arts-themed role-playing game, which combines Hong Kong-style action with the depth and open-endedness characteristic of the company's games. This week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the game was publicly playable for the first time. However, we were fortunate to get to play a behind-closed-doors build of the game, in which we fought our way through several spectacular battles and also experienced a remarkable minigame--a vertical shooter, reminiscent of classics like the Raiden series or last year's Ikaruga. As if Jade Empire wasn't already packing in enough of our favorite stuff...

In the game, players will assume the role of a martial artist who gradually realizes his or her true potential, as well as his or her ancient heritage. While Jade Empire basically resembles last year's outstanding Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in terms of basic look and feel, not only is there a fundamental difference in the settings but also there's a fundamental difference in the two games' combat. Namely, KOTOR's pseudo-turn-based combat is cast aside here in favor of what's essentially pure action, which combines elements of brawlers and fighting games with a convincingly kung fu-movie-style atmosphere.

We got to fight against multiple martial artists, as well as gigantic demons shaped like toads and elephants, during our solid half hour spent with the game. We found that the combat is fundamentally sound already, since it allowed us to easily target foes, dodge around the battlefield as needed, and muscle in to deliver flurries of punches, slashes, and more. We also learned to pull off chi attacks, which resulted in some truly devastating results, and several other special techniques. For instance, we learned to enter into focus mode, sort of a Max Payne bullet time-style effect, which forced our enemies into slow motion while we ourselves could continue dishing out the damage at top speed.

Another extremely important ability is switching between combat styles, which is accomplished simply by pressing the D pad in different directions. We were able to readily switch between armed and unarmed combat, as well as multiple, different martial arts styles, affording us with considerable variety in battle but not at the expense of pick-up-and-play accessibility. The different martial arts have various advantages and disadvantages, so there will presumably be some split-second tactical decision-making needed to be made during the course of the game.

The combat is already quite responsive and surprisingly visceral. Those players who wished that the melee combat in KOTOR packed a bit more of a visual punch ought to be thrilled with Jade Empire's graphic attention to detail. We noticed, for instance, that our sword strikes would sometimes rend foes to pieces, generating Kill Bill-style geysers of blood. As well, one of our powered-up, unarmed attacks caused an enemy to simply explode in a puddle of gore. Jade Empire's content isn't really out of the ordinary for this type of genre (meaning, the Hong Kong martial arts extravaganza), so we're hopeful that Jade Empire will earn its "M" and ship with it.

As mentioned, the other aspect of Jade Empire that impressed us was the vertical-shooter minigame, in which players will need to guide the Marvelous Dragonfly, their ship used throughout the game, to new areas. Basically the game turns into Galaga, with waves of foes sweeping in from every angle to try to shoot or otherwise just run into you. This mode plays similarly to the Raiden series, and with a little more polish, it seems like it could be a ton of fun.

BioWare's action RPG looks to be coming along nicely and has plenty of time left to shape up between now and the game's first-quarter 2005 release. On the one hand, we wish we could play Jade Empire as soon as possible. On the other, we think this concept is looking so good that we hope BioWare will take all the time it needs to make Jade Empire at least as good as KOTOR before it. The game's action-oriented combat, impressive good looks, and original setting might well make for a truly remarkable experience.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

sab, I'm more concerned that they announced the features before they had any idea whether or not the features were plausible, if that's the case. Hype is fine, but it's a two-edged sword. If you overpromise and underdeliver, it's going to hurt you in the long run.

Well, that's a problem Molyneux has always had. It's not that he promises these features, but he talks about his ideas for a game openly when they are still just in concept stage. It's really not his problem if people take his openness with his thinking process on a game as him promising these things. He gets excited about things, talks about them, and people take that as a promise that it'll be in the game.

I saw an interview with the Fable staff last night (from kikizo.com or something like that). He said that the reason the trees growing as the game went along got cut was because the processes that kept track of the trees and whatnot ended up taking up 15% of the processor power. That's a lot and very good reason to cut something like that.

I guess I'm one that just appriciates his openness about his ideas, instead of just saying something like "We're making Doom 3" and then we don't hear anything for 2 years.

But since he's really a rare exception to the rule, I can see how people would mistake what he says as officially announcing a feature when it's really just an idea he has. I just hope that some of the backlash he'll most definatly get won't make him stop talking about The Movies and future games.

[SackAttack]

sab,

making an announcement and later saying "This isn't going to work out after all" is fine if that's, like, six months' separation.

When it's a month or less between the "yay!" and "oops" announcements, that means you're letting your mouth run too far ahead of your work.

[Rich1033]

Here is another preview of Fable, this time from IGN.

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/537/537930p1.html

[The_herd]

EGM had a preview of it this month as well. While I don't take anything they say all that seriously, I do admid that the graphics are breathtaking. I'll probably be buying as soon as Gamespot posts a review.

I'm going into RPG withdrawal. I was considering loading up Planescape: Torment again.

[mattwakeman]

Bump - gone gold. Full story: http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/08...s_6105607.html

Now we all just have to wait and see if it lives up to the hype

[Blackadar]

Yup. After B&W, I'm waiting until MANY reviews are out. I remember that the original reviews on B&W were very positive...it wasn't until the later ones (the ones that played the game all the way through) that the reviews turned South.