Fable Hype-O-Rama!!!

Since the game is drawing closer to a definite release (Late summer is the current scuttlebutt, and the latest previews indicate that the only technical problems with the game are some frame rate issues when the action heats up. I think that this [release] may hold for a while. But, hey, you never know...), I figured that, in order to avoid threads pimping certain aspects of this forthcoming game, we could just use this one.

So, Elfman's doing parts of the score. Huzzah.

Also, The Lionhead Times has some links to some rather encouraging hands-on previews. Another good site for Fable news and info is Alter Ego. Avoid the message boards, if you know what's good for ya.

I could dig this. I liked Black and White. Also, it's a completely different game, played from a completely different perspective.

Where B&W put you in control of every toy in the box, Fable shoves you in, so that you're sniffing G.I. Joe's armpit and elbowing Optimus' crotch.

There's a new article up at The Lionhead Times addressing some things in the Fable "community." Plus, there's a couple of (great-looking) new screen shots accompanying the article.

You can read it here.

I still can't get over the part in last year's E3 demo where Simon takes the hero home, where his wife yells at him. He resonds by belching in her face and running away. Just funny stuff.

Oh, yeah, word on the street is that if you're REALLY good, you'll start to attract butterflies, and just regular flies if you're REALLY evil.

Release Date: September 21, 2004

Link to announcement at Lionhead Times

Gamespot's new preview

They seem to like it. There's also a pretty long video up (10 min). I could only get audio because of my shit connection, but it sounds promising.

From what Lionhead's been saying, it's still VERY open ended. There is a main story, but there are several (quite an understatement) side quests that you can handle. Add all that to the fact that the world responds to your actions, whereby you'll be dealing with quite a few consequences to the good/evil you've wrought. I'd say that the open-endedness is still quite robust.

As for the EXP thing, Gamespot got that tidbit wrong. For a while now it's been decided that character evolution would be more natural and fluid, and one would earn experience points from combat to "purchase" new skills, like combo moves and stuff. If anything, this gives you more control over how your character fights, since the skills on your list are ones that you've selected, as opposed to moves that the character has been preprogrammed to "learn" as they grow in skill.

Now, they have decided to put a system in whereby the hardcore gamers could look up how much strength, agility, etc. a certain activity gives. For example, lugging boulders around will make your character grow stronger, but now you can access a menu and see how much your strength has gone up. Of course, this won't be completely neccessary, they probably have these stat numbers available so that some power gamers can rest easily. This has always been a major selling point on the game (no levels, but natural progress), but they've just given gamers a means of tracking their progress.

Yes, you still age. Yes, you're physical build still reflects how you've been playing.

Control Scheme

Also, if you preorder the game, you'll get a free DVD with a bunch of cool stuff on it. Mainly "The making of..." type stuff, plus a playable demo of the upcoming Sudeki.

Lionhead clears things up about the experience system:

EDIT: Oh, and you may want to read the rest of the article. It's the E3 diary of one of Lionhead's staff. You can read it here.

Just got done watching the video. It rocks quite a bit, it does.

XBOX's edge over the other consoles: Better graphics, and the hard disk allows for the potential for some really cool games we have yet to see.

I don't feel qualified to answer your PC question, however.

XBOX's edge over both: Fable and Jade Empire