Topic: adventure game updates

Fable Anniversary is a port of ten year old game released on eight year old hardware after we’ve witnessed the power of next-gen. Yet even with so much stacked against it, it manages to impress. There’s not much of a "wow-factor" because of its ill-timed release, but with the exception of completely rebuilding the game for Xbox One, there simply isn’t much else that could be done that isn’t accomplished here. Sound, functionality and graphics are all substantially improved and breath new life in...

Another big improvement is that of the interfaces. The previous ones were rough even in 2004, seeming basic enough to be more at home with PS1-era games. Thankfully, they've been completely overhauled for this release, matching up better with the subsequent Fable games. Navigation-wise, they’re a bit too clumsy. The triggers, shoulders buttons and analog sticks all come into play when scrolling around, resulting in a learning curve that shouldn’t exist for menus. Still, there’s only so much that...

Sure, you see the hero grow from a child to an adult, but the childhood lasts about five minutes and adolescence no longer than ten. The rest of the game simply sees you controlling your average adult warrior. There are also elements like marriage and family drama that come into play that never realize their full potential. Instead of being an experience where you truly assume the role of another being, it’s built like an average RPG with some nifty life-building elements thrown in. Still, it’s ...

Colorful characters are encountered along the way that assist in your travels. These characters range from mildly amusing to surprisingly developed. One of the most emotional relationships in the game is with your horse Seren. As she’s with you every step of the way, willing to march into danger at your command, a surprising bond is quickly formed. Camps are periodically reached where, among other things, Seren can be feed, healed and cleaned. Touches like these really go along way to ensure she...

And really, Peter Molyneux, for all his broken promises and enormous aspirations, is an innovator. He’s proven his enchantment with taking well-tread ideas and making them into something unexpected. Populous remains one of the most important games of all time, and that couldn’t have happened without some desire to step beyond the established setting. Fable to a lesser extent and certainly with the Milo demo, Peter Molyneux hasn’t made anything flat-out terrible in decades. But his tendency to ge...

These are the video games that we would most like to see on film, but are there any that you think deserved to be on the list? Let us know in our comment section and don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more videos like this There’s something odd about an HD port built for a console which itself has games that are being ported to a superior console. Let’s reflect on Fable Anniversary for a second: it’s a 2014 Xbox 360 remake of an Xbox game from 2004. We’re in an age where people are dem...

Choosing to be good or evil was usually straightforward. Several of the main quests had an optional way to end them depending on the outcome, typically spare the foe for good points and kill them for evil. There were a couple quests where there were two available quests but they were the same event, the choice was just to determine what side the player was on which actually was a cool way of making it feel like you were choosing a side. A more fun way to rack up the evil points was to just go on...

Of course, it’s no secret that Fable is a great game, so the most important aspects of this release is if it's aged well (read above) and the quality of the port. Simply put, the result is leaps and bounds above the original. Fidelity, special effects and lighting have all improved and it’s clear to see the differences in almost every area. Upgrades to characters and building exteriors are the most noticeable, with faces seeming more realistic and less pixelated and buildings revealing never-bef...

Peter Molyneux has created a number of legendary titles since he began making games in the '80s, earning numerous accolades and pioneering one of the most important genres in gaming history. But his ambition has become somewhat infamous over time; he’s always reaching for creative new ways to play and experience games, but almost always misses the target in some way, shape or form. And Molyneux’s eagerness to innovate is no secret (he’s admitted it himself): he’s formed a recurring theme for any...

The final new feature in Fable Anniversary (besides achievements) is that of SmartGlass, something that is weighing heavier and heavier in overall experience these days. As admitted by Lead Designer Ted Timmins, it was basically implemented here as way to test the technology’s capabilities for future implementations. Thanks to that, there are actually a few interesting features that the app offers. Unsurprisingly, it’s basically an interactive map, but they’ve worked with Prima to also provide t...

The final new feature in Fable Anniversary (besides achievements) is that of SmartGlass, something that is weighing heavier and heavier in overall experience these days. As admitted by Lead Designer Ted Timmins, it was basically implemented here as way to test the technology’s capabilities for future implementations. Thanks to that, there are actually a few interesting features that the app offers. Unsurprisingly, it’s basically an interactive map, but they’ve worked with Prima to also provide t...

In fact, it’s such a classic that describing such a widely-known story seems irrelevant until you realize that there are prospective gamers who weren’t even out of diapers when the game was originally released, so here goes: Fable sees you take the role of "The Hero of Oakvale" who begins his quest as an unassuming boy until his village is brought to ruins by invading barbarians. The hero survives and is rescued by an even older hero named Maze. Maze sees great potential in the boy and takes him...

Based on the Fables comic books by Bill Willingham, The Wolf Among Us is a cool, noir detective story with a fantasy twist. When characters from fairy tales are exiled to live in the human world, the Big Bad Wolf changes his ways and becomes Sheriff Bigby Wolf, the lawkeeper of Fabletown. After discovering the horrible murder of a young woman, Bigby embarks on a desperate hunt for a serial killer and along the way finds himself digging deeper into the corruption and organized crime at the heart ...

This idea continues with microtransactions, something that Molyneux has been dead-set on improving. Trust me, I don’t like how microtransactions are being used today , but Molyneux has been working on ways to use them without letting them lean toward the realm of exploitation. He’s condemned the use of microtransactions in the mobile version of Dungeon Keeper , claiming they are not consumer-friendly, but he wants to find a way to make them palatable to an audience. That’s become something of an...

With prosthetic limbs becoming ever more advanced, the world of cyberpunk shooter series Deus Ex is starting to seem like a realistic vision of the future. As human beings start to use technology to evolve their own biology, the player is faced with some hard choices regarding what the future of the human race should look like, and how it should be governed. The original Deus Ex is still the pinnacle of the series, but Deus Ex: Human Revolution was the title that really demonstrated just how gre...

With a sprawling, graphically intense world part of a near fifteen-hour campaign, Fable: The Journey breaks any conceptions of what a Kinect title can be. It’s not demo material or a novelty release, but an uncompromising adventure game that weaves an engrossing story while utilizing the full potential of motion control. It doesn’t always work flawlessly, but the sheer ambition alone makes it a must-own for Fable and Kinect fans alike.As is common with Kinect, enjoyment of the title will largely...

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 ...

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 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...

Fable Anniversary is a port of ten year old game released on eight year old hardware after we’ve witnessed the power of next-gen. Yet even with so much stacked against it, it manages to impress. There’s not much of a "wow-factor" because of its ill-timed release, but with the exception of completely rebuilding the game for Xbox One, there simply isn’t much else that could be done that isn’t accomplished here. Sound, functionality and graphics are all substantially improved and breath new life in...

Given the current Hollywood craze for comic book movies, now is the perfect time for a movie version of inFAMOUS . This open world game casts players as Cole McGrath, a bike courier who gains electricity-based superpowers when he's caught at the center of a devastating explosion. After the smoke clears, Cole is faced with the choice to either become a superhero and save the citizens of Empire City, or use his powers to become a supervillain and make people fear and despise him. No matter which p...

And really, Peter Molyneux, for all his broken promises and enormous aspirations, is an innovator. He’s proven his enchantment with taking well-tread ideas and making them into something unexpected. Populous remains one of the most important games of all time, and that couldn’t have happened without some desire to step beyond the established setting. Fable to a lesser extent and certainly with the Milo demo, Peter Molyneux hasn’t made anything flat-out terrible in decades. But his tendency to ge...

Of course, it’s no secret that Fable is a great Adventure Game Strategy, so the most important aspects of this release is if it's aged well (read above) and the quality of the port. Simply put, the result is leaps and bounds above the original. Fidelity, special effects and lighting have all improved and it’s clear to see the differences in almost every area. Upgrades to characters and building exteriors are the most noticeable, with faces seeming more realistic and less pixelated and buildings ...

The combat mechanics played a big part in creating an enjoyable game, but a lot of the fun came from just exploring the world and seeing what sort of trouble one could get into. The goal of the hero was to gain fame, which was measured by their renown which was acquired by completing quests and the reaction of the NPCs was determined by the character's alignment, which was also influenced by their actions. Good characters would seem to develop a bright aura around them and a halo, while evil cha...

While Molyneux has certainly made this attitude a recurring (and expected) one, many of the creative ideas from him are the ones that never saw the light of day. Personally, I’m of the small camp who believe the Kinect/Natal demo Milo was an interesting idea that deserved to be investigated upon further ; maybe not with Kinect, but with the idea of simply talking to a person and developing a social relationship with them over time, similar to how you build the foundation of a city into a giant m...

Anyone who's seen a Mad Max movie will easily be able to spot the direct influence of those films in Borderlands , Gearbox Software's colorful, cel shaded open world role-playing shooter. The alien planet of Pandora is a dangerous wasteland and pretty much everyone who lives there is insane, but that's all part of its charm. The plot of the games follows groups of fortune seekers who are trying to track down mysterious Vaults full of immensely powerful alien technology, and we'd love to see a fi...

While Molyneux’s inventive mindset gave rise to the "god game" genre (a genre loved by many a PC gamer), he’s also earned himself a number of negative connotations with how he promotes his games. It’s become a running joke that Molyneux tends to hype up any project he invests in to absurdly high levels, only to have the games miss their mark in one way or another. Fable became one of the most noteworthy examples of this "Molyneux Paradigm." During the game’s development, Fable was regarded by Mo...

Fable: The Journey represents Microsoft 's latest - and likely final - attempt to prove that Kinect , in its current incarnation, is a viable control interface for more than just dance simulators and mini-game collections. Developed by Lionhead Studios , with the now departed Peter Molyneux serving as Creative Consultant, The Journey puts players on a guided, first-person tour of Albion which, thanks to the power of Unreal Engine, has never looked better. But does the game play as good as it l...