As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers , there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be conside
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 the locations of key items and characters (without going into too much detail). While this may seem a bit like cheating at first, it’s helpful enough only to ensure that you won’t get lost and makes it so you won’t result to using a full-blown strategy guide.
Speaking of the single-player story, the biggest strength of those heralded stories in previous Fable titles have always been the personal stakes involved in the player character. Fable 2 ‘s journey of revenge across your character’s entire lifetime has one of the best moments in video game storytelling: when you’re shown your character through four stages of his or her life, including not just how your armor changed but how your body did too. Imagine the emotional impact of a similar sequence with the graphical fidelity of the current generation syst
Gameplay itself is a nice blend of action elements with those traditional to an RPG. On the offense, a melee weapon, long range weapon and magical will powers are always available, each assigned to a different face button. For defense, numerous gear combinations are available to ensure you’ll always be protected in the heat of battle. Plus you can block and roll. Enemies tend to rush you and offer quite a challenge for those unfamiliar with the proper strategies. Grinding isn’t a common occurrence, but going into battle well stocked with items is always necessary. While it’s not the deepest system, it’s still arguably the best one in the Fable series and remains enjoyable today.
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 under his wing at the Heroes’ Guild. The hero grows up here, honing his skills and training for the perils that lie ahead. When he’s finally old enough, he sets off on his quest and can choose to either be the savior of Albion or its reckoner. This is of course the major gimmick of Fable, a game that allows you to choose the path of your character throughout their entire life. It was a concept that was ahead of its time in 2004 and remains interesting even after ten years and countless imitators. Of course, it’s major flaw is still the missed potential that was put in the spotlight thanks to the endless hyperbole from Peter Molynex.
I was simply addicted to Tetris 99 earlier this year. I played it every day non-stop and had to actively draw myself away from playing it when I had other things to take care of. While battle royale and puzzle games don’t seem like they would mix, boy howdy they certainly do. While Fortnite remains the king and Apex Legends brought a lot of innovation to the genre, Tetris 99 proved that the mechanics of battle royale aren’t limited to just shoot
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 Adventure Games Story guide. 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 can be done and at least the old interface wasn’t simply re-skinned.
The mainline Fable games have never had subtitles. The major releases were just numerically ordered, Fable, Fable II, Fable III . However, which so much time having passed since the release of Fable 3 , it’s possible Microsoft will change things up and ditch the numerical system, similar to many recent titles in long-running franchises like Tomb Raider and DO
Fifteen years later, after being integrated into basically every kind of video game, the concept of a simple morality system has gone out of style. While some games have been experimenting with a more complex system, such as The Witcher 3 ‘s Geralt being an influential but neutral force in the world, it would be a benefit to Fable 4 to have a similarly deep and complex morality system that goes beyond angel wings and ho