TES: Oblivion < Fable: The Lost Chapters (PC)
Posted: 20 Nov 2006, 02:29
I don't know how far through Fable I am, but I think I still have a ways to go. I just rescued the Archeologist from a horde of baddies in red. Anyways...
This game, IMO, is vastly superior to Oblivion in many important ways. In some ways, Oblivion was better. For instance, oblivion had bigger, better cities, but... meh. There were only like 3 places you'd ever go in any city. The rest was just realism, not that I've got any problem with that.
So far, the things I like about Fable:
Archery is actually pretty realistic, comparatively. In Oblivion, bow&arrow was actually LESS powerful than regular weapons, until you became an elite sniper, and even then you were pretty weak - far weaker than you'd be if you'd become an elite swordsman. In Fable, though, archery is a more powerful ability, but only until enemies get close enough to strike you - this is very logical IMO. For instance, a single hit from a fully-charged (until the bowstring is completely tight) arrow will kill many low-level enemies. 2-5 hits is enough to take down most anything else. But in Fable, the designers haven't made the models so detailed that you can only get one enemy onscreen! No, in Fable, you're likely to be in battles of 10+ enemies regularly!
Also, Fable has a much more robust close-combat system. Instead of just "attack" and "block", there's attack, block, roll, and a lock-on system that allows you to sidestep if you're careful. You'll be needing that roll ability, since bunnyhopping isn't possible here.
The story of Fable is much stronger, IMO. There are fewer side-quests, and these are basically just ways to get cash and build your reputation, rather than full-blown Oblivion-style quests. But as a result, the game pulls you in a lot better since the main campaign has had more work put into it.
Fable isn't completely open-ended like Oblivion. Just running around doing quests and finding places to explore will get boring VERY fast. But there is a good/evil system, and a few things that I've never seen before. For instance, you can buy houses and rent them out for a moderate, regular profit. You can also marry people. (yeah, guys too. Blehhhh) Everything you wear (including tatoos and hairstyles) increases or decreases your attractiveness and scariness - I haven't really experimented with what these do for you though.
Lockpicking and theft is another aspect I like a lot better. It's just a timer, not some irritating "buy 100 lockpicks from all the fences every couple days because you'll 20 of them every time you attempt a door. OR JUST GET THE SKELETON KEY AND RENDER THE WHOLE SYSTEM USELESS." If you're not noticed in the time it takes to lockpick or steal something, it's now yours.
The weapon system is simpler, basically there's just 5 tiers of various types of weapon, each more powerful than the last. Simple, but it makes little difference anyway, since there were only one or two kinds of weapon that were good to have in Oblivion anyway. The magic system is much simpler, but with more interesting types of spells. Rather than being able to make your own spells, there's just a wide variety to pick from, many of which are just plain cool beyond words, and seem like things out of something like Jedi Knight or something.
Inventory management is very simple. There's no maximum carrying capacity. To wear a certain thing, you select the body part, equip what you want to wear, and you're done, much like Oblivion. One thing I found disappointing is that there's no way to pick presets of weapons/equipment based on the situation. For instance, a way to have a bunch of clothes/armor in set A, while having an entirely different set in set B, and be able to switch between them as the situation warrants it.
I haven't figured out what good a lot of Fable's "expressions" are good for, but there's a lot of them. Basically they're animated emotes you can have your character make, much like something you'd expect out of MMORPGs. But NPCs don't seem to react noticably to most of them.
Oblivion's and Fable's graphics are roughly on par with each other, in my opinion. They both use HDR and lots of stuff like that, but each game also has a lot of really good, unique effects. Fable, IMO, has more of these, and they're better looking.
Unlike oblivion, where enemies basically just charge at you and that's the extent of the AI, Fable's enemies seem to actually try to surround you and work together. It's a little more difficulty, and it's very welcome.
Fable puts me in mind of what Knights of the Old Republic would've been like if it had been a first-person rather than traditional RPG.
Another thing I like is that there seems to be very little "roll of the dice" stuff, which I've always hated. An attack will always hit, unless the defender dodges or blocks it. No "critical hits" or "critical misses".
Oblivion featured VERY little group combat, mainly because this sort of thing is where its gameplay pretty much fell apart. Fable is vastly superior in this regard. If you have a good enough reputation, you can just walk up to a bunch of guys you want to help you and say "follow me" and they'll gladly do so. Lead them into combat, and they won't just cluster and crappy-pathfind to death. NPCs aren't nearly as powerful as you of course, but they are very good helpers. Since they're not fragile (mostly) they can, at the very least, be a good distraction while you line up your perfect headshot.
Fable's only weak point, IMO, is its lack of customization. Your character will always appear the same, and you can't enchant your armor or weapons with various effects.
So, if you've finished Oblivion, or it's finished you, Fable should be the next one on the list. Or if you've never played Oblivion, but enjoyed games like Jedi Knight or Knights of the Old Republic, get Fable right away.
This game, IMO, is vastly superior to Oblivion in many important ways. In some ways, Oblivion was better. For instance, oblivion had bigger, better cities, but... meh. There were only like 3 places you'd ever go in any city. The rest was just realism, not that I've got any problem with that.
So far, the things I like about Fable:
Archery is actually pretty realistic, comparatively. In Oblivion, bow&arrow was actually LESS powerful than regular weapons, until you became an elite sniper, and even then you were pretty weak - far weaker than you'd be if you'd become an elite swordsman. In Fable, though, archery is a more powerful ability, but only until enemies get close enough to strike you - this is very logical IMO. For instance, a single hit from a fully-charged (until the bowstring is completely tight) arrow will kill many low-level enemies. 2-5 hits is enough to take down most anything else. But in Fable, the designers haven't made the models so detailed that you can only get one enemy onscreen! No, in Fable, you're likely to be in battles of 10+ enemies regularly!
Also, Fable has a much more robust close-combat system. Instead of just "attack" and "block", there's attack, block, roll, and a lock-on system that allows you to sidestep if you're careful. You'll be needing that roll ability, since bunnyhopping isn't possible here.
The story of Fable is much stronger, IMO. There are fewer side-quests, and these are basically just ways to get cash and build your reputation, rather than full-blown Oblivion-style quests. But as a result, the game pulls you in a lot better since the main campaign has had more work put into it.
Fable isn't completely open-ended like Oblivion. Just running around doing quests and finding places to explore will get boring VERY fast. But there is a good/evil system, and a few things that I've never seen before. For instance, you can buy houses and rent them out for a moderate, regular profit. You can also marry people. (yeah, guys too. Blehhhh) Everything you wear (including tatoos and hairstyles) increases or decreases your attractiveness and scariness - I haven't really experimented with what these do for you though.
Lockpicking and theft is another aspect I like a lot better. It's just a timer, not some irritating "buy 100 lockpicks from all the fences every couple days because you'll 20 of them every time you attempt a door. OR JUST GET THE SKELETON KEY AND RENDER THE WHOLE SYSTEM USELESS." If you're not noticed in the time it takes to lockpick or steal something, it's now yours.
The weapon system is simpler, basically there's just 5 tiers of various types of weapon, each more powerful than the last. Simple, but it makes little difference anyway, since there were only one or two kinds of weapon that were good to have in Oblivion anyway. The magic system is much simpler, but with more interesting types of spells. Rather than being able to make your own spells, there's just a wide variety to pick from, many of which are just plain cool beyond words, and seem like things out of something like Jedi Knight or something.
Inventory management is very simple. There's no maximum carrying capacity. To wear a certain thing, you select the body part, equip what you want to wear, and you're done, much like Oblivion. One thing I found disappointing is that there's no way to pick presets of weapons/equipment based on the situation. For instance, a way to have a bunch of clothes/armor in set A, while having an entirely different set in set B, and be able to switch between them as the situation warrants it.
I haven't figured out what good a lot of Fable's "expressions" are good for, but there's a lot of them. Basically they're animated emotes you can have your character make, much like something you'd expect out of MMORPGs. But NPCs don't seem to react noticably to most of them.
Oblivion's and Fable's graphics are roughly on par with each other, in my opinion. They both use HDR and lots of stuff like that, but each game also has a lot of really good, unique effects. Fable, IMO, has more of these, and they're better looking.
Unlike oblivion, where enemies basically just charge at you and that's the extent of the AI, Fable's enemies seem to actually try to surround you and work together. It's a little more difficulty, and it's very welcome.
Fable puts me in mind of what Knights of the Old Republic would've been like if it had been a first-person rather than traditional RPG.
Another thing I like is that there seems to be very little "roll of the dice" stuff, which I've always hated. An attack will always hit, unless the defender dodges or blocks it. No "critical hits" or "critical misses".
Oblivion featured VERY little group combat, mainly because this sort of thing is where its gameplay pretty much fell apart. Fable is vastly superior in this regard. If you have a good enough reputation, you can just walk up to a bunch of guys you want to help you and say "follow me" and they'll gladly do so. Lead them into combat, and they won't just cluster and crappy-pathfind to death. NPCs aren't nearly as powerful as you of course, but they are very good helpers. Since they're not fragile (mostly) they can, at the very least, be a good distraction while you line up your perfect headshot.
Fable's only weak point, IMO, is its lack of customization. Your character will always appear the same, and you can't enchant your armor or weapons with various effects.
So, if you've finished Oblivion, or it's finished you, Fable should be the next one on the list. Or if you've never played Oblivion, but enjoyed games like Jedi Knight or Knights of the Old Republic, get Fable right away.
