The Molyneux Paradigm: Hate the Past, Hype the Future > 자유게시판

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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 can be done and at least the old interface wasn't simply re-skinned.

Member the games you used to play? We member. The basement at the Hardcore Gamer office has a section known as the Crust Room, with an old grey couch and a big old CRT TV. All the classic systems are down there collecting dust, so in Oldthing published an article effort to improve the cleanliness of our work space, we dust off these old consoles every so often and put an old game through its paces, just to make sure everything stays in working order. We even have a beige computer with a floppy disk drive.

Project Ego sounded like nothing I had played before. Being able to pick and choose which quests to take wasn't exactly groundbreaking, but the idea of the game taking place across the character's lifetime was intriguing. There was talk about how the character would be designed and uniquely tailored to the player's gameplay and they would be able to have children that would have a significant impact in the world. The character would receive unique scars from battle, they could plant a sapling and watch it grow in a massive tree throughout the course of the game and the NPCs would have unique reactions to the player based on their deeds to create the sense of a living world the player was truly a part of.

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 characters would grow horns and attract pestilence. The NPC behaviors weren't quite as unique as early claims from Project Ego days would have you believe, but they did react based on those factors, though just about everyone gave the same reaction based on the hero's current renown and alignment.

NPC reactions is an area where Fable probably could have benefited from some more tweaking, since early on in the game no one takes the hero seriously, but after playing a few hours the player is likely either the most beloved or feared resident of Albion. The citizens of Albion are superficial as once the fame came in so did the opportunity to take on a spouse or three. Fable was progressive in terms of marriage, allowing the player to take a spouse of the same gender and engage in polygamy. Well, maybe polygamy wasn't accepted in Albion since there could only be one spouse per town, so these multiple partners weren't exactly legit. They ended up leaving me anyway since I never spent any time with them or gave them gifts, but considering how difficult and time consuming it was to actually take a spouse to bed, they seemed to be more trouble than they were worth. The main purpose spouses served in Fable was when playing as an evil character, killing them would net so many evil alignment points.

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 into a game that has aged remarkably well. Even after two sequels and console generations, Fable has the uncanny ability to suck you into its adventure through the world of Albion. Anniversary is more of a preservation if anything, ensuring that the entire franchise can now be played in the same manner on the same console. As a museum piece, it’s a wonderful effort that ensures the game will remain relevant for a new generation of players. As a game, it’s the definitive edition of a superb title that has a lot to offer even in 2014.

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.