<br>If there ever was a game designer that should not talk about his games prior to their release date, it's Peter Molyneux. When discussing his projects, Molyneux has a childlike sense of excitement where he will enthusiastically share details on his grand ambitions for the title. This is actually quite refreshing in itself, because who doesn't enjoy hearing someone passionately discuss their creative projects? The problem with this occurs when the game in question is actually released. The game itself could be good, even great if it were simply judged for what it is, but disappointment is going to happen when a title fails to deliver on lofty promises no matter how good it may otherwise. The most memorable example of Molyneux creating hype that the game couldn't live up to was 2004's Xbox exclusive action RPG Fable.<br><br> <br>Peter Jackson's take on The Hobbit didn't quite live up to the standards set by the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but an adaptation of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor could be a great addition to the movie canon. The game takes place after the events of The Hobbit but before The Lord of the Rings , and focuses on a Ranger called Talion, who is killed by Sauron's forces but is saved when a wraith merges with his body, turning Talion into an undead warrior with some very unique abilities. Enraged by the slaughter of his family, Talion proceeds to single-handedly wreak havoc on Sauron's army of Orcs, playing an unsung role in preventing the fall of Middle-ea<br><br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>Anyone who's played Fable knows that it fell short of these amazing claims and there's a good chance they felt disappointed when they saw it failed to live up to everything it was supposed to be if they pre-ordered. This is unfortunate, because once we get past Molyneux's grandiose claims for what Fable will be and just accept it for what it actually is, Fable turned out to be a rather impressive final product. Raising children wasn't an option in the first Fable and sadly neither was killing the little brats that ran through the town, but overall the game seemed to match the goals of what Molyneux wanted to create, even though it came in a much more scaled back version of what he raised our expectations to be. The story progressing across a lifetime basically got reduced to the hero would whenever they leveled up and the world didn't seem to change at all from when the hero when from his teenage years to entering his sixties. On the other hand, Fable had a bit of an unexpected Monty Python quality with a narrator. He wasn't the most useful voice as he would typically tell you there is a quest card at the guild or randomly ask "what's that?" but having a disembodied British voice throughout the game was a nice touch.<br><br>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-before-seen nuances. Even trees in the backgrounds and leaves on the pathways of villages are more detailed. Everything has a smooth look which gives it a nice overall aesthetic comparable to other Xbox 360 games. The only flaw in the new look is that sometimes things can be a bit too smoothed over and come across a little smeary. Sometimes the sharp edges of the original helped to keep objects separated, something that can sometimes be a problem here. The other continually noticeable boost is the lighting, with plenty of new shadow effects and nuances between different lighting situations, where as before things were basically light or dark. Overall, while it’s not perfect and hampered by the fact that practically every Xbox 360 Adventure Game Cheats now looks long in the tooth, it’s certainly the preferable way to experience the game — nostalgia or not.<br>
