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Is Fable IV Set To Release In 2013?

Chris Carlson — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:00:29 +0000

Fable: The Journey may have been just announced a few months back, but is a full-fledged Fable title in the works for 2013? According to the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine the rumor section stated:

“Look for the Fable cycle to continue with a proper, controller-based Fable IV in 2013.”

As Fable lover, let me be the first to say I hope this is accurate. Sorry Peter, but you can’t convince me with Fable: The Journey after you stated there will be no melee or ranged attacks in the game.

[Source: VG247]

Molyneux: “No Guns, No Swords” in Fable: The Journey

Matthew Sims — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:37:12 +0000

You guys remember Fable: The Journey? The game that Molyneux insisted would not be on rails, and even asked members of the press to sign a giant wall at E3 if they believed that. Our own Stephanie Gutowski, signed the wall. I’m not so sure I would. Well maybe if Peter asked me personally, I just can’t say no to that face.

Anyway, Mr. Molyneux has confirmed today that there will not be any melee attacks or shooting, at least by the player. When asked by OXM why the hell not? He responded with IT’S ALL ABOUT TACTILE FEEDBACK YOU GUYZ.

Here’s what he actually said, which is slightly different from my condensed, all-caps interpretation:

“We could have done melee weapons, but the one thing I hate about melee weapons, and guns as well, is that the human brain is encoded to expect recoil from those things.”

“Whenever I swing a sword and I hit something on screen, the visuals and the sound isn’t enough. We could have done what Zelda did well on Twilight Princess, where it doesn’t really matter what you do, what happens on-screen is the best thing. But I wanted people to feel powerful, to feel power, and that’s all about you.

“The thing about magic is there’s nothing encoded in your mind about how it should feel. So no guns, and no swords.”

So unless there’s a gun or sword peripheral coming to the Kinect (looking at you MadCatz) then it looks like Fable: The Journey may be yet another game where you just flail your arms around wildly and hoping for results. OH JOY!

Microsoft Says “Our First Party Output Is Superior To Our Competition”

Chris Carlson — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 21:29:29 +0000

While Sony has released top first party titles so far during 2011 such as: LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3, inFamous 2 etc. Microsoft won’t launch their first AAA exclusive title until September 20th when Gears of War hits shelves. Despite Microsoft having a dry spell until September, they still believe their first party line-up is superior to their competition.

Speaking with IndustryGamers, Xbox CFO Dennis Durkin argued that they’re superior to both Nintendo and Sony when suggested they should “build or acquire more studios to build up its development capabilities”.

“I would ask you to go and look at some of your data, just to compare first party performance over the course of this lifecycle, because I think our first party performance in terms of quality bars and units per title this shift has been superior to our competition’s.

Certainly we think first party is an important tool and you can’t dispute titles like Forza, which has consistently come out on a repeated cadence and sold multi-million units. You can’t dispute things like Fable, which again, on a very consistent pace, has come out and sold 2 and 3 million units a pop. And now new titles, like Kinect Sports, which has come out and sold over 3 million units. So we are, not only building existing IP and incubating around titles like Halo and others, but really building new IP in new areas. And that’s going to be core to us… to build those experiences and monetize those”

That’s a pretty bold statement from Microsoft considering IndustryGamers isn’t the first to bring up their lack of first party studios and titles. Many gamers across the web have expressed their frustration via Major Nelson‘s blog and the official Xbox forums.

Skyrim Starting to Acquire Fable Like Features

Chris Carlson — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:38:27 +0000

Bethesda just posted a pretty lengthy fan interview that suggests certain features in Skyrim will resemble that of the Fable series.

Lead Designer Bruce Nesmith was asked a simple question in Bethesda’s fan interview, “Will we be able to have relationships with the NPCs, romantic or otherwise?“. His answer however is probably something you don’t want to hear.

“Absolutely! You make friends with people by doing things for them. Friends in the game will treat you differently. Some of them will even agree to go with you into dungeons and on adventures. You can even get married. If you own a house, your spouse will move in with you.”

Sounds oddly familiar right? It should because Fable 3 had these exact same features. By simply talking to someone in Fable 3 you could do a job for them and become their friend, hold hands strolling down the sidewalk, or even get married and move into your own house.

I’m sure the game will turn out great regardless of these added simple features, but when I’m imagining Skyrim, the last thing that’s on my mind is getting married… in the game of course. Should you be worried? Probably not, but hearing that kind of answer just makes me cringe.

Peter Molyneux Was Robbed!! (Literally)

Dave Oshry — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:14:54 +0000

This just in: Peter Molyneux has been robbed! No, not of his intellectual property or an award at the BAFTAs. He has actually been robbed!!

If his tweets are to be believed:

Well, that sucks.

However, I think many people felt robbed when they bought Fable 3… ok, that was in poor taste. ^__^

Twitter

Fable III Will Allow Gay Couples To Adopt Kids

Bryce Wilson — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 08:59:25 +0000

With society becoming more and more accepting of both gay couples and adoption, it was only time before games followed suit and included the ability to do so. Well Fable III is starting that course of action by being the first game in the series to allow ingame gay couples to adopt children.

During a recent interview with ABC News, Peter Molyneux said;

“You can be gay. You can be bisexual. You can get married as many times as you like. It’s up to you, my fascination is with what that means to people. It means they can be who they are rather than who I require them to be.”

I welcome changes like this and I look forward to seeing how the public approaches freedom and innovation like this.

Source: [GamesRadar]

New Fable Novel Coming this Fall

Brandon Fenty — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:56:09 +0000

The Halo series of games has it’s own book series, why not Fable as well? That’s the question Peter David asked himself, before deciding to write one. The author of Halo: Helljumper has a new book in the works based on the Fable universe.

The Balverine Chronicles is scheduled to be released this fall. Not a big reader? Buying the book will also get you a code for a special in-game weapon. Maybe Mom was right: reading IS good for you!

Receive Bonuses for Making Your Own Fable III Villager

Bryce Wilson — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 05:57:38 +0000

As Ripten previously reported, fans and gamers alike now have the ability to make their very own Fable III villager that will actually appear in the game when it launches at the end of 2010. As if creating your own ingame villager wasn’t enough incentive, players will also receive a unique quest and 1,000 gold pieces once the game is fully released.

If you’re keen to make your own villian, everyday bogan or just your small town simpleton then click here.

E310: New Fable III Screenshots

Sam Naylor — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:12:17 +0000

Lionhead and Microsoft have released a new batch of Fable III screenshots, which show off some of the rich environments and the new character models for the game.

I must say it really looks nice, and I’ve no doubt that it will be a great game, too. It has Stephen Fry in it, which is generally enough to make things brilliant, but it genuinely seems to be shaping up to be better than Fable II at least. Outrageous comments from a certain designer aside, I expect great things. I also am allowed to get excited about the PC version, since it will be coming to that platform as well as the Xbox 360.

The game is expected to release this holiday season.

[nggallery id=148]

Gaze Your Eyes Upon Fable III Next Month and be Humbled

Gavin Bard — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:26:04 +0000

Steve Van Tilburgh, Lionhead’s community manager, took to the twitter to tease the fact Fable fans will find themselves witnessing a few videos of the spectacle that will be Fable III next month at an event nobody knows anything about yet. Fable III, being the third Fable for those who lack the ability to read fancy numerals of a Roman variant, is set to be released in the Fall at some point, so it is about time Molyneux started the hype train rolling towards its destination.

From Tillburgh’s Twitter:

Videos are to come out when we show Fable 3 for the 1st time at an event next month in SF.

No word yet on whether or not Peter Molyneux is breathlessly going to tell us Fable III contains the cure to cancer, the ability to save the US economy, the secret to Universal Healthcare, or if preorders will come with a special edition key to heaven (pictured above). We already know for a fact it will support Natal, which is really still just witchcraft to me, and microtransactions, which are just flat out evil. I find almost as much enjoyment in the hype around Fable games as I do playing the games themselves. I guess it is unfair to Molyneux though, as he has been pretty reigned in lately and his hype of Fable II wasn’t nearly as full of nonsense as the lead up to the original Fable was. Also, when you really think about it, the scope of both of those games was incredibly impressive regardless of how you feel about the hype or the games themselves. I like any game with an aging mechanic, it makes the world feel a whole lot more realistic and really gives your fantasy adventures a good base in time. It isn’t something that is done enough, I mean… before the original Fable what was the last game that tried to make it seem like your adventure happened over the course of years instead of hours? Phantasy Star III? We need more stuff like that.

Oh and as an aside, I can’t be the only person that finds it hilarious how much news we get from freakin’ Twitter now a days. I can’t believe what that silly little social experiment has become. It has the power to change the course of entire careers, not to mention culture. Twitter has become a kingmaker, soon it will become sentient and decide who lives or dies. Most likely it will decide that by the amount of followers a person has. So, you know, you should make sure my life is spared by adding me at http://twitter.com/lightfantastic. What? Can’t a guy shamelessly plug himself around here? Wait, that sounded wrong…

[Source: Eurogamer]

British TV man accidentally reveals Fable 3

Sam Naylor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:57:06 +0000

British TV presenter and celebrity-man Jonathan Ross has revealed in his Twitter that he “Got asked to do voice in Fable 3 tonight.” Needless to say, in a later update he mentions that he has to “apologize to Peter Molyneux”. Whoops. In any case, it looks like we’ll be seeing a Fable 3 in the future, with or without Ross’ voice.

I feel a bit sorry for Molyneux, since his so-far secret baby has been revealed to the world (well, mostly just to people who read gaming blogs). Oh, and another post of his suggests that “Charlie Brooker said he would do a voice for it to[o]!”- another British TV man, but this one is a funny, funny man.

Fall 2008 Lineup: R² Breakdown

Roly Reyes — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:46:06 +0000

Fall is fast approaching, and your bank balance will soon be dropping faster than the leaves on the tree outside your window. Naturally, you may not be able to decide for yourself which of the plethora of games to splurge your life’s savings on, and that’s where I come in.

Think of me as your personal assistant — ready to passively (and aggressively) project my thoughts and opinions onto you. Thank me later.

Dead Space (Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3, Xbox 360) 10/14 – It’s the future. We’ve made significant progressions in the space program. You’re Isaac Clarke, a space engineer, who’s answered a distress call from a ship that is, as far as he knows, only suffering from minor mechanical issue. Since we need antagonists to kill, the ship has been overrun by Necromorphs, a hostile polymorphic alien species dependant on necrotic flesh.

As lame as that sounds, all it does is confirm my suspicions that it is execution rather than conception that makes something intriguing.

EA Redwood has taken what I perceive and now know as the “Resident Evil 4 effect”: over-the-shoulder camera, controls that don’t make you want to burn a puppy, and something freak you out when you turn the corner. Comparisons to other great games continue; much like BioShock’s Rapture, a large portion, if not all, of Dead Space will be taking place in a self-contained location. What BioShock did right was make locations distinct enough to create a feeling of progression and keep things fresh with distinct differentiations in aesthetics.

Gameplay mechanics appear solid enough, and rightfully so, since they’re borrowing from the best. And let me be clear, that’s not a knock against it, I like that it borrows from games that I already know I love. Provided that they nail the gameplay, atmosphere has to be top notch, especially since they’re in the survival-horror genre, a genre that lives and dies by its ability to give you the screaming heebie-jeebies.

LittleBigPlanet (Playstation 3) 10/21 – “Play. Create. Share.” is the mantra that Media Molecule, developers of LittleBigPlanet, has lived by since they announced the title two years ago.

LBP is a 2D side-scrolling platformer that combines the Super Mario Bros paradigm of simply getting from one end of the screen to another and takes it to the next level with real-to-life physics calculations. Thow in an endearing star like Sackboy, and a pre-bundled level creator expansive enough to recreate just about anything your mind can think up, and you may begin to understand why people are clammering to reserve their copy.

If creating isn’t really your thing, you can expect a fully featured online catalog of levels created by others. Assuming that its release is met by a highly motivated and creative community focused on providing a constant stream of mind-blowing content, LBP will be surefire success.

Fable 2 (Xbox 360) 10/21 - Over promising and under delivering has very much been the theme of Peter Molyneux, the design mastermind behind Fable. I haven’t followed his hyperbolic propagand much throughout Fable II’s development, but I’m sure he’s spewed his fair share of it. The one thing I did hear is about the Han Solo factor.

The factor that has a player not being equally generous and forthcoming to everyone met, but a greedy, look-out-for-self, inward thinker that’s not exactly pure evil:

“With Han Solo, how good is good? Can you get as good as Luke Skywalker? Even he wasn’t truly good.” Molyneux said. Speaking with MTV Multiplayer blog.

He then went on t o hypothesize a potential situation in Fable II:

“If you saw a family there and had to kill these bandits to save the family, you’d kill the bandits to save the family. If I said to you, ‘okay, to save this family, you give up half your gold.’ Would you give up half your gold to save the family? Maybe you would, don’t know. The most interesting one is if I said ‘to save that family, you must be horribly, grotesquely scarred and there’s no way of ever removing the scar or the aging.’ What we found is that far, far fewer people were willing to sacrifice that.”

Would you sacrifice superficial features in a game to accomplish your good deed for the day? What about in the meatspace; fight or flight? Could an in-game situation make you stop for a second to contemplate the repercussions of your actions? Would you second guess your decision making? That seems to be the goal they are striving for here.

Fallout 3 (Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3, Xbox 360) 10/28 – Post-apocalyptic wastelands haven’t been done right since 1998, or so they say. Having only become a PC gamer recently, I missed out on both Fallout’s, and I’ve neglected to watch any of the Mad Max movies. As such, I’ve never been set in a Mad Max-esque setting – and I’m not quite sure what to expect. In other words, I have little insight into this cultural phenomenon.

I know about the barren stretches of land, the different factions, your dog, the vaults, the open-ended consequence-filled nature of the world, the VAT combat system and the Pip-Boy. All that knowledge taking up real-estate in my head, but even so, I can’t begin to understand the hype machine surrounding this games pending release. Despite my not having any comprehension as to how the game will actually “work”, it’s piqued enough of my interest that I will definitely be playing it on day one.

Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) 11/4 - “Bigger, better, and more badass.” Was the phrase Lead Designer Cliff Bleszenski chose to introduce the world to Gears of War 2, although it was scrapped shortly thereafter. Setting aside the idiotic catch phrase, my initial fears were that little to no advancement had happened in the two year gap between the first and the second Gears of War’s.

Epic could’ve released what would ostensibly be the original Gears with a new single-player campaign and, by and large, be met with success, both critically and commercially. Marginally upgraded graphics, new enemy types, and new weapons would have likely been sold as more than enough reason to come back for round two.

Thankfully though, they didn’t phone Gears of War 2 in. A new campaign, 5 player co-op, and what seems like a vastly improved multiplayer mode have me at attention and ready for battle. The 5 player co-op has a bit of a twist, as it pits you and your friends in something more analogous to Geometry Wars: Waves. You fight through waves of Locusts with each subsequent wave being more difficult than the previous. It’s chances of being Game of the Forever are slim to none, but what it does have is a great foundation to work from, if taken in the right directions it will prove to be a success in most aspects.

Resistance 2 (Playstation 3) 11/7 – Ever since its announcement, you’ve heard about Resistance 2 and it’s scale. In fact, Insomniac Games made sure that one was never mentioned without the other. A prime example being the skyscraping 300 ft. tall Leviathan shown off at the Sony E3 Press Conference months ago. It ravaged through a 1950’s war-torn Chicago and smashed buildings with little remorse.

For those that missed the original, it’s an alternate historical take on World War II, where instead of the war progressing as it should with the Allies vs. Axis, it’s become Humans on Chimeras, a mysterious alien species life form that’s decided to invade Earth.

The first takes places through European cities. With the second, the war comes stateside and it’s up to hero of the European invasion, Nathan Hale, to play his part. Apart from repeating the word “scale” until it ceases to have meaning, they’ve also been playing the numbers game like it’s nobody’s business, unleashing an 8 player class-based co-op campaign, and 64 player squad-based competitive multiplayer.

In addition to the numbers game, they’ve also been building a new website behind-the-scenes. One that’s meant to foster a community. MyResistance.net is slated to be to Resistance 2, as Bungie.net is to Halo 3. Those are big shoes to fill, but Insomniac readily boasts the “scale” to do it.

Mirror’s Edge (Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3, Xbox 360) 11/11 - We got our first taste of the evolved paradigm of platforming courtesy of last year’s release of Assassin’s Creed. The craze is called Parkour, which is a French developed sport involving running, jumping, and otherwise traversing urban areas with complete grace and shocking fluidity. When directly translated from French to English it means “The art of movement”. The definition and translation of Parkour is easily transferable and a perfectly acceptable for Mirror’s Edge, as it takes Parkour, and translates it into a first-person action game.

Mirror’s Edge takes place in a not-so-distant dystopian future, run by a totalitarian government. I don’t know how much you know about totalitarian governments with Orwellian traits, but they like to control things, and one of their favorite things to control is information. That’s where the “Runners” come in. They take information in various forms and get it from point A to point B.

You play Faith, an extremely agile and graceful runner. As such, she can move through her environment with relative ease and fluidity. Much of Mirror’s Edge involves forward movement, you can expect to, more often than not, be in situations where you’re being shot at, chased, or otherwise incentivized to — you guessed it, move forward.

The only downfall I can think of is the game’s lack of interaction with civilians in the dystopian city. There’s just a picture perfect scene in my mind’s eye, where Faith is going from a rooftop, through a door, down a stairwell, and finally arriving in an office, ultimately interrupting a regular work-day, turning workers into obstacles that become part of the stage.

Those are the games that will keep your wallet (or purse, if you’re into that sort of thing) lighter than it has been all year.

Make sure you come back within the next few days, as I’ll be pushing the games of Fall that may slip under your radar, but shouldn’t. Save your pocket change — you’re going to need it.

Fable 2′s Collectors Edition Subject to Change

Roly Reyes — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:27:52 +0000

Fable 2 is done. No, really, it’s for real this time. As we speak, it’s already being pressed to discs, manufactured, and otherwise tarted up for it’s release on October 21, 2008 for North America and Asia, and October 24, 2008 for Europe. But that’s not the story, the real story is you see that package of awesome above?

Do you have any irrational impulse to own it? Have you even already gone as far as pre-ordering it? Tough. Because you see all that? Almost all of it’s gone. But not all is lost, the price has been dropped from a $79.99 to a more conventional $69.99 (both figures are in USD, so convert accordingly).

This looks like a glass half-empty or half-full situation. On one hand, you’re losing some arguably rad content, but on the other, you’re saving some arguably sweet $10.00 — just think how many dollar menu burgers you’ll be able to get with those!

The original Fable 2 Collectors Edition was originally set to include:

Bonus DVD – Includes new ‘Making-of Feature’ with Peter Molyneux and the team at Lionhead Studios and concept art viewer

Bonus In-Game Content (Requires LIVE account) – Includes “The Hall of the Dead” Dungeon, “The Wreckager” Legendary Cutlass Weapon and Otherworldly Bonus

Collectible Hobbe figure with accessories – From the Qee Collection comes this one-of-a-kind Hobbe figure. Nasty, brutish, and short, he roams the countryside, preying on travelers and spiriting away the children of the unwary.

48-hour Xbox LIVE Gold Trial Card – With Xbox LIVE Gold, players can show off their individual hero by inviting friends into their unique version of Albion or they can visit their friends’ Albion, and earn additional gold, experience and renown to take back into their own.

Five printed Fate Cards – These five beautiful cards foretell the Hero’s great destiny to journey across all of Albion, encountering deadly enemies and enigmatic allies. The path leads to a choice that will change the world forever.

But for paying less, you’ll also get less. This is the revised, price-reduced Fable II Collectors Edition:

Fable II game disc

Bonus DVD with new ‘Making-of’ Feature

Bonus in-game content (requires Xbox LIVE®)

‘The Hall of the Dead’ Dungeon

‘The Wreckager’ Legendary Cutlass Weapon

Spartan armor and energy sword

Basically, you’re losing the premium box, printed cards, and statue. Although, Sam, Lionhead’s Community Manager, has mentioned that the box art will be the same as the one seen above, and that they’re going to release the cards in PDF format for fans to print and enjoy.

Source: Lionhead Studios

Earn Money in Fable 2 Before It Releases – No Prostitution Required

Dan Landis — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 07:03:33 +0000

In an attempt to get you more excited about Fable 2′s release, Peter Molyneux and the studly geniuses at Lionhead are giving you an early taste in the form of an Xbox Live Arcade game.

Keystone is a downloadable XBLA game that will release prior to Fable 2. It’s just one of the many mini-games found in Fable 2, but Keystone will let you gamble and win gold that you can then transfer into your Fable 2 saved game. You can be a rich bitch before you even enter the world of Albion!

No release date has been given for either Fable 2 or Keystone, but the stars are aligning for a Summer delivery. Keystone already looks ready to go, so it can up and surprise us at any time. Be on the lookout for that crafty bastard on the marketplace, or just stay tuned to Ripten and we’ll let you know when it’s coming out.

Fable 2 Co-op Officially Revealed, Heart-Strings Pulled

Dan Landis — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:59:35 +0000

A few minutes ago at the Microsoft keynote, Peter Molyneux officially showed off the online co-op of the upcoming Fable 2.

Unfortunately for him, however, his in-game friend happened to murder Peter’s wife right in front of him. Oh yeah, Peter Molyneux is a red-headed chick with some nice boobs, which came as quite a shock to me. He looks much different on camera.

So his in-game character is female, which looked pretty nice. He apparently got pregnant at some point, but said that there is no childbirth minigame. Damn…

Peter comes home from a six-month stint away from his family and is instantly assaulted with love from his 5-year-old son. His husband appears slightly angry at Peter for being away so long, so Peter’s co-op partner decides to shoot him in the face.

Choose your friends wisely because this event is permanent. Peter’s husband is dead. No respawns, no second life. He is gone forever, and Peter is one sad girl.

The co-op itself is drop-in/drop-out, so no need to set up a game beforehand. The host player remains the same character while the joining player becomes a henchman based off of a character from their own game.

Fable 2 will be demoed again on Friday, all by itself. Check back for more coverage and info on what looks to be another sure-fire hit for the Molynator.