Fable

On: Xbox - OUT: September 2004

THE PITCH: Finally nearing completion, Fable was one of the titles paraded at the Xbox's launch. In developers Big Blue Box's defence, this is an ambitious project - a free-roaming world where each and every one of your actions affects your characters moral and physical development.

KEY FEATURES

• Action-based character development: What you do directly changes your character. Too much skulking in dark rooms will make you pale, while a strong right arm may result from too much, um, swordplay.
• The real-time combat system is tailored to your characters strengths, while you also get to pick up glamorous scars along the way.
• Progression is based around your characters growing reputation, and the game's many NPCs regard you accordingly.

• THE BUZZ: We've yet to really get our hands on Fable, so the jury's out. Open-ended epic exploration of a stunningly realised fantasy world, or unfocussed ramble through a series of ill-defined gameplay 'innovations'? Time will tell...