Fable

John Gillooly finds an RPG that's chicken kicken' good.

Fable is a rarity, an RPG that requires actual role playing to make the most of it. For you are the centre of the game in a way that goes beyond mere storyline. It is a game in which a hero is treated like one, rather than the standard fare of drifting through a world that seems neither to care nor even acknowledge any of your mighty deeds.

Fable is a rarity, a game requiring actual role playing.	'I gotta find me a barber, this hair's weighing me down'

The game starts with you as a child, faced with some simple decisions as you explore your home town of Oakvale. It is part of a tutorial that gently walks you through the early stages of the game, and sets up what becomes a great story arc about a boy growing to become a famous hero and of course meet his destiny (it is an RPG after all).

The story then jumps quickly through several stages of youth and into adulthood, where the game opens up and you begin your journey through the world of Albion. You receive quests that can be completed for money, experience and renown. The higher your renown level becomes, the more people will swoon at the mere sight of you, the hero, entering their small town - or cringe as your evil countenance strikes fear into their hearts.

It's bizarre that the two RPGS that stand heads and shoulders over the others on Xbox are Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic and Fable, and both centre largely on morality and the choice between good and evil. (We are not even starting down the 'morality tales published by Microsoft' path.)

No place like a hero's home in good ol' Oakvale.	Don the sword, appreciate the scenery, make like a hero.

There are so many cool things you can do in Fable - you don't have to do any of them to complete the main quest, but isn't role playing all about becoming your character? If you do stop to smell the roses you can get eminently sidetracked, hours can be spent trying to kick chickens record distances and buying a house and getting married to one of your adoring female fans is but one particular frivolity that can send you off on a tangent.

Despite the fact that it has a quite gentle nature, and a very fairytale feel, the combat in Fable is awesome. It gets that brilliant combination of control and feel down, and apart from some niggles with the ranged targeting system, it is a sheer delight to wade through hordes of enemies. There are two main classes of weapons - you can fight with a melee weapon like a sword, axe or hammer (which gets more and more over the top as your character develops) or you can use a bow for ranged combat.

Magic also features heavily in the game and even those who aren't pure magic users will find themselves fixating on certain spells. For example, melee fighters will want to pump experience into the Beserk spell, which turns your hero into a faster, stronger mass with enormously increased arse kicking potential. Big Blue Box and Lionhead have delivered a truly delightful game.

While some will hack and slash their way through the adventure and miss most of its charm, those that take a little time in the world of Albion will soon know the sheer joy that comes from becoming a legendary hero.