Fable Anniversary

It's been years since I played the original Fable, which was released for the first Xbox. Subsequent installments have made it on to the Xbox 360, and Lionhead Studios decided the 10th anniversary of the game was the perfect time for the original to debut on the same console. Fable Anniversary takes all the things you loved about the original (and a few things you didn't) and ramps it up to the next level.

If you played the original, some differences will be apparent immediately. Albion has never looked as good. The graphics power of the Xbox 360 is a leap over the Xbox. Everything has a shiny new coat of paint, making it look more real. Frame rate issues can cause some odd graphical issues at times, but it’s not severe enough (at least in my experience) to take away too much from the overall gameplay.

Of course, not everything about the original Fable was worth keeping. The combat system was refined on subsequent releases to make it less complex and frustrating. The developers have decided to sit on the fence for that one. Not only can you opt for the updated version of controls – which makes things a lot smoother – but if you really yearn for the Fable of old, you can choose to play with the legacy controls that will send you right back to 2004. It's a nice touch, if you like that sort of thing.

There are other additions. The Lost Chapters content extends your playing time considerably, and support for SmartGlass has also been added, which didn’t exist back in 2004. Aside from that, it’s essentially the same game, from storyline to voice acting.

A nice update for a well-loved Xbox classic.