When I sat down, yes sat down, to play the demo for the Kinect-only Fable: The Journey I didn’t expect much. The motion control genre has always been lackluster for me. Most games are full of inaccurate controls & have severe delays to my actions causing me to repeat the same gestures over and over. This generally adds up to a frustrating rage fit rather than an enjoyable experience. With this in mind I dusted off the old Kinect sensor and jumped into Fable: The Journey, which to my surprise was quite enjoyable.
First of all, as I stated earlier, you don’t have to stand up. Let’s face it, the Kinect sensor does not pick up your legs very well. We all look ridiculous doing knee highs to walk a few steps anyway, so Lionhead Studios did away with anything leg related. What this does however is make Fable: The Journey an on-the-rail type game, which surprisingly feels right for the title. What impressed me most in the demo was how responsive the game was to my wild spell throwing. Like most Kinect action games enemies tend to come at you slower than they would in a non-Kinect game, but Fable: The Journey still got my adrenaline pumping as I frantically blew Hollowmen into next week.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Fable: The Journey takes place 50 years after Fable III and the disease-like “Corruption” has taken over Albion. You play as Gabriel, a dweller who has been separated from his tribe. Gabriel runs into Theresa, the blind seeress, who has been stripped of her power. The two set off on a journey to restore Theresa’s power and stop the corruption.
The Demo gives you four main spells. Bolt is your primary spell which will blast a sphere of lightning at your enemies. You can also hurl the sphere of electricity one direction and pull it in another allowing you to hit enemies taking cover. With the Push spell you are able to grab and fling meaty enemies wherever you desire. The same spell will also allow you dismember the skeleton-like Hollowmen piece by piece; which is particularly satisfying. The Fire spell launches an explosive fireball at enemies leaving destruction in its wake. You can also mortar the fireball by launching it into the air and pulling it down onto your foes. Lastly the magic spear spell impales anything you throw it at. Casting spells is fairly easy via simple hand gestures on both the right & left hands. Switching between different spells is achieved with slight variations on these gestures or through the use of voice commands. All in all there is about a medium learning curve, but with a little more practice I could see myself as an archmage wizard extraordinaire.
Graphically, Fable: The Journey is built on the Unreal 3 engine and looks pretty decent. It won’t win any best graphics awards, if there are any out there, but as we’ve seen in the past graphics are not everything. The Fable series has always shined in the sound category with their elaborate music scores & realistic effects. Fable: The Journey is no exception to this; particularly, the spell sounds immerse you into the environment & successfully give you the illusion of having raw power pulsing through you.
As with all Kinect games, there is still that “Kinect gaming-ness” feeling to Fable: The Journey. However it appears Lionhead has taken steps to improve on the motion control genre and give players a little more immersion than they’re used to having. In conclusion I found the demo for Fable: The Journey to be a refreshing change from the generally workaday motion control genre. Fable: The Journey launches on October 9th, 2012. Have you played the demo? Let us know in the comment section below. As for me, I might just have a new way to get those buff arms I always wanted.
