A New Spin On An Old Fable

Earlier this month, Lionhead Studios officially unveiled their plans for an XBox LIVE Arcade title based on their hugely successful Fable franchise, and it was clear by the first screenshot that this will be anything but your typical Fable game.

The most notable migration away from tradition is the drastically cartoonish graphics, which enthusiasts of the series will no doubt recognize as an homage to that (infuriating) Dollcatcher achievement in Fable 2. Not unlike the path Nintendo took with their 2003 Legend of Zelda title The Wind Waker, Fable Heroes appears to be only a temporary deviation from the normal modus operandi. Also not unlike Wind Waker, Lionhead is taking a helluva gamble that they don’t alienate too many Fable devotees by taking the franchise in such a bold direction. For better or worse, they appear to be hedging their bets by releasing it as a noncanonical, supplemental offering within their larger, Albion-based universe.

Although not shown or mentioned in the official trailer, a screenshot clearly illustrates the utilization of a board game style map system, similar to the ones made popular by the Mario Party series. And because Fable Heroes is being advertised as a “friendly and playful cooperative/competition” style multiplayer game, it’s fair to assume that you can expect plenty of Mario Party-esqe button mashing, frantic mini-games, and baffling chance occurrences that may have you either cheering boisterously for yourself, or shouting obscenities at the friends and/or loved ones sitting on the other end of the couch. Power-ups, unlockables and coin collecting will all take place in reimagined locales from the existing Fable universe, and there will apparently be time trials and leaderboards to sate the more competitive players out there.

Ahhh, computerized games of "Chance"

All joviality and shenanigans aside, the real question here is how this game will be received by the gaming populous. Fable fans are among the most rabid passionate fans of any franchise in the industry, so much so that a developer simply breaking wind will polarize them against each other. With the upcoming Fable: The Journey for the Kinect already becoming such a lightning rod of controversy, one can’t help but wonder if Heroes is a cleverly calculated move intended to attract new demographic of fans to the series before the next big title release(s) in order to supplement anticipated potential loses. Lionhead has even gone so far as to incorporate cross-game awards and unlockables between the two titles, as a not-so-subtle incentive to play both.  

You can fully expect fights to break out over who gets to be Reaver

It goes without saying that this style of game simply won’t appeal to everyone, and it’s clear by the download-only availability and the low starting price that the producers aren’t expecting a widespread runaway hit. But unless you’re such a die-hard Fable purist that the very concept of this game infuriates you, Heroes looks as though it'll be a cute and charming little multiplayer romp that should hold you over until the next disc release. Who knows, perhaps years from now we'll look back fondly upon this game as the catalyst that spawned a new series of "Fable-Party" games...

And so our story begins…

Fable Heroes is scheduled for release via Xbox Live Arcade on May 2nd, 2012 for 800 MS Points ($10).