Original Fable from 2004 was and still is one of the greatest games made by the school of British game designers. It popularized original Xbox and then Xbox 360 consoles when Fable II showed up and managed to catapult Lionhead Studios to stardom. A decade later we got a remaster that would be the swan song for this studio. And now we are here to answer the question if this remaster is any good, and if the Fable’s magical heart still ticks inside.


Fable’s story is inspired by the classical English tales and the Arthurian Knights of the round circle, it’s a high fantasy tale of a small child that loses everyone he loves after a terrifying attack, his rise though the Hero’s Guild as he gains power and popularity, and the great challenges and sacrifices he’ll have to overcome in the face of ultimate evil. The story is simple and linear, but it is told in a sharp, witty and evocative way that will keep you guessing what obstacle our hero has to beat next, and who is our nemesis that is foreshadowed quite well thought the game. Filled with interesting allies and villains along with the typical satirical English sense of humor, it will take about 15-20 hours to complete the main story and double that to finish all the side quests.


Your main character can and will use melee weapons, bows and magic to dispense his justice. Given that the combat is an important part of every RPG, including this one, Fable has a simplistic but serviceable combat system, where your timing is of the essence to protect yourself from the blow, as well as to spam your attacks until the foe is no more. The downside is that the combat never becomes difficult or tactical, only occasionally challenging with cheap shots or unblockable enemy combos.


When Fable was still under development, it was called Project Ego where besides getting quests and killing stuff, you’d also have a simulation of living as a fantasy hero. As you grow older, you will have Attraction and Scariness scale you’ll have to balance to impress the villagers and notable figures of the realm of Albion. Becoming attractive will get you NPCs that will want to be your spouses, while becoming scary-looking will yield respect from authority and better prices from traders. Coupled with a morality scale, some foes will be afraid of you, while other will attack you on sight. As you gain power, you will upgrade your basic attributes and combat skills, but every time you do that, you will get to be a bit more older. By the time your hero has maxed out everything, he’ll be a grandad on steroids. These mechanics are meant to represent a heroes’ life and his journey, and for the most part, represent them well.


Build in Unreal 3 engine, the remaster is filled with decently detailed textures and fantastic work on lightning and shadow effects. The entire game manages to look pretty enough and colorful. It does come with a price of having more bugs than I remember being in the original Fable. Sometimes an NPC will disappear, or an important script will fail to launch, but these can be fixed by quitting to main menu and going back in the game again. A new feature that I absolutely dislike is the new checkpoint system – if the game craps out on you, tough luck as you’ll just have to quit the current game to get to the previous save; the inventory system is horrible since its made for controllers – it’s obtuse and counter-intuitive, and you’ll never get completely comfortable.


Music is another highlight of Fable series, with a great and touching soundtrack made by Russell Shaw, along with the amazing main theme created by the master-bard himself, Danny Elfman. All the dialogue in the game is fully voice-recorded and well made. Sound design is decent, with hero’s magical attacks being my favorites, but the general sound of combat can be a bit flat and uninspired.


My final impression for this remaster and the Fable game itself is mostly positive, and would recommend getting your hands on it. It’s a unique RPG experience that remains playful, light-hearted and enchanting compared to other RPG counterparts. In a symbolic way, the team that designed it also went through a fable of their own making: Peter Molyneaux and his friends from Bullfrog Productions made many classical strategic and simulation games for good ol’ DOS in the 90’s, later became Lionhead Studios and still continued to create original games such as The Movies and Black & White. When they made Fable, it sold in an unimaginable amount of copies and became favorite for many console and PC gamers. The Remaster would be the very last game they’d make and was the end of the first golden era of gaming history. With such a pedigree, you owe it to yourself to try Fable.

To say that Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn is an RPG masterpiece and the best D&D video game campaign is an understatement; finely tuned and perfected formula that powers the story and gameplay of BGII was adapted to all Bioware games henceforth and nearly all other western RPG games, and it’s still used to this day.

Pros:
+ Story feels grandiose and stakes feel heavier than ever
+ All companions now have layers of complexities, opinions and personal quests
+ Memorable and relatable villains
+ Choices matter this time and can return much later to bite you back, thus making for excellent drama
+ 2D art direction is beautiful, detailed and imaginative
+ Combat is even more challenging and strategic than before, but it’s also well balanced and not too punishing
+ Your main character gets to have the most well developed story and character arc above all others, thus making them feel truly special
+ Best dungeon levels and challenges you can find in RPG to date
+ Throne of Bhaal expansion offers a great ending to the Bhaalspawn saga, and is an excellent and lengthy extension upon the base game
+ No level caps make you feel like a proper demigod in the later chapters

Cons:
- The middle of the story tends to drag on, especially the Spellhold Asylum chapter
- Just as the game doubles on story and dialogue, it also doubles on demanding combat encounters that can feel too much and off-putting to some players
- Beamdog’s narrative and gameplay design contribution simply cannot keep the level and pace of the quality the original game sets as a new standard

Story continues right where the first BG ended and the pace and the tempo really picks up and never let go: main character is immediately thrown into a dire situation, their friends are in danger, and they are outnumbered and outgunned. This is followed by a short, peaceful respite in the wondrously designed city of Athkatla where you pick up new quests, talk to NPCs and your companions, learn more about the world around you and assess the situation before things again turn perilous and dire. As the story progresses, you will learn more about your companions, their hopes and desires that may include you in it, but their sufferings as well as they are tied to your destiny as the walking embodiment of the dreaded prophecy from the past. Main and side quests have also been massively improved to avoid the pitfalls of being rote and bland, now nearly every quest is set as a mini dramatic plot of its own, always offering more than one way to finish them, making questing and exploring fun, exciting and immersive. Even your companions have personal quests that need to be resolved before time runs out or they will leave your party.

Your travels will take you across the continent, visiting many unique locations such as a powerful and multi-cultural port of coins Athkatla, a place of barter and worship of a missing deity in the exotic city of Trademeet , the mysterious and dangerous Umar Hills, a majestic castle with a long history and burden called de'Arnise Hold, inhospitable and nightmarish caves of the Underdark and many more. Every location, person and monster is crafted in exquisite 2D detail, with BGII’s pixel and pastel-like art holding extremely well even today. The music by Michael Hoenig returns with some of the best medieval and fantasy gaming soundtrack to date, guaranteed to make you feel like you are wandering the streets of an ancient bustling city, making a drink and a laugh at the nearest inn, or fighting dragons while barely keeping you and your companions alive (unless you know exactly what you’re doing).
 
Since the main character starts from a fairly high level, combat was vastly improved to give players more options and tactics, making them nail-bitingly difficult but with enough space to forgive players a few mistakes. You will face even more mythical creatures and legendary foes than the previous game could offer; basically an all-star cast from the advanced D&D is here in full display. You and your troops will gain more abilities and powerful spells as you level up, thus always giving you chances to turn a seemingly hopelessly difficult battle into a resounding victory. Combat is still real-time with a pause button to give your characters commands like in the first BG, but the options here are greatly increased so you can win every encounter in myriad of ways, bordering on breaking the game. Make no mistake, BGII is not an easy game as your party can be just as easily wiped out as in the first game - sometimes you can lose in a split of a second, but Shadows of Amn is never unfair nor does it use cheap moves in a fight.

“Every memorable hero is defined by their villains” is a saying, and Baldur’s Gate II has three amazing ones that have their opinions, gravitas, they are worthy of your resentment but also of your sympathy as they do not do evil things because they can, they do it because they think they’re right and that their actions will yield a greater good or balance in the end. Coupled with the stellar voice acting from David Warner, B.J. Ward and Heidi Shannon, you will dread and eagerly await the next clash with these villains and their eventual downfall. Your companions also have equally amazing voiced lines, as well as nearly all other minor and major NPCs. And your character this time gets to be a true star of the story and a tragic hero/heroine as the choices you keep making shape your morality and how others perceive you, and these choices get to be heavier the further you travel. You also get to embrace or battle your inner, darker side given to you by a bloodline from an evil, dead god, and how you handle these terrifying powers will shape how your story ends.

Coupled with the main game - Shadows of Amn, players also get one of the best expansions – Throne of Bhaal, that ushers in the time of chaos and prophecy to the spotlight, how will you handle these dark times, and whether you embrace the prophecies or you try to fight the fated chains of events. What more could you want from a western RPG?

Well, there are a couple of minor problems Baldur’s Gate II carries: the middle section of the game in Brynnlaw and Spellhold Asylum do get to drag on unnecessarily with lots of combat encounters that can and will put off some players. Those who persevere will be rewarded however, as from this point on they will witness how Baldur’s Gate II turns from a very good RPG to a timeless classic. The other remaining nitpick I have is with the newly added additional content from Beamdog: In the first BG their writing and design was too rigid and predictable but it also did show a lot of promise. From BG expansion – Siege of Dragonspear and onwards sadly things turn to a more downer note; the general writing and the development of their NPCs/companions just cannot compare to the quality Bioware had, with more illogical and baffling choices that pile up before everything brakes in the stuff they added in the last expansion – Throne of Bhaal, where the dialogue is childish, voiced work is amateurish at best, and combat/quest design is just plain bad and uses cheap moves. These problems are just a bit of dirt on a perfectly polished diamond of a game, and do not reduce the original game’s greatness.

In all of Dragon Ages, Mass Effects, Witchers, Cyberpunk 2077s and countless other games, you can find a piece or a whole spark of innovation that Baldur’s Gate II: Shadow of Amn/Throne of Bhaal originally brought. The influence of this game is timeless; the work that Bioware did here is one of a true art form. Baldur’s Gate saga continues to amaze and capture the imagination of younger and older generation to this day, putting up a lovingly crafted world for you to explore; you just have to dare and make the first step.