With the looming release of Fable II, and all that Mr. Molyneux has promised from said game, I once again attempted to play through the original Fable. Twice had I brought and stated the game, only to be disappointed/get bored, and trade it in. This third time I took the path of no return, downloading the game on the 360.

So, is the third time a charm? It seems so. With about 3/4 of the main game finished, I have to say it has been more enjoyable than my previous attempts. Now, I might have finally gotten past a certain point this time, and the game opened up more, but I don't think so. Most likely it was an altering of expectations, combined with a desire to have a background headed into Fable II, that has finally made the game fun. Even knowing that the original failed to live up to it's lofty goals, a lot was expected out of Fable, and regardless of how good it itself was, it was going to ultimately be a let down. "Lost" is going to be the same way; after so much buildup, the answers and outcomes just can't make everyone happy. But, as we have discovered with Lost, it's not the destination, it's the journey. If you simply accept the game for what it is, and play your character as someone seeking to be a hero, however that may be (for that particular play-though), there is a lot of fun to be had.

If one disappointment still lingers, it's the fact the the world, and the game, feels too small. While there are a decent amount of places to see, there isn't much of a sense of discovery, or really exploration. Sure, you can do quests in whatever order you want once you get them, and you can spend hour after hour ignoring the main story line, and doing things like getting drunk, making girls fall in love with you, getting married, trading, etc, but it's all very enclosed. I've never been one for RPG stories that put the fate of the world in your hands (Final Fantasy), but somehow the scale of Fable just feels off. Much like the game's development, it seems as if the promise of the main quest, and your character's influence on the world, had to be severely scaled back, but is still to big for the box they put it in.

That aside, if you are planning on getting the next installment, and haven't played the prior one, grab it ($10) on XBox Live, and give it a quick play through (which can be done in a couple of days). If nothing else, the comparisons of how the second game learned from the first will be interesting.