It had been suspected that as part of Microsoft’s showing for the Xbox One at Gamescom 2013, a brand new Fable adventure would be announced. time has brought exactly that, with Lionhead unveiling the announcement trailer for Fable Legends, a four-player, cooperative RPG that gives players even more control over the morality of their characters than ever before.
Teasing the likes of the Swordsman, Magician, Barbarian and Archer, the first trailer for Fable Legends promises to let players return to Albion with the help of their friends, or even become the villain themselves.
Set 400 years before the events of the first Fable - soon to be re-released in HD as Fable Anniversary - Legends allows players to become either the hero or villain of the story, and play through the campaign joined either by three AI party members, or with three friends of their own. That structure sounds as if the franchise will be introducing a more comprehensive class system, but exactly what control the player will have over party members has yet to be explained in full.
Playing as the villain, however, was hinted to offer some truly unique abilities. We’ll wait to see just how well a single game can do justice to playing as both the hero and the villain, but Lionhead did hint that as the big baddie of Legends, “instead of controlling a single character, you command the many creatures, traps, and environmental challenges that the Heroes must struggle to overcome.”
Legends may not be exactly what fans of Fable were expecting - since it is noticeably not marketed as Fable 4 - but the demand for cooperative gameplay among the series’ fans has been building for some time. Previous reports had claimed that Lionhead was working on an MMo-esque RPG, and although Legends may apparently be limited to four total players, those job postings certainly make sense now.
The good news for fans is that the time seems right for Lionhead and Microsoft to deliver a well-polished Fable game that will please core fans, if nothing else. As the long-awaited surprise exclusive to be announced at the show, Fable Legends is starting off on the right foot - but with only a trailer to show, more information will be needed to convince skeptics (or those who played Fable: The Journey).
With the intention to ’re-imagine- the Fable franchise, an online, cooperative adventure is certainly a direction that could hold promise. So far, both the Xbox One and PS4 seem to be betting on cooperative experiences for next-gen, so any little boost - like a brand name still looked on with affection by RPG fans - can help.
What do you think of the trailer? Did it make you realize how much you’ve missed the world of Albion and its many warriors, or will you wait to hear more about the game before passing judgement? Share your thoughts in the comments.
We’ll keep you up to date on Fable Legends as more details are released. Stay tuned to Game Rant for more coverage of Gamescom 2013.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @andrew_dyce.
