After years of hyperactive hyperbole, rampant revisionism and pulverised promises, Fable was released to a surprisingly mixed reception last year. The main complaint being that, while excellent, the game failed to meet the lofty expectations it had set, particularly in terms of longevity and substance. Now, almost a year after the first offering, Molyneaux's metaphorical mea culpa, the slightly-reduced price Fable: The Lost Chapters is here. But is all the talk of new content mere myths, or awesome legend?

If this is your first look at Fable, then it would behoove you to (which scored 82%), since Fable: Lost Chapters is exactly the same game with some new content that mirrors that of the PC version. The bottom line is that if Fable didn't grab you first time around, then Lost Chapters isn't going to do anything to win you over.

On the other-hand, if that review makes Fable sound like the kind of game you might enjoy, then skip to the Final Thoughts, then go and grab The Lost Chapters version of the game- it's definitely an improvement over the original, and is an RPG well-worth playing.

Thus ends our traditional style of review. Instead, we're going to discuss the Lost Chapters in relation to the original by looking at some of the negative nitpicking and criticisms we leveled at Fable the first time around. So if you've already played the game and you're wondering whether it's worth upgrading, then read on!

WARNING: There may be some minor spoilers from here on in, so if you haven't completed Fable, or even played it yet, skip to the end!

Perhaps more jarring is the sudden introduction of characters throughout the story who you know nothing about, but get the distinct feeling you should. It's disorienting to say the least, and makes it feel like Fable isn't quite as complete as it should be.

Even though the plot was actually quite simplistic, Fable's story managed to get a little disjointed in places, particularly with the introduction of Briar Rose seemingly at random...it felt like you were supposed to be familiar with her and some of the other heroes, but thanks to, well, a lost chapter or two in the story, it seemed like they were strangers. Thankfully, Fable: The Lost Chapters sets this straight, introducing Briar Rose better at the star of the game, as well as giving you a few missions with her later on. You'll also encounter heroes outside of quests while you're on your travels- Thunder can be found lecturing some kids in Bowerstone South, and Briar Rose pops up at the guild during your formative years. This does a great job of fleshing out these other heroes, though Jack of Blades is still a bit of a mystery out of necessity.

While these examples fit into the "show" category rather than "tell", there's a great opportunity to learn more about Albion and the Fable universe by reading books or listening to people talk. There are quite a few new tomes to leaf through if you're so inclined, and in the new lands of the Northern Wastes you can talk to the Oracle, who has heaps of great backstories, myths, legends and biographical information to impart if you're so inclined. Fans of the series will lap this up, particularly for lesser-known characters like the Guildmaster and for the history of the Guild itself.

The near-total absence of side-quests doesn't help either, rounding out what is an extremely short experience.

Every great RPG requires side-quests; missions that don't have quite the same intensity of the main-story, but serve as a nice distraction, a chance to earn some extra experience or loot a few lucrative chests. Yet the original Fable had scant few of these, relying instead on the social aspect of the game to keep you entertained during the downtime. While the bar-room minigames and getting hitched were an amusing distraction, they didn't really get you out there exploring the world of Albion or engaging in epic combat.

Fable: The Lost Chapters remedies this by including a good variety of side-missions that, when combined with the few from the original game, mean there's always something to do besides advancing the story. You can collect books for the school children of Bowerstone, visit a house of ill repute, collect reagents for a life-saving potion to help a sick boy, and enjoy the simple pleasures of fishing and chicken kickin' while competing for prizes. This actually makes it worth your while to visit the Guild to check for Quest Cards, and adds quite a bit to the Fable experience.

it's incredibly narcissistic and ultimately quite superficial... almost like dress-ups for boys really. And by the later stages of the game, it's also quite redundant, as your reputation will be enough to make even the fattest, unappealing ogre a hit with the ladies

Fable really emphasised the aesthetics of ego, providing a lot of opportunities to affect how your character looked and was perceived by the world around you. While this was a great feature, it didn't add very much to the game in general; it mainly just affected the comments you'd hear from people as you walked by. It was quite superfluous given that all your tattoos were concealed by your armour, as was your fancy hairstyle and designer stubble if you opted to don a helmet.

This isn't the kind of criticism that an expansion pack can alleviate, and in all honesty, to some people it isn't even a negative- its part of Fable's unique charm, especially if you like to role-play. It encourages you to change out of your intimidating armour when you're in town, and cutting an appealing or impressive figure can lead to a handy discount from vendors. The Lost Chapters expansion adds a bit in the way of fashion and accessories, including two new full suits of clothing (assassin garb and epic armour), as well as a variety of hats. It's nice to have a bit more flexibility, but we'd like to see even more in future: if they're going to make a fantasy version of The Sims for guys, they might as well allow you to truly customise the appearance of your hero with unique pieces of armour rather than just generic leather/chainmail/plate.

Fable can be completed in around 10-12 hours, 15 if you're really slow. It's easy too, and even the novice gamer should have no trouble knocking Fable over in this time-frame.

Perhaps the loudest and most commonly shouted criticism Fable received is that it was extremely under-weight compared to what Molyneaux and his Merry Men had promised. 10-15 hours is not a huge game, particularly for an RPG, and especially for one that has been in development for so long. The additional content and new sequences added in The Lost Chapters expansion certainly does build on the game, but not dramatically so. If you thoroughly explore the game, take every new quest and battle your way through the new ending, you're probably looking at about a quarter to a third longer than the original game. Or put in less esoteric terms, about 3-5 hours depending on your pace.

It's a welcome expansion, and most of it is so seamlessly integrated into the game that you'd have a hard time working out what was new or old. Obviously it's a far cry from the original promise of 40+ hours, but at least its fun, and it's a good length for what is essentially an expansion pack. It would've been nice if owners of the original game could have somehow downloaded this or bought a cheap standalone disc to add this content though. Forking out seventy bucks, especially when the rest of the world is only paying the Classics/Platinum Hits price (about AU$40-50) seems like a rort, to say the least.

Not only that but the endgame is extremely brief and unassuming, hardly a fitting conclusion to what many believed would be the greatest RPG on Xbox

To say Fable ended unsatisfyingly would be a massive understatement...your past good or evil meant nothing with this final choice, and the end result made virtually no difference. If you opted to sit through the ten-minute credits and continue playing, the world of Albion carried on as if nothing had changed at all. If you switched off in disgust, a 15-second cinematic was the sum total of your efforts.

The Lost Chapters doesn't so much change the ending as it does expand on it, essentially adding an epilogue that provides a much more definitive ending. Regardless of the 'final' decision you make, you will find yourself summoned back to the guild by Scythe, the new character introduced to the world of Albion at the start of Lost Chapters, who requests you assistance as soon as possible in the desolate region known as the Northern Wastes.

This new area is self contained and accessible only by boat and teleporter, and is a frigid zone indeed. It's like a snowier sister city to the Hook Coast, but despite its remote and inaccessible nature, it has a large, populous village to explore, as well as a ghost town and a bunch of surrounding areas. There are new enemies called Summoners too, as well as a truly massive boss to battle and a surprise twist to the ending. You'll also get to interact a bit more with Briar Rose and Scythe, as well as chat to the demon door we mentioned earlier called the Oracle, who can provide you with heaps of background information on Albion and its inhabitants.

World of Warcraft veterans would call this endgame content, and like those zany MMORPG'ers, the chances are you too will be playing for the experience, not the "experience” if you catch the drift. By the time you thwart Jack of Blades sword-centric plans of world domination, you'll probably be close to maxed out in your chosen field, probably even in another one too. So while the game continues on for another few hours with no further advancement to be had (unless you diversify), things can get a little dull.

The end result of this is that as a player you never really feel like you have to be afraid of the consequences, which detracts a great deal from an otherwise immersive experience.

Fable still doesn't really make good on its "for every choice, a consequence" tagline; you can still murder the whole town and get away scott-free, and there are still quests that force you down a certain moral path. Even the endgame that allows you to keep the Sword of Aeons or destroy it forever has very little impact- evil isn't vanquished if you do, and you can get a sword just as powerful if you opt to do the "right" thing. In fact the sword itself is considerably weaker in The Lost Chapters expansion, to the point where there's not one but a few weapons of equal or greater power.

There are a few new opportunities to make a pretty significant mark in the game however, particularly one of the final gold-quests in the The Lost Chapters section, which essentially allows you to take the easy way and kill key heroic characters, or take the harder path and battle hordes of other enemies to achieve your goals. It's a pretty cool twist to the game actually, and given how supremely powerful you'll be by that stage, it's quite hard not to be tempted to challenge your heroic counterparts rather than stoop to slaying the same old common critters.

Finally, it is worth noting that The Lost Chapters comes limping with a painful Achilles Heel: you cannot use your original Fable character or savegames with this version of the game. That means replaying the entire game from start to finish if you want to get to the new endgame content that makes up the bulk of the new material. This is a criminal oversight punishable by poor sales or angry returns to places of purchase around the globe, but it does mean you'll get to experience the *other* new content integrated into the main game. How's that for a glass-half-full approach?