Fable

Today i'm writing a short review of a video game my girlfriend currently plays. I went through it a few years ago. It's a good action RPG developed by Lionhead Studios (remember Black&White?) with a lot of fights, decisions, different skills and a straight-line plot.

You start as a little boy in your hometown on the birthday of your sister. Just when you gave her your birthday present, the whole town is raided by bandits. Youself get rescued by a mighty wizard called Maze. He takes you to the Heroes' Guild, where you start to practice swordplay, archery and your willpower (for casting spells) to avenge your family.

I don't want to spoil any more of the plot. The battle system is mostly free, so you can attack nearly anybody and can change between melee weapon, ranged weapon and spells in one second. This allows you to be both archer, warrior and mage in one person. You get general experience for killing enemies and quests and additionally experience in the three categories (strength, skill, will) that is based on the method you damaged the enemy/skill you used. There is also the good/evil component in this game. Every decision you make, turns your character more good or evil, which also changes your appearance and the behaviour of NPCs towards you.

There are also funny RPG elements in this game. You can buy houses, extinguish whole towns, marry women, gamble, show around your trophies, fish, dig for treasures and get new hair styles/beard styles and tattoos.

I can hardly find anything that's not beautiful in this game, so it's definitely worth a recommendation. Due to the fact that there are already part 2 and 3 released, this game isn't expensive. Too bad i haven't got a XBOX360, i need to play 2 and 3 as well.

Morrowind

Today i'm presenting you a milestone in the RPG genre. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. It's the predecessor to TES IV: Oblivion, which is very popular as well. Morrwind is a 3D-Action-RPG with mostly used first person view. (3rd person is available too, but not very playable) 2 Addons and a lot of user created mods are released.

The game starts in the cargo hold of a slave ship. You get released in a small town called "Seyda Neen" with the mission to deliver a packet to an Imperial officer in Balmora. From this point in the game you have full control over your destiny. You don't have to deliver this packet, you don't have to go to Balmora, you don't have to do anything. But you have a lot of options to do. You can join diffent guilds, you can just go and kill everyone in sight, you can run through the woods to collect plants/flowers to mix some potions, and many more possibilities.



As soon the ship arrives in Seyda Neen, you have to answer different questions to create your character. There is also an "What would you do in this situation"-Q&A game integrated, that chooses the class that fits you best. One of the greatest things in character creation is the possibility to mix different skills, so you don't have to choose a "pure warrior". You can create a polearm-wielding, cloth-wearing rogue with the ability to sneak around and pick some locks. Even if you chose the wrong abilities, you just can train other abilities - by using them or by paying a trainer - to improve your character.

The great island of Morrowind with lots of dungeons and places to explore, the many NPCs and quests, the huge pile of items to collect, the possibilities to create your own potions, spells, enchants and even build a stronghold makes Morrowind not only a game with a massive amount of freedom, but a place where you can spend days and hours.