Fable is an excellent RPG featuring highly addictive gameplay with a interesting but generic story.
Gameplay: The combat in Fable is fairly simplistic yet highly enjoyable. You can use three forms of combat: melee, range, and will (aka magic). The melee combat consists of your standard hack-n-slash fare and can become rather dull at times. Ranged combat is simply holding down your mouse to charge the bow and firing it at your opponent. Similar to the Elder Scrolls: Morrowind and Oblivion; the longer you charge up the bow, the more damage you will do to the target. You also have a chance to decapitate the enemy with both melee and ranged combat. There are a variety of magic skills to choose from such as zapping your opponent with lightning, throwing fireballs and slowing down time. Overall, the combat is fun and addicting but can become repetitive in the long run.
Story: The story begins with a young boy living in a small town known as Oakvale. All seems well until the village is attacked by bandits. They destroy the entire town and murder the boy's family. He is rescued by Maze, a member of the Guild of heroes, and is taken to the guild. The guild master agrees to initiate the boy into the guild and the story begins. From then on, the boy trains to become a hero and take revenge on those who murdered his family. At first glance, the story can appear generic but it gets deeper as you advance in the game. However, it is not remotely comparable to the story's of classic RPG's.
Graphics: The graphics in Fable are bright and cheerful but are rather outdated compared to most modern games. You have to keep in mind that this game was produced back in 2004. If you have not played this game yet, I recommend picking up the PC version because the graphics are a little bit better than the Xbox version.
Sound: The music in Fable is fantastic and it really helps to set the mood for the world you explore. The voice acting isn't great but it's not terrible either.
Replay Value: The game can seem rather short if you jump straight to the main quests so I advise you to take your time. Explore and see all that the Fable universe has to offer; there are side quests, mini games, and other things that you can do. You can even get married or buy a house; it's all up to you. Depending on how much you enjoyed your first play through, if you were an evil villain, then you could replay the game as a noble hero or vice versa. You can also continue the game after you complete the storyline.
Overall: I believe that this game is one of the best action RPG's ever made. The game may seem shallow to some RPG veterans; however, this game is perfect for any newcomer to the RPG genre and action RPG addicts like myself.