FABLE

                   Played by Peter Clark

I have had this game for some while now and only got around to
playing it recently after upgrading my computer. That was not
necessary to play this game, as it only requires a 486 machine and
2 Megs of memory.

It is what I would call a gentle game with plenty of time to
wander around looking at things before entering into the game
proper. It is in the same mould as the Kyrandia and Simon the
Sorcerer games but not so large and without the sense of humour.
The game falls into a well-worn scenario.

    "The Mecubarz had come to this forgotten planet to create a
    civilisation filled with beauty, wisdom and power. A superior
    race, capable of taking or conceiving any form, particularly
    useful working forms such as the simple and na‹ve little
    humans in the village of Balkhane. In those days Ismael was a
    young priest with seemingly good intentions. As a High priest
    in the Cult of Mecubarz, Ismael was the only Balkhanian to
    know the secret to the great powers of Mecubarz. He and four
    other people set out to mastermind a treasonous plot that
    would radically change the apparently simple course of
    Balkhanian history. It was on this dark winter night that the
    four conspirators were condemned to rule the destiny and
    damnation of the people of Balkhane. Ismael's treacherous plan
    was doomed to failure, as he had seriously underestimated the
    vigilance of the Mecubarz. The whole planet was split into
    four separate worlds.  On each of these lands reigned a never
    changing dominion of Ice, Mist, Water and Fire. The four
    conspirators were caught and sentenced to exile in the four
    different lands. Before their final exodus, the Mecubartz
    placed four jewels in possession of each of the four
    conspirators. Koreez claimed the emerald.  Angor claimed the
    diamond. Vivern took the sapphire. Chax took possession of the
    ruby. Ismael escaped an almost certain execution and his
    whereabouts to this day are unknown. The adventure in which
    you embark is the story of how, once upon a time, a young boy
    named Quickthorpe set out on a journey through the lost worlds
    of Balkhane."

The first land that you visit is the Frozen Lands where your quest
is to kill the Ice Giant. You will need to interact with several
characters before this becomes possible. A thief needs a fair
amount of bribing before access to the whole land is possible and
making friends with Simbeline, the Goddess of the Lake is a must.
Meetings with bandits and Ogres are all part of this section of
the game before succeeding in your quest, obtaining the emerald
and being transported to the Land of Mists. Before you can get the
second of the gems you must kill the Snake Demon and then persuade
the captain of the ship in the harbour to take you to the Engulfed
Fortress that lies beneath the sea. Here your adversary is a
Gorgon. You must enlist the help of crabs and sea horses before
this task can be completed. It is in this part of the game that
you find the one and only maze in the game. You will have to
negotiate this maze on several occasions and I managed to do this
just walking about and not making a map but, if you like making
maps of mazes, this is your chance. Having despatched the Gorgon
you make your way to the final land, The Land of Shadows. The
problem here is in the form of the Fire Demon and it was in this
part of the game that I thought that I had blown it as I was
captured and thrown into a prison cell. It proved possible to
escape from here, however and go on to chat to the Grim Reaper
before finding a way of crossing the River Styx and going on to
the final confrontation. Lastly, you have to make your way back to
the caves where you killed the Gorgon and complete the game.

I found the game very enjoyable to play although it is not very
big. It has the usual point and click method of control with a
central map for each land rather in the fashion of the Monkey
Island games. I thought these maps were a little awkward in some
parts and found myself going back and forth several times before
getting to where I wanted to be. It is possible to be killed in
several parts of the game but when this happens there is no screen
prompt for starting another game. The game just froze and left it
to you to work out that you were dead. The only other complaint
that I have is the rather weak ending. However, I would recommend
this game for a bit of light entertainment when you don't feel
like taxing the brain too much. I believe that the game was first
published by Telstar in 1996 and I 'm not sure if it is still
available but you may find it in a sale or on a cheap re-issue.
















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