Fable: The Lost Chapters

Fable: The Lost Chapters is the expanded version of the action RPG from Lionhead Studios, letting players live through a hero's whole life from childhood to adulthood in the fairy-tale kingdom of Albion, where every decision - good or evil - leaves a visible mark on the character's appearance and reputation. The combat system combines sword, bow and magic, and players can switch between them at any time, but the real draw of the game is a world that remembers what the player did, from gestures toward villagers through eating habits to moral choices in the story, which gradually shape whether the hero grows into a radiant hero with an angelic aura or a feared villain with horns. The humor with which the game presents this moral axis, together with the freedom in how to spend time outside the main story, is part of what earned Fable its reputation as a distinctive British RPG.

Lost Chapters builds on the original Fable from 2004 by adding a final chapter to the story, new areas, and additional spells and weapons compared to the original release - this expanded version came out on both Xbox and PC, both in 2005, so PC players didn't get a stripped-down version but the complete one right away, with all the added content from the start, with no need to buy anything extra. The difference between the platforms lies mainly in the controls - a mouse allows more precise aiming with spells and bow than an analog stick, which makes ranged combat combos easier - and in higher resolution and sharper textures for the landscape of Albion than consoles of the time could offer.

Conversely, the online features and achievements tied to Xbox Live were missing on PC, so comparing progress with friends only worked through local saves, not through leaderboards or shared statistics. Otherwise the experience is practically identical on both platforms - it really is the same game with the same content, quests and story ending, just in different control clothing and at a different graphical level, not in a different scope of gameplay - anyone who finished Lost Chapters on one platform didn't miss a single mission or joke on the other.

Why play it: Anyone looking for the same story and the same quests as on Xbox gets them on PC too - they only miss out on Xbox Live achievements and leaderboards, not a single mission or extra joke.