the journey

When Lionhead unveiled their final installment of Fable, or at least the last to have Peter Molyneux on board, hearts fell at the realization that it would be a Kinect game.  Yet, after working through the game’s entirety, that’s undeniably not the issue with the final product.  Fable: The Journey is a fantastic addition to the Kinect library and a good bit of fun that utilizes the Kinect’s motion-tracking extremely well.  Detailed environments with that signature Fable stylization, a good sound track, and carefully conceived controls transform it into a great on-rails shooter.  Yet, as a possible end to a franchise of RPGs, it falls short when standing beside its predecessors.  A storyline that tried to accomplish too much in too little time, in a game that is little more than a group of prescripted battle sequences, proved to be the deadweight that sunk the game.  This is not the climactic close to a franchise that prided itself on choices and scope and pushing limits. A quick spoiler-less synopsis is