Two of our writers go head to head over Fable Anniversary: Is it worth the money?[divider]

For

In all things, including games, the craze for old-but-new paradigms has unleashed a remastering of games that shaped the child and adulthoods of  millions of us. With Lionhead Studio’s new Anniversary edition, Fable now joins this ever-expanding compendium of games restored to present glory.

Some consistently argue against remastering, calling it a cop-out, a last resort and an affirmation that the developers have quite simply run clean out of inspiration (and, yes, I grant, Fable: The Journey was awful). However, they forget that this process is reserved, much like the platinum system for the PS2, for the elites of their generation. Pokemon took their best-loved classic regions, Kanto and Johto, to fuse a lovingly recreated Soul-Silver and HeartGold, and Square Enix also recently began to cash in on this (relatively) simple scheme with Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X.

Fable now joins the ever-expanding compendium of games restored to present glory

Moreover, why should Fable Anniversary be frowned upon for the simple fact that it is not a new game? To disregard it, and all these other games, would be ridiculous. Personally, I would (and have almost) bought all of these new editions. To my mind, Lionhead Studios is nothing short of ingenious. The gamer who lived and breathed Fable, as I did, would gladly part with cash for Anniversary, but these remastered games are hardly niche – in fact, it would be wrong of us to think so. It isn’t a question of Lionhead’s apparent capitalist motives. These games pave the way for a generation who missed the originals to discover the worlds we used to revel in. [divider]

Against

In a world where films such as Jurassic Park are being remade in 3D, it comes as no surprise that games companies have also started to cash in on consumer stupidity. With Lionhead Studios’ latest release of Fable Anniversary, a remaster of the 2004 game Fable, this could not be more evident.

As a game that allowed you to be good or evil, marry a town mayor and fart in front of everyone you meet, Fable quickly became one of the best games of this century. Fable Anniversary continues to allow this, except now Lady Grey’s bosoms are in HD and your farts sound crisper and clearer than ever.

The original Fable still holds up pretty well. Is a graphical update worth the money?

As a game that brings no new content, apart from a revamped interface and shorter loading times, all Fable Anniversary has to offer is a slightly more aesthetically pleasing game. If what you are after is a nostalgic gaming experience I highly suggest downloading the original Fable from the Xbox 360 marketplace for £6. However if you are heavily into the graphics of a game and have too much money to know what to do with it, go and pick up a copy of Fable Anniversary for £25.

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Do you think Fable Anniversary’s graphical updates are worth the money? What do you think about high definition remasters? Tweet @BoarGames and let us know!