Fable: The Journey

Take the following away from this review if nothing else: The Journey is a legitimately fun game that happens to be played with Kinect…when the hardware works properly. It simply won’t at times, though, and while that shouldn't stop you from giving it a try, it is something you should prepare for.

If you're accustomed to the Kinect set-up process and don't mind learning the nuances of the controller's recognitition capabilities, Fable: The Journey is a beautiful and rewarding adventure back into the world of Albion.

I fell head over heels for Albion. It’s a game of two halves, and there’s not much to see outside the 8-hour story, but Fable: The Journey is the unexpected surprise Kinect needed.

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Off the rails. Literally.

Lionhead continues to improve on their charming cartoon style and the spell effects just look gorgeous. The voice acting is also pretty solid with a decent enough soundtrack and I couldn’t recognize any hint of a celebrity which surprised me; I was really hoping for Stephen Fry to return as Reaver.

For that matter, The Journey's voice acting and score are both top notch, as is the on-screen performance of Gabriel during cutscenes, his subtly exaggerated features easily communicating a wide range of emotions and clearly reflecting his state of mind. He's a likable, distinct hero who frankly deserves a better game. Perhaps he'll get it when Xbox 720 and Kinect 2.0 - with its rumored ability to read lips and recognize emotions - roll around, but for now, there's just no need to take The Journey.

Fable: The Journey represents Lionhead at the very peak its powers. It’s a sumptuously produced game with a wonderful, affecting story bursting with characters you’ll come to love, set across a beautifully realised world. Very few studios are capable of crafting an experience so skillfully.