Fable Legends is clever and ambitious (but it's not really a Fable game)

Roll for initiative

Honestly, it might just be best if you check your Fable expectations at the door when it comes to Fable Legends. The team-based, four-on-one multiplayer action RPG is a move away from what most would associate with a Fable game, even if it looks like it fits right in line with Lionhead's previous entries.

Set hundreds of years before the previous Fable games, you're playing as a hero arriving in the city of Brightlodge. From there, you're able to grab quests and set off on adventures, jumping into three-part, linear missions that put the emphasis on action over storytelling. But instead of heading out to make your mark in the world as your own hero, you're picking from a dozen or so pre-made characters to play as, and you're entering into missions that pit four good players against one villain.

Each area has you fighting a group of enemies and dodging traps set by another player, who is serving as that level's villain. It's vaguely Dungeons & Dragons-like, with the evil character serving as the mastermind of an area. Different characters have different abilities, and there are a few archetypes (like healer, support, DPS, and tank), making the encounters somewhat like MMO dungeons. It's plays well and looks great--running on the Unreal Engine 4 gives Legends an impressive aesthetic. But while it's fun, and you'll likely enjoy playing as either the hero team or the devious villain, it doesn't feel like it's going to provide the sense of exploration and narrative that previous Fable games have. It might--the developers are promising an in-depth story (for both the good and the bad characters)--but so far everything I've seen makes Legends look more like a competitive game than anything. That's not bad, mind you--just different.

Check out the following screenshots for additional info!

Trolls can take a lot of damage before going down.

This is Brightlodge, a city of immeasurable quests.

Different abilities make things more varied.

The game will ship with the first "season" of missions, and future "seasons" will be released with new content.

Each encounter should be different, since the Villain can customize his monster and trap loadout.