After a successful run on the Xbox, Fable makes its way over to the PC with a load of extras, including additional quests and gestures. Peter Molyneux and the rest of the development team at Lionhead studios have expressed that they did not want this game to be regarded as a mere port, so they modified the game so that it would feel as though it were programmed specifically for the PC. Lionhead has succeeded for the most part in this regard, since the controls are very good and the graphical quality is excellent. This game is enough to entice those who have played it before on the Xbox to try out the extra content and admire the upgraded graphics. But it is those who have never played the game at all who are in for the biggest treat.

For those who missed it during its Xbox incarnation, Fable is a fantasy RPG that puts the player in the role of an up-and-coming hero. Your town and family are attacked when you are a child, and you end up being one of the only survivors of the massacre. It isn't long before someone from the Hero's Guild takes you in and trains you in the fine arts of... well... heroing. From that point on, you will learn to cut, shoot, and conjure your way to fame, riches and glory.

What sets a game like Fable apart from most other games is the fact that your actions determine how the game goes. You have the option to be pure and good or evil and cruel. As your character develops, his physical attributes will reflect the path you take. Good guys get halo's over their heads, butterflies flitter around them, and the townspeople adore you. Evil heroes grow horns and have flies buzzing around them while the townspeople cower in fear.You can further your reputation with the type of clothing you wear (so that people may fear you), the tattoos you have, and even the types of haircuts and beards you have. Fighting will leave scarring on your face and body that will stay for the duration of the game. Your hair will turn white as you grow old and your skin wrinkles. Most of all, you have to make use of different expressions in order to communicate yourself to the townsfolk through intimidation, amusement, or flirting with them. Gain a high reputation, wear the right clothes, get the right haircut, and people will be swooning for you all over. You can offer people presents and eventually get married. You can even be married more than once! It is the open-endedness of Fable that draws in a large audience, and The Lost Chapters expands on it with a ton of additional content.

To be truthful, players probably won't be able to identify what the new content is, which includes new expressions, quests, spells and tattoos, unless they already played the game on the Xbox. That's fine because that simply means that anyone playing for the first time will be playing a large, expansive game. Players gain new quests by picking up quest cards at the guild. Afterward, they have the option to "boast," which will effectively up the stakes of the quest and make it worth more. These include doing the mission with no armor or without weapons. The more boasts you take, the more difficult the mission becomes, but the bonuses grow too.

Combat is generally straightforward. Active targets are highlighted in red and all you have to do is click. Things become more interesting when you combine things, like swordplay with spellcasting. Fable has a huge variety of spells to select from, ranging from offensive spells, spells that assist in physical combat, or protection spells. The controls make great use of the mouse and keyboard and don't feel ported from a console at all. There is, of course, the obligatory target locking system which tends to hinder more often that it helps. Most players will probably stick with a free targeting system, especially since most of the monsters specialize in trying to overwhelm you with superior numbers. More often than not, you will find yourself completely surrounded by creatures trying to hit you from all sides. Unfortunately, there are very few melee attacks that can effectively deal with this kind of onslaught, and the bow is practically useless in these circumstances. There are, however, a couple of spells that can get rid of a oncoming mob fairly quickly. So, unless you plan on specializing in stealth, the game has a small tendency to pull you toward mostly using melee and magic. Fortunately, going into first person mode with the bow has a tendency to make the game fairly easy. As long as you can remain unspotted, getting multiple head-shots from a distance isn't very difficult. Too bad this isn't very effective against large creatures or bosses.

Skill points are gained when you use specific types of weapons while general experience points are gathered in the form of small green orbs when you kill something. You use these to increase your effectiveness as a swordfighter, archer or sorcerer. The place where players might run into unexpected problems is with the alignment system. The concept is system enough: help people and be merciful, and you will become a good guy. Hurt people and do bad deeds and you'll sway toward the dark side. However, not all the decisions or quests are that straightforward. Quests generally don't tell you in their description if they earn points toward good or evil alignments. Players have to use their own judgment, but some things that lead you to being a bad guy can be obnoxiously vague. Early on in the game, a fellow acolyte at the hero guild offers you money if you could help exterminate some of the birds that are perched all around the academy. So, you go bird shooting... no problem! However, you sway a little more toward the dark side with each stupid pigeon you take out. We're not sure why killing a bunch of birds, ones that many regard as pests anyway, should regarded as an evil act... but there it is. This isn't the only incident either. The game has numerous situations that appear neutral at first, but end up getting you trouble with the cops. Additionally, the alignment system is undermined by available shrine locations. If you find yourself swayed too far into evil, you can always go to a shrine of light and pay tribute, thereby fixing your alignment... suggesting that you can be rotten to the core, but ultimately be a good guy as long as you have enough money.

Completing major quests and defeating bosses could earn you a trophy that you can show off to townspeople in order to gain greater renown. Gaining fame is all part of being a hero, and it unlocks new expressions and you will gain access to more storyline-related quests. While the storyline is very good, there are plenty of other things to do outside of the story to keep things interesting.

The graphics have received some noticeable upgrades thanks to the higher resolution and power of the PC. Overall, Fable: The Lost Chapters lives up to the great reputation it earned for itself on the Xbox and expands on it. Currently, this is the best version of Fable, so first time players should definitely pick it up. It is an incredibly expansive RPG with plenty of features to keep people busy.