TheMacJedi

I’ve written several articles about the similarities between TV shows, LOST and Earth 2, Kyle XY and John Doe, including a few small ones. Today’s article is about two video games that have too much in common for it to be just a coincidence.

One of my favorite games of all time is Fable for the original Xbox. I loved the atmosphere of the game, the music, the mystery. It might not have been everything they originally intended it to be but that didn’t concern me. The game is very much an Action RPG. Since I don’t care for your typical RPG I was surprised how much I like it.

So a couple months ago I picked up Crackdown for the same reason most people picked it up. What I didn’t know was that Crackdown was an Action RPG. But not any Action RPG, an Action RPG that was separated at birth from Fable.

There are so many similarities that I can’t believe no one has written about them. So let me provide a few similarities and differences.

Similarities:
1. Central hub of the world, (F) The Guild, (CD) The Keep.
2. Several cities to explore, with different missions for each.
2. Killing enemies releases glowing experience orbs that follow you and are used to level up.
3. As your character levels up they physically change in size.
4. Attacking Guards or Peace Keepers will have all of them attacking you.
5. Use Cullis Gates and Supply Points to move from one locations to another.
6. You level up several major areas of your strength, skill, agility and will.

Additional Similarities:
First - In both Crackdown and Fable, your character never had a definitive persona to him. Roughly speaking, neither of them carried an actual “name,” but instead were referred to as the “Hero” (Fable) or “Agent” (Crackdown). In addition, although each character shared the exact same personality or skills as every other “character,” you could alter their appearance without changing overall gameplay or story.

Second - There were a variety of mini-games that despite not adding or subtracting to the game’s storyline, they offered a larger scope to overall gameplay that aided in boosting your stats to make progression through the game easier or quicker.

Third - Both characters neither talk nor show a certain degree of individuality among the environment and other characters (NPCs), more so in Crackdown than in Fable.

Let’s discuss the differences:
First - In Fable, there were several NPCs and essential characters that furthered the story and provided a deeper involvement in the overall gameplay, common in the RPG genre. However, in Crackdown, there was little to no association with any NPC or other character that contributed to the plot.

Second - In Fable, you could choose a path to follow that changed the scope of the game in either a hero or villain fashion depending on your general choices throughout the game as a person. However, in Crackdown you had no choice as to what path to follow, but were confined to a more linear gameplay, in which you played the “bad cop” or “antihero.”

Third - In Fable, you had a two-weapon scheme, in which you carried one melee weapon and one long range weapon, albeit their are more archaic variations to more modern armaments. In Crackdown, you still retain a two-weapon scheme, but are not limited as to what should be carried and, thus, more modern weapons are utilized with a more long range combat tone to the overall gameplay.

Well there you have it, these games actually have a lot in common. I would like to thank Stephen Jenkins for his help on the Similarities and Differences. Since we both played each game a lot I knew he would be able to provide accurate info.

If you have any additional Similarities and Differences please send them through my contact form.