Fable: Coin Golf

It can be no coincidence that most of the biggest licences to have rolled out on Windows Phone 7 to date have come branded with Microsoft's oh-so-familiar logo.

Even if third parties are yet to get a fix on just what the platform is for – most inclined to simply port over their iPhone library en masse - the Redmond giant set out its stall early, mixing big licenses with fresh gems from the word 'go'.

Fable: Coin Golf is yet another release from Microsoft that sets a pace others are yet to follow. Despite its obvious association, this is no cheap attempt to cash in on Molyneux's masterpiece – though, smartly, gold earned during play can be spent in Fable III.

Rather, Ideaworks has chosen to cherry pick one of the best elements of Fable – its sense of humour – and place it an environment that shows just what Windows Phone 7 is capable of.

Fable fusion

Indeed, those picking up Fable: Coin Golf may not necessarily be expecting a game that fuses golf and pinball to push any boundaries when it comes to its graphics.

The 3D models that decorate its tables, therefore, are something of a surprise, are a genuine a sight to behold as you attempt to guide your puck from A to B.

Such guiding – or, more specifically, flinging – is in fact your only input during play.

Utilising Angry Birds-style controls (pulling back and releasing the puck enough to send it skimming), the aim is to get your puck to the goal at the other side of the stage in as few moves as possible.

The more times you give your puck a push, the more points you lose, though picking up gold coins and slaying the hobbes that stand in your way can ensure that you muster a healthy total en route.

Straying from the path

It's this balance between affording players a certain amount freedom to explore what soon become hives of interaction and keeping the goals tight enough that sloppyness is suitably punished that really shines through.

You'll often find, for example, that taking the most direct route results in you rallying a total that falls short of the bronze medal required to open up the following stage.

Instead, you're required to experiment, aiming squarely at the treasure trove worth of coins littered around each level or picking up a power-up or two to enable you to lay to rest an increasingly menacing array of enemies.

Ideaworks is clearly keen to ensure that the invention that's been pumped into the game's level design doesn't go to waste.

Fable: Coin Golf remains, however, a game that hangs on accuracy. Just one dodgy fling of the puck can result in you falling foul of each level's fine margins - though the game has a knack of keeping you playing even when the challenge gets rather weighty.

It manages this thanks to the quality that's been infused into every element of its presentation.

The snippets of dialogue that sandwich each stage, for instance, constantly take pokes at the franchise itself, while even the simple yet elegant menu screens suggest that not one element of Fable: Coin Golf's presentation has been left to chance.

On all such scores, it remains to be seen whether rival publishers will take the hint and up their game accordingly. Even if Fable: Coin Golf serves as a solitary example of Windows Phone 7's finer moments, however, it remains a treasure worth its weight in gold.