Gamma Gamer:Fable 3 Review
Fable 3
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Platform: Windows XBox 360
Release Date: October 29, 2010
Genre: Action, RPG
Mode: Single Player, Online Co-op
Six months ago Lionhead Studios and Microsoft Game Studios released the third installment in the Fable series. Set 50 years after Fable 2, you follow the adventures of your previous character’s son (or daughter) and their faithful dog as they fight for the crown of Albion. You play as the prince (or princess) as they attempt to depose their tyrannical brother, Logan (voiced by Michael Fassbender). Whether you choose to do this for moral reasons or simply to gain the crown for yourself, is up to you.
The initial gameplay centers around you gaining allies and support for a revolution, though this is quite a quick process. Throughout this time you meet an impressive host of vocal talent including Simon Pegg, John Cleese, Ben Kingsley, Stephen Fry and Bernard Hill. Once you have deposed your brother, the fun can begin as you are sent on various missions for the monarchy and begin to shape and build your kingdom around your unique moral standing. You are also introduced to ‘The Crawler’, an evil shadow creature which threatens your realm and treats you to some of the scariest game content the Fable series has seen.
The artwork of this game is gorgeous and quirky with wonderful Steampunk elements and atmospheric music. The direction of the cutscenes is also notable with cinematic camera angles and at least one wonderfully directed scene which owes much to the horror genre and adds great suspense to the gaming experience.
The creation of a fully interactive ‘pause screen’ is a brilliant touch and allows you to immerse yourself in the character, especially when you find certain areas of it inaccessible during the more dramatic points of the story. The leveling-up system is also fully interactive with the introduction of the Road to Rule; though this seems a slightly patronizing way to gain power-ups and level up when the menu system of Fable 2 seemed simple enough to navigate.
Those of you who are familiar with the Fable series will be happy to know that there are still the collection side quests (similar to the gargoyles of Fable 2) and many of the creatures and lore is expanded upon. Once again you have the ability to marry villagers and NPCs and have children, buy a house etc... but for those of you who actually play this game for the action, you may be disappointed.
The health system has been eradicated and it seems that it is now in fact impossible to die. Instead, you are knocked unconscious for a small amount of time and your XP from that particular fight is reset. As there is no health bar, you are warned of your imminent ‘inconvenience’ by the D pad flashing red followed by the screen going red. This eliminates any pressure or stress which the original Fable had in bucket loads. The battle system itself is also laughable, forcing you to block and attack with the same button. Lionhead seem to have focussed more on the social interaction system than the fighting, which has always been the downfall of this franchise.
Fable 3 holds much of the British charm and wit of its predecessors; with such a wealth of vocal talent this is unsurprising. The script is funny and at times poignant, connecting you to characters wonderfully. However, the gameplay itself is extremely short and disappointing. For those of you who played Fable 2 and were excited to be privy to the spoilers regarding Fable 3 upon completing the game, such an anticlimax to high anticipation is unforgivable.
Lionhead have responded to negative comments since the game’s release in October 2010 by revealing that they will be releasing a number of ‘chapters’ in the form of DLC (Downloadable Content). But since its release six months ago, we have received only two pieces of the promised content, both of which have been short themselves.
The first large piece of DLC was the ‘Understone Quest Pack’ which revealed to us the hidden town of Understone as well as two ‘new’ mini games; the Mercenary Shooting Range and the Wheel of Misfortune game. Once again, this DLC is disappointingly short and whilst it contains a number of new items as well as legendary weapons, one does wonder if this is in fact a new ‘chapter’ or simply something that should have been included in the original game.
The second ‘chapter’; the ‘Traitor’s Keep Quest Pack’ is far more substantial. For the small amount of money you pay you open a large quest which unlocks three brand new locations; Traitor’s Keep (Logan’s Guantanamo Bay); Witchcraft Mary’s Estate and my personal favourite and Clockwork Island. This content also unlocks new XBox Achievements, legendary weapons and collectible outfits for those of us who enjoy completing every aspect of a game.
The major criticism of the DLC available so far for Fable 3 is that it does not take experience and gameplay into account. Considering that the initial game was so quick to complete, most people who download the new content will probably have their hero’s character at optimum strength and battle capability. This makes the DLC simple to complete as it does not take our character’s level into account. Perhaps Fable 3 would benefit from some form of ‘prestige’ system or even more chests added to the Road to Rule which unlock higher battle capabilities, new spells or even simply advanced strength. Without adding extra challenge and difficulty to the new DLC, avid gamers who have been with the franchise since its release in October 2010 are doomed to simplistic and unrewarding gameplay.
One thing which seems notable about Lionhead’s approach to Fable 3’s DLC is the amount of downloadable hairstyles, dog breeds and clothes. Alongside the importance of social interaction and emphasis around marriage, children and home-owning in the game it would seem that Fable is losing its way. What used to be quirky elements in Fable 1 and 2 have now become essential, with some quests even centering around getting married. The clothes one collects have lost all of their relevance; whereas in Fable 2 what you wore would effect how others perceived you, this seems to have been glossed over for players to simply collect clothes to ‘look cool’.
Fable 3 is soon to be released on the PC (proposed for 20 May 2011) and one has to question how it will be presented. Should it be released with all of the current DLC at an extra cost, you would receive a good sized game that will probably be worth the price. If, however, it is released in its original form with DLC made optional for an extra price, surely XBox players will be angered as such DLC will most likely be easy to download illegally and therefore free (as sadly is the way with many PC based game mods).
This game seems to be a slap in the face to many of the fans of the franchise who have loyally stuck by the games for their fun script and wonderful characters, only to be rewarded by minimal content and lazy gameplay. Whilst Fable 3 is a very fun game with a brilliant script; and it is always refreshing to see a game that is well written with well-rounded characters; it is losing what is essential to being a video game: the challenge.
Although I would recommend this game for its story, comedy and cinematic value; for those of you who enjoy a challenge I would steer clear.
IMAGE: IGN.com
1 Comment – Post a comment
the gamer
Commented 62 months ago - 11th April 2011 - 12:43pm
fable 3 is a realy good game even thow it dosent have the best graphics i like it becouse it is a free rome game you can go any where and there is lots of diffenent weapons and different choces makes your life on the game different. so you wont get bored easley