Agreed, Fable has had its fair share of shortcomings due to reasons stated above, but let’s also keep in mind what the series has done for gaming. Though it was not the first to do so, Fable really brought the morality system of games into the mainstream, allowing the player to adventure as a saint, a tyrant, or something in between (most often known as “human”) Where Fable initiated a deep morality system, Fable 2 upped the ante with severe consequences as a result of decisions made, a tactic often found now in RPGs such as Mass Effect. Fable 2 brought a sense of emotional attachment to the story, and Fable 3 aimed to take that emotional sentiment even further. So does it?
Well, no not really.
Fable 3 has the same kind of severe consequence, morality and emotional systems as its predecessor, just on a more global scale.
Story
Taking place 50 years after the events of Fable 2, the hero’s children now rule the country, with the eldest on the throne and the youngest just kinda doing their thing.
The eldest son is a tyrant that needs to be stopped, so it is up to the prince or princess (you decide) to lead a revolution against the oppressive regime. From there, the gamer goes on a nation-wide adventure rallying the people and winning their love, or reverent fear.
Gameplay
The core of the game is standard Fable fare: the combat is determined by one button for melee attacks, another for ranged weaponry, and another for magical abilities. The stream-lined controls make the action very smooth and can keep the battles exciting, but also is inviting to new players who are unfamiliar with Fable. The dog still acts as your heads-up-display, finding buried treasure and scouting ahead to point out potential foes, signaling them to your attention with a bark and a point.
The major gameplay change comes in the form of the options menu now. No longer does the player scroll through pages in a menu, but rather the menu is replaced with a sanctuary with many rooms, each room representing a different menu page… it’s neat but not entirely necessary, just now the player has to run around instead of scrolling up and down on a list.
Graphics
Fable has never been known for its graphical prowess, many gamers actually dismiss the franchise simply due to its “previous gen” graphics. Yes, the graphics won’t leave your jaw on the floor, but the frame rate stays smooth and the world is still lush and the characters are still amusingly animated. You won’t stop and admire the view atop a vista and take in the world like you did in Oblivion, but the graphics still serve their purpose, and I’ll take acceptable and speedy graphics over beautiful but clunky and slow ones any day.
Sound
Like previous Fables, the music is well done, moods and atmospheres are captured tastefully but the music doesn’t detract from the moment. There are a few sweeping epic numbers during times that call for them, but for the most part the music is pleasant ambiance that makes the world seem even more alive.
The voice acting is where this game shines. Characters major and minor are all well done and bring the charm and humour that Fable fans know and love. Like the other Fables, most of the dialogue is well saturated in British humour, sarcastic and dark. The dialogue does get serious when needed, but I was chuckling more often than not as I’d catch silly conversations and comments as I passed by citizens of the world. Oh yeah and John Cleese voices your butler/adviser, and he brings his A game to the table, making fun of just about anything he can… especially tattoos your character gets… which kinda left me feeling about three inches tall afterwards but it was funny anyways!… just I need a hug now.
Online
Fable 3 has greatly improved the multiplayer of Fable 2. Where you would have to settle for playing as a generic sidekick if you joined a friend’s game, now you actually bring your own character into your friend’s world to leave their mark. This can make for some very interesting moments, if I was a goody goody hero, but then my friend comes in and his character is pretty much the anti-Christ, that will lead to some conflicts in my world. It’s subtle but a nice touch. The interaction with the world is also well amped up, as well as interactions with your friends online; if I so wanted, I could marry a friend online and start a family with them. This might lead to some awkward moments if I have a few drinks one night while playing and then wake up the next morning to find out I’ve married some gamer in Wisconsin named SniperDemon6969, but hey ya only live once.
What I liked
It’s Fable. I loved the other games, so this one was right up my alley. The changes from its previous titles aren’t too huge, but the stakes are raised in this story and the decisions are tougher, in the first five minutes of the game you will have to make a very difficult choice that actually made me stop and say out loud “seriously? I have to make a decision like this already?” Everything you do in this world will send out ripples that will effect the world on a grander scale, that kind of knowledge makes this a game that can go in a lot of directions; can anyone say “replay value”?
The online is way improved, now I’m actually looking forward to adventuring with friends instead of having the “I was the sidekick last time you be the sidekick this time” argument.
The world has been expanded and there’s a lot more to do. Explore, battle, get a job, raise a family, this is a world with limitless potential.
Like most popular gaming franchises, there’s a literary world for Fable as well. While games like Mass Effect missed the boat on incorporating the spin-off books into their game, Fable embraces that community, and through codes in the stories, you can bring a piece of that tale into your world and make the experience even more robust.
I love the humour. I’m a big fan of dark and sarcastic humour, so clearly this British influence was very amusing for me. Aside from the up front humour, there are subtle background gags and easter eggs that might be missed if you’re not paying attention. An example I can give is in the intro where a chicken is being chased around town, at the end of the intro you’re led to believe that the chicken was caught, shot and on its way to being someone’s dinner, well, when you walk into the castle at the beginning of the game, take the kitchen door and you’ll see something pretty funny; I laughed my ass off but my friends completely missed it, they’ll have to see it on another play through… suckers.
What I Would Change
Yes, the graphics could be a bit better, and yes if it could cure aids like originally promised that would be cool to, but ultimately there’s not much to complain about in this game; yes some things have been changed, but that’s progress. My major complaint is that there should have been some kind of system in place to pull from my Fable 2 game save and apply that to the world I’m playing in now. The game basically assumes that your Fable 2 hero was a noble male, well, what if I played as a tyrannical female character? Or a combination of the genders and moralities? There was a huge choice you had to make at the end of Fable 2, and it seemed to have no consequence coming in to this game. Lion Head could have taken a page out of Bioware’s book and had previous game imports like Mass Effect 2 did with Mass Effect, therefore giving their players reasons to also go back to the previous game and even replay that so that they can have a different combination with multiple games.
Final Thoughts
I like it and plan on getting a lot of enjoyment out of it. Players who hated the previous Fables won’t be won over, but other gamers, whether they were fans of the previous titles or never even picked up a Fable game, will get an
enjoyable adventure that they can take on alone or with friends while they shape the world into what they see fit.
