If there’s one exclusive RPG series that Microsoft has on its platform, it would be Fable. Following the successful release of Fable II back in 2008, the sequel is finally here and this time, it takes place 50 years after the events of the second game. Within those two years, Fable III has garnered a lot of hype and excitement for fans of Fable II. Is the wait for the third game to the award winning Fable series worth it?
Now that the game is finally here, how is this game any different from Fable II? Should fans expect a better storyline? Same gameplay, perhaps? We’ll find out in our HOTs and NOTs.
HOT
Join the Revolution
As with every Fable game, the players will have a choice as to how the game will progress. In Fable III, players will take the role of the heir of the King of Albion, who was previously the Hero of Albion in Fable II. The game starts in an uprising of villagers in Albion due to the merciless ruling of the character’s brother, Logan. As the complete opposite of the character’s brother, the player will have two choices; lead the revolution to overthrow the King, or be the tyrant of the kingdom. The choice is all in the player’s hands as to what Albion will become. The player must go around Albion and seek allies that will help the revolution to over throw Logan.
Compared to the story of the second game, Fable III has an interesting storyline and is focused on a more mature setting. The game revolves on going to every town in Albion to seek the support of the town in an upcoming revolution. Before the player can get the support of each town, a plethora of quests must be completed. Each of the quests in the game has its own side story that is interesting and should add humor for players who are looking for a quick laugh. The length of these quests varies from a simple gathering mission to much more fun and challenging ones where the player must kill someone.
Presentation
The graphics of Fable III are a lot cleaner and smoother than in Fable II. There are a decent amount of CG graphics in the game that makes it look phenomenal. The character models in the game look more like a real person and are extremely well detailed. For fans who played Fable II, prepare to see some of the old towns in the game such as Bowerstone, Brightwall, and a lot more. Since Fable III takes place fifty years after the events of Fable II, the familiar towns mentioned will look somewhat different. Everything in the world of Albion is colorful and Lionhead Studios did a great job in improving the graphics from the second game.
To make the game more lively and compelling, the voice overs in the game are acted brilliantly. With the game developed in Europe, North American gamers should expect British accents, as with all previous Fable games released. When a player goes into a town, expect to feel a much livelier town as townspeople will always have something to say to the player. Exploring the towns and getting to know each of them is one of the ways to truly enjoy a Fable game.
Marry, Buy a House, Dress Up, and More
There are a lot of things to do in Fable III aside from just gathering allies for the revolution. As with all Fable games, players have the ability to buy a house that can be used when the player marries someone. Whenever the player has a husband or wife, the player can mate and have their own kids that can be placed in the house the player just bought. Living in Albion is hard; therefore, players can open up a shop where income will be good, or do mini job quests that require the player to do a mini game that earns them extra money. In addition to having the player’s own house, the character can dress up with the costumes that will be available later in the game. There will be some costumes that will be available via DLC in the future. All of these are pretty common in a Fable game and without this, Fable will not be the Fable everyone loves.
Two Player Co-op
Journeying through Albion can get boring. A way to get out of that boredom out is by inviting friends or letting someone join the player’s world. Whenever a player feels like they need someone to help them out in the game, another person who has an Xbox Live connection or just local LAN can jump right in and join. The person who will be visiting the player’s world will have the same freedom the person would have in his/her own world. The person can go ahead and go through the quests on the player’s world and earn more Guild Points and Golds.
Joining someone else’s world is easy. When the Sanctuary opens up in the game, the player can go through the Multiplayer room where players can easily search online for players. The player can choose whether anyone online can join or filter the match settings with just the people on the player’s friend list. Spotting someone while playing the game is easy! The player can simply look for floating orbs while playing. If that happens, it means that either someone else around the world or your friend are in the same game and are open for a co-op. The multiplayer aspect of the game opens up a lot more replayability as players can interact with one another and do quests at the same time.
NOT
It Feels More like Fable II
Whenever a new game in the series is out, the game should have fresh new ideas as players who played the previous title might have the tendency to get bored if nothing new is offered. Fable III suffers from that problem as when it comes to the gameplay; it feels like nothing has changed and the game feels too similar to Fable II . The progression of the story and the way the players will quest is the same thing everyone is used to on Fable II. The battle system of the game is the same thing and it gets boring after playing the game for several hours.
Horrible Leveling System
In Fable II we are accustomed to the orb system, this has been changed. New things are normally good but with how Lionhead Studios revamps the leveling system is bad, very bad. Points are no longer needed to level up the character’s abilities and levels. By interacting with people and doing quests in town, the player will receive Guild Seals where it can be used in an area, called “A Road to Rule” where players will have to open the treasure chests that contain a lot of things such as abilities and magics. Before, only magics and abilities could be bought but now, expressions, costumes, and a lot of other extras will join in with the new leveling system. Instead of just using the Guild Seals in powering up the player’s character, why do we have to share it with things that are really not needed? Can’t players just discover the extra stuff by exploring Albion?
Occasional Glitches
The world of Albion is big therefore, a perfect game with no glitches and technical difficulties cannot be expected. As players venture through Albion, there will be glitches and occasional slow downs that will be experienced. To reduce the glitches and random pop ins, simply install the game’s data to the hard drive. It will not eliminate the problem completely but it will help reduce it.
VERDICT
Everything that fans loved in a Fable game can be found in Fable III. The ability to make choices, build a family, and venture through the colorful world of Albion is one of the things Fable is known for. However, for fans who are expecting something new in Fable III will be disappointed as the game plays much like Fable II. Sure, there are some things new in Fable III like the leveling system, but did you know that it’s bad? Nevertheless, Fable III is still a solid title and hardcore Fable fans shouldn’t miss it.
