Fable 3

Fable 3 is the newest in the series developed by Lionhead Studios. It keeps many of the core elements that the franchise has become known for. The game play has been streamlined which makes it more accessible for gamers and even more fun to play. The improvements in Fable 3 were great to play and the story this time is a whole new spin on this franchise. The game has a few glitches and confusing plot line at times, but even so this game is just as much fun to play as the first two in the series.

 The story takes place a half-century after the events of Fable 2. Albion is in the midst of the Industrial Age complete with the hunger, tyranny, and anguish that came with that age. Child labor is rampant and beggars can be found along the smog-filled desolate streets. You play the brother or sister to the current king who is a tyrant and squeezing Albion of all its resources. You are the children of the hero in Fable 2 and like in your father’s time Albion is in need of a hero. Since your brother is the cause of the misery it becomes your role to amass an army to dethrone him and become the new king.

 The core gameplay follows the previous games where you will need to go on quests, fight Hobbes and other creatures, search for and collect hidden treasures, and explore the open world. This time around the streamlining of traditional role-playing elements makes for a faster gaming experience where you are not constantly checking items and stats. Many people will find this a mortal crime against the RPG gods, but I found it delightful as I enjoy playing Fable just to have fun and not to become engrossed in statistics for weapons, armor, and magic.

 Fable 3’s story becomes unique due to the level of politics that come into play within the game. You spend the first half of the game gaining followers by making promises that you will later have to keep or break depending on your choice to play as good or evil. As you gain more followers you will progress further down the “road to rule” which is an area that unlocks upgrades for your character, elements in the game (interaction choices with people), and ultimately taking the throne for yourself. In order to become king you will need to make a lot of promises to leaders, complete quests, donate money to beggars, and other good things to build your following. Once your followers are large enough you can take the throne, and this is where most games end. Fable 3 makes this the middle of the game where you must now decide to keep your promises or become an even bigger tyrant than your brother was.

 The decisions you make once you become king will have actual consequences on the world of Albion and the people within it. Do you rebuild damage to a town you attacked to become king or leave it a wasteland that is uninhabitable? Depending on your choices the landscape within the game will change. The choices you make are also rather emotional and a good bit stressful once you see the repercussions that happen depending on what you choose to do. You can choose to be a noble ruler or an evil tyrant and either choice is intriguing take on this franchise.

 These choices and story elements were a nice touch, but they don’t feel very cohesive as a plot. They come off rather disjointed and almost with a lack of purpose other than to give the game a different direction. Also, the game has several odd glitches. For example, I had a quest where I had to speak to a woman in a house and I could go to the house where she was standing in the doorway, but I was unable to talk to her and I could never complete the quest. It was rather annoying but not enough to really take away from the fun of the game.

 Lionhead put a lot of fun elements into this game. There are wacky costumes, silly jokes, and absurd situations that the hero is placed into. You are still able to run around within the open world and play however you please. This means you can still build a family, take jobs, commit murders, and change the appearance of your character. Buying up the property is also fun as you can be a slum lord or an awesome land lord keeping up your property at low rates.

 The streamlining of the gameplay means there are almost no menus to deal with. There is now a 3D interactive world that allows for quick movement which is very convenient due to the size of the world. There is no health bar, skill trees, or levels to worry about. Your character improves by using the weapons and you evolve by gathering followers. You don’t have to learn magic but gain gloves that have magical abilities from the “road to rule”. This means you can have two spells equipped at one time that can have neat combination effects or one spell. I encourage playing with spells, because I had a lot of fun combining them.

 The audio on this game is a great addition. There is great voice over work used in this game which adds to making even unimportant side quests have a sense of importance. The dialogue ranges from serious to witty to silly humorous. The quests range from important story quests to the mundane fetch and find quests.

 I enjoyed this game and found it to be really fun. It’s accessible to all levels of gamers and easy to understand the game mechanics. There are the drawbacks of the glitches that tend to pop up. These glitches are annoying, but they really don’t take away from the entertainment you can have while playing this game. All in all I would recommend this game to anyone that liked the previous games and that likes zany action games.

Written by: Paul Miller