The writing is top notch, and there are at least three or four quests that rank among my favorite missions I’ve ever played. The story is grim at times, but that’s not to say that it isn’t also one of the funniest games of the year. It certainly doesn’t break the game, but I was disappointed that a game trumpeting player choice takes a significant step backward from Fable II’s level of NPC interaction. Not being able to choose means that my prince had to do a lot of pelvic-grinding dance moves and games of patty cake with other men in order to become friends with them. Now, you’re limited to random selections that represent good, evil, and rude actions. Previously, players could choose from a variety of different actions when interacting with the townsfolk.
The interface doesn’t take anything away, but it doesn’t add anything extra to the experience, either.įable III’s focus on simplicity sometimes comes at a cost. Sure, menus are weird gamey things, but there’s a reason they work – they’re faster than walking into a virtual closet. Lionhead’s efforts to replace abstract gaming concepts with more literal interpretations is interesting, but the overall effect is one of getting a flashy paint job instead of an arguably unnecessary overhaul.
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Staffed by Jasper the butler (voiced by John Cleese), it’s an all-in-one visual replacement for the various menus players usually zip through to equip gear, fast travel, and change appearance. The same can be said for the player’s home base, called the Sanctuary. It’s a nice way to present leveling up, though it doesn’t fundamentally change the mechanics beneath such systems. Those chests contain things like combat upgrades, emotion packs, dyes for clothing, and new spells. As players work their way through the path, they can spend Guild Seals (essentially XP) to open chests. Gates block your progression, and are unlocked one by one after completing important story-based tasks. In the beginning, the hero faces down a winding path that ends at the castle. Character progression eschews a traditional leveling system in favor of a more literal experience system dubbed the Road to Rule. Other genre mainstays are tweaked significantly, though sometimes it feels as though Lionhead is tinkering with things simply because it can. I had fun with it, but combat isn’t a wildly different experience from Fable II you press a button, swing your sword or cast your spell, and move on. You could conceivably get away with mashing away, but players who time the attacks to correspond to the action and charge attacks at the right time are treated to devastating finishers that show you flattening your opponent’s head or perforating their backs in a dramatic slow-motion closeup. There are three main types of attacks in the game – melee, firearm, magic – and each is performed by pressing the button that’s permanently attached to it. Much of the HUD has been stripped away, and combat is similarly bare. Fortunately, Fable III has more than a few tricks up its sleeves.įable III is the latest example of Lionhead’s battle against cluttered interfaces. Most of those missions are variations of the typical “go here, kill this, retrieve that” formula that we’re accustomed to in our adventure games. Since you’re a member of the royal family, though, you have to win over each of those leaders by performing acts of heroism and doing a few favors. Those factions have one important thing in common: They cannot stand King Logan, and they will do whatever it takes to overthrow him.
As luck (or fate) would have it, Walter just so happens to be friendly with a variety of assorted riffraff, rebels, and revolutionaries. Enough is enough! It’s time for a revolution, baby!Īs the prince or princess, you travel the lands of Albion with your mentor, Walter Beck. Soon you’re scrambling to assemble an army.
Regardless, those kinds of complaints are beneath your station in life – but that changes quickly after a tragic turn of events. Perhaps the high taxes and child labor have left negative impressions on the citizenry. As the youngest child of a legendary hero, you’ve heard the vague rumblings from the rabble that your brother, King Logan, is a tyrannical maniac. When you first start Fable III, you don’t get that impression. Sure, the parties can be fantastic and the furnishings are exquisite, but being in command of a kingdom is more of a royal pain than anything else. When Mel Brooks said, “It’s good to be the king,” he was only talking about one facet of the job.