Fableulous

This week I’ll be talking about Fable 3, but before so I should take a moment to mention the two previous Fables. Personally I’m a huge fan of the series. I love the world of Albion, and the humor that is injected (quite liberally sometimes) into it. If you love chickens or are an associate of PETA, this series may not be for you.  One thing that has plagued the Fable series comes in the form of Peter Molyneux, the oft times outspoken and, frankly, batshit crazy lead designer of the series. It seems that with every Fable release Peter has come out proclaiming some amazing, ground breaking features that usually end up getting cut from the final release (remember the acorn anyone).  

With Fable 3 however, Peter has been uncharacteristically quiet. In fact, when asked about what he was most excited about in Fable 3 he responded “the simulations”. Not his usual over the top response at all. However, there is a hell of a lot going on behind Fable that we, as players, seldom notice. Each civilian in Albion has their own set of characteristics that change depending on how the hero interacts with them.  You can take up a career as a trader, buying goods cheap, them moving to another location where one of the shops is looking for stock and make yourself some cash.  With Fable 3, like the pervious titles, you get out as much as you put in.

So, how is the game? 

If I were to sum it up in one word, I’d say ambitious.  It’s sometimes hit, sometimes miss, and depending of the mind set you’re in when you play it you’ll either love it or hate it.  You see, they’ve made some pretty interesting changes to the game dynamics from the previous games.  The menu system that plagued Fable 2 has been completely removed. Now when you hit the select button you’re whisked away to Sanctuary. From here you can wander around, select your weapons, magic, clothes and more.  You can also manage your funds; use the map to fast travel around etc.  Basically it replaces all the menu options. Many people I spoke to hate this, but I actually think it’s a great innovation.  The menu is now organic and a part of the gameplay instead of something that breaks the immersion.  

Interaction with the people of Albion has likewise been simplified; doing away with the radial menu of emotes. Not you choose a good emote or a bad emote and that’s about it.  This seems a step backwards, removing a lot of the choices present in Fable 2.  Also gone are the multiple choices for leveling your abilities. Instead of having three choices in each of Strength, Skill and Will you only have one.  This is done by opening chests in the road to rule (Basically the leveling system), and as you unlock various chests they improve the corresponding ability. For example, open a Strength chest and you do more damage in melee.  The weapons themselves are more organic, each with their own challenges you need to complete in order to upgrade them.  It’s a new take on the traditional RPG elements, and one which seems to polarize people. I, for one love that they are trying new things, even if they don’t always work out.

Now for the unpleasant stuff. Fable 3 has bugs. Lots of bugs. These range from annoying, such as the breadcrumb not loading or taking you the wrong way, to game breaking problems.  A game from a production house of this caliber has no excuse for some of these problems.  

Bugs aside, pretty much the only thing I really though needed improvement was the morality aspect of the game.  Basically your choices are virtuous or dastardly.  There is nothing in the middle, no murky water to tread. This makes it easy if you are focusing on maxing out your morality one way or another, but I think it’s too clear cut.

Overall, I loved the game. I didn’t personally encounter any of the game crippling bugs, and have had a blast running around shooting gnomes, finding plants and ruling my Kingdom. The game has some fantastic scenery, and many truly epic moments that will probably see me running through it again (This time I’m going evil all the way mwah ha ha.) If you liked the previous Fable games, and are open to some of the new ideas they’re trying here, then you should go out and grab a copy. I have spoken

Next week.  Something. I still haven’t decided yet. Must play more Fable