Fable 3 Review

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Fable 3 only for XBox 360

Reviewed by Aaron Waller

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http://www.amazon.com/Fable-III-Xbox-360/dp/B002I0JGDM

Story:

The story begins not as a child this time, but as an early adult. You are a prince/princess depending on what you chose to be, and the youngest child of the last ruler the Great Hero King of Albion. Yes you heard that right, we're back to Albion. Only in this chapter of the series we are 50 *Thanks to a helpful reader, 100 years would be a long time for an old king wouldn't it? lol* years after the last game ended. If you did finish the 2nd Fable, then you hopefully realised that you are now the King of Albion. In the 3rd game you actually play as your child, however from what I've seen you are not a child taken from your previous save. So thank goodness you start out STD free. However if you play like I do, and try to have a spouse in every town that will not stay true for too much longer. As of right now my character has 3 STDs, its probably good that it doesn't tell you what your character has. You are the youngest child of 2 (that I'm aware of so far), and are rudely awoken one morning by your loyal butler who happens to be voiced by the greatly loved John Cleese. You're eventually after learning how to control your character imposed by your brother to choose who lives and who dies, the choices are your best friend/love interest and a few towns folk. I myself chose my best friend, either because I'm a bastard or just selfish but who really knows right?... You're taken by your teacher and master swordsman to a secret exit in the castle to escape your brothers inevitable wrath for standing against him. It turns out to be a good thing, which is normally true for these genre of games because your brother turns out to be a psychotic ruler whom threatens to rule with an iron fist and move even the mountains to his will.

Overall Score

4 out of 5 (Story was much better than Fable 2)

Game Play & Control:

Fable 3 controls fairly the same as the 2nd with the exception of your magic and various conversation buttons. These conversational options which are given to you I would myself give a negative critique to. I'm a fan of the 1st and 2nd Fables conversational wheel, where you could choose a reaction or conversation starter that fits your characters reaction to a particular NPC. In the 3rd game you're only given 2 options, a good and a bad reaction. If you wanted to be bad to someone by threatening them right away, you would have to go through an entirely different set of bad actions before getting to that point. Same goes with the happy, or good feelings. I was very frustrated with this option, I almost rarely until recently kept from using this option but in order to obtain optional missions or missions that progress the story you have to use it. The magic on the other hand is a different story. I am thankful for the easier use of your magical prowess, and the ability to mix different magical elements together. My personal favorite is the fire fused with tornado or wind, its not the most powerful combination but it sure is the best looking. Like the other games all you do is press the b button, and either let it go or aim with your left thumb stick to use your magic. You can also hold down the b button to strengthen your magical attacks. The big difference comes when you can change your magical element. In the 3rd game you're given a gauntlet to cast your magic from, in the other games you are the instrument of your magic. I tend to like this choice better, instead of getting flustered in the middle of battle by worrying about your character and what kind of spell you're going to cast next, you can escape the battle and switch your gauntlet. However sometimes this can cause trouble as well. Sometimes you just need to choose on the fly, if you leave and come back you might not be as prepared as you thought you would be. The only other thing I can think of to point out would be how the game seems to have advanced in technology compared to the other two games. Its good to see it actually reflect an actual timeline advancement, unlike the other two where 1,000 year difference didn't really change much more than the environment. Fable 3 is a good and faithful addition to the other 2 Fables from what I've seen so far. I would recommend this game to anyone who is not only a fan of the series but a fan of adventure and fantasy.

Overall Score

3 out of 5 (Same 'ol stuff, but a little lacking)

Updates and Summary:

I've recently actually beaten the game, and have some words on the overall game and the ending itself. For starters I do remember sitting down and feeling a combination of rage, anger, and sadness towards the makers of the 2nd Fable game for its ending. The game built up for a huge climax, and let me down poorly. It was probably the easiest boss I have ever fought, I'm sorry I mean the easiest boss I never fought. I thought it was interesting that they tried to change the mechanics of the ending, being that you don't really fight a last boss, and it was geared more towards the story. But there are some things in the gaming industry that you just don't mess with. One of those is having a boss worth killing, or just defeating. Maybe in our children's future perhaps, but right now for the gamers of my generation just don't please. Ok *phew* I'm done, now on Fable 3 they must have traveled forward in time to read my review and go back in time to work on a better ending. Now not to get your hopes up, the end was rather easy. But it wasn't press and hold the A button easy, for those of you who don't know what I mean that's how you beat the boss in the 2nd game. I know right? ... But the battle itself and the battle happening around the town was well worth a thumbs up for bringing back the way things should be. It also kind of made me tear up in the end, which is always a plus. I do by the way have to congratulate everyone on the team that made this game, for creating the kingdom part of the game. I really would like to see more of this implemented in more games, and to even greater detail. I'm a Sims fan as well, and I love control. Giving the player control of what future Albion has was amazing. I actually felt like I was the king, and that to me is what made this game. It was short, and not as detailed as I would have liked, but its a beginning and it was original. Thank you guys for making such a great game, and I look forward to scoring the 4th game.

Overall game score

4 1/2 out of 5