Fable 3 review for xbox 360.
There's one thing that Peter Molyneux is good at, and that is hyping his games up without meaning too. Fable is one of the most well-known RPG (lite) series on consoles. With Fable 2 being a satisfying, albeit simplistic, approach to an open-ended RPG/life-sim surely it was a case of building upon a solid foundation? After all, Mr. Molyneux had promised so much for Fable 3. Morphing weapons in real-time, touch mechanics with towns-folk and much more. Has it lived up to the hype? Read on!
STORY & PRESENTATION
+ Well, the story is a large improvement over that of the 2nd game (not exactly difficult). You play as the son of the Hero from the 2nd game and it is upto you as the son to discover that you are also a hero as your father before you. Events do follow on loosely from Fable 2 without ever having to re-tread old ground which is a blessed relief. Events quickly unfold and before you know it, you're building an army in order to take the crown from the Hero's tyrannical brother (although all is not what it seems).
= The good thing about Fable 3's characters is that they are genuinely interesting and you do form an attachment to certain characters. Having said that, the characters you meet don't have much of a chance to develop, nor do they impact the story in any significant or meaningful way.
SOUND
+ Without doubt this is Fable 3's strongest aspect. With the exception of some repeating music, Lionhead Studio's should be applauded for their sterling work on the voices and scripting. Parts of the game are genuinely funny to listen to and help add to the whimsical charm of the game overall. One of my favourite parts (spoilers ahead) is when you help a trio of wizards play a table-top RPG!! I'll say no more than that but it was definitely a highlight for me (I'll certainly have new respect for chickens)!
GRAPHICS
- Well, it certainly looks nice but it is NOT a huge graphical leap. I know the old adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" will be mentioned by some but for me there was definite room for improvement from Fable 2. Some of the textures can be quite bland, pop-up is infrequent but still present while slow-down and frame-rate issues popped up more times than they should during my playthrough. The real crime about these issues is that they happen when there's not much happenning on-screen so it's very baffling.
GAMEPLAY
- Well, where to start on this subject. To be honest, as much as I enjoyed myself for a while, I felt the game lacked any form of focus. Did Lionhead want an RPG? A life-sim? A simple action adventure? Fable 3 seems very unsure of itself and ends up spreading itself too thinly over several differing genres instead of focusing on a few to strengthen its appeal.
- Combat has also remained very simplistic (to the point of absurdity). Hammering the 'X' button will allow you to swing your sword/hammer, the 'Y' your guns and 'B' your magic. Fighting never feels fluid and you can quickly exploit the stupid A.I to stand in one place whilst you pick them all off. The levelling system is replaced by 'The Road to Rule'. This is where you earn Guild Seals to unlock chests that will make you stonger in different areas (magic, melee, ranged). Again, it's far too simplistic and does not live upto the promises made during the initial development of this game. Also, character/monster design is severely lacking. With only a handful of designs for both friend and foe, there is a horrible sense of apathy from the art-design team.
- There are plenty of weapons in the game but only half of them are available in your 1st playthrough, the rest have to be traded online (what about people who don't have internet?). Lionhead have only included 6 magic spells in the game and even though you can combine 2 different spells, you don't need anything else apart from Shock+Fireball to completely dominate with magic.
- You can get married, have children and buy property but the only useful one of these is the property as it gives you a steady income to buy weaponry & items. To get married, you have to befriend someone first which, in turn, means talking/dancing/hugging them until they give you a menial quest to do to earn their friendship. Why am I limited to so few expressions and actions? What happenned to the expression wheel from Fable 2?
- The quests are un-imaginative and repetitive and only serve to highlight the flaws in this game. The glowing trail makes its re-appearance in Fable 3 and will guide you (sometimes) to your next quest objective. I say sometimes though as it can dis-appear completely or lead you to a previous quest or even the long way around. Quick travel is anything but that as you cannot pin-point whereabouts in a town you wish to go to. You're transported to the general area and then made to run the rest. Why?
- You can gain employment to earn extra gold if you so wish. Pie-making, Iron Smith or Lute Hero........yes Lute Hero.......I'm not making it up!! Fun for 5 minutes before tedium sets in or the frame-rate cocks your timing up and resets your gold multiplier!! Just stick to buying and renting property!!
OVERALL
Despite all its flaws, I have enjoyed Fable 3 albeit only for the story and voice-acting. Lionhead have really shot themselves in the foot by promising so much change and delivering a watered-down version of said promises. Simplistic combat, mediocre RPG elements and a Sims-style approach to interaction are things that could've and definitely should've been rectified before this games release!! Roll on Fable 4!!
IS IT WORTH BUYING?
Sadly no. It's worth a rental at best. There are just too many things that make the game feel rushed and unfinished as a whole.Fable 3 was developed by Lionhead Studios. Published by Microsoft Game Studios.
