As promised, here follows my account of Fable III. Like Black Ops in the previous post, I only had Fable III for a short while and mainly did the campaign. I was unable to enjoy the online experience it offered, but unlike Black Ops, I thought it was actually a good game.
Now, I've always been a fan of RPG's since I played Runescape, Morrowind and Neverwinter Nights when I was younger, followed up by Oblivion and Fallout 3 later. Morrowind especially stands out as one of the greatest games I've ever played. But all that is largely irrelevant, because like I said, today is Fable day. As a final disclaimer, I've not played the previous two Fable games or any contemporary or more gritty RPG's like Dragonage. Anyway, I liked Fable, and this is a few reasons why.
Fable III: def. A story so good it has been told several times.
Gameplay:
As Gameplay goes, Fable is simple and straightforward. The control buttons indicate different attacks between range, magic and melee, with the obligatory "do things" button that you have to hold to do most things, which is a nice touch given the amount of times I've agreed to do things in the past by randomly mashing buttons to get through the dialogue. It's a little bit of Too Human, using the left analogue stick to move your character in a whirlwind of stabby death towards things that have upset you, while the right stick angles the camera. The menu system is a little bit confusing, but once you get to grips with it the Path to Glory and Sanctuary are not too confusing. Generally, it handles well.
There's plenty to do, from mundane (but fun) quests involving rounding up chickens to being a shameless mysoginistic pig with four wives (one I later divorced). You must do a certain amount of story progression to unlock new area's to travel to, but everywhere is inhabited by the same likeable peasants and unlikeable mustache twirling villains you'd expect in this kind of game. The great thing about Fable is that it doesn't take itself, or the genre, too seriously, which means you're more forgiving of some of its lack of virtures. The voice acting is incredibly funny, and some of the quests can be really cinematic and enjoyable, allowing you to imagine you're in a cheesey film like Pirates of the Caribbean - Redcoat soldiers fighting Zombies, for example, led by a guy who is more than a little bit like Sharpe and voiced by Simon Pegg.
The cast list are fantastic, the openess of the world is fairly good, although there doesn't seem to be a lot of neutrality in there. You play either as a goodie or a baddie, or mix it up so you never really settle on one, but the options for doing so are, as I said, rather black and white. As far as playability goes, that's rather good, as you've got a lot reasons to give it another playthrough to see how differently things would have fared had you made different choices.
"The bottom line is that Fable III is fun, well-executed and utterly ridiculous." Says Wired.
Graphics:
The graphics are not particularly outstanding. Remember, this is a game made in 2010, so it isn't exactly Space Invaders but it can look a bit cartoony and lack a certain level of realism. But that is just the kind of game that Fable III is. It's a Renassaince era version of Runescape, full of wacky characters, zaney quests and bring, colourful and simple locations that give you the feeling of being young again. Then again, when it wants to be cool or violent or more realistic, it does it quite well. Some of the finishers for enemies are quite brutal and well put together, and the glowing eyes of Hollow Men or jumping and ferocity of the Werewolves.
Occassionaly, there are glitches, however. Personal ones I encountered were, upon making pies, the character would eventually being to levitate during the minigame, along with all of his equipment.
Plot
I don't want to give too much of the plot away to Fable, but it is - as it should be for any RPG - the best and most defining characteristic of the game. You play as King Logan's brother (or sister), and it becomes immediately apparent that he is an oppressive tyrant. Fleeing his wrath, you must band together an interesting collection of wonderful characters to overthrow him in a revolution. The main quest is supplimented heavily by well thoughtout sidequests that tend to be a bit cooler than Bethesda's usual - go here, take this thing to someone else - subquests.
As the game draws to a close, the reason for your brother's apparent callousness and madness become terrifyingly apparent, and the player is forced to make a series of increasingly Machiavellian decisions. The underlying theme of the game by this point is that while you can be a benevolent ruler, your kindness and inaction will cause all those you care about to suffer horrifically in the future. However, by adopting draconian policies and relenting on promises, you can avert the disaster that is looming over you, but only by becoming a monster and earning the scorn of all those who once called you a friend.
Although the decisions are very controlled and, as stated, so black and white that it isn't funny, Fable III is a game that has something a bit deeper to being a hero or a villain. In the closing stages, it unwraps the whole of Machiavellian philosophy and notions of cruelty as kindness. It is "dirty hands" politics explained at its best, and the decisions that you make will have very serious repercussions when all the dust has settled. Trying to be a good person and trying to save others are no longer hand in hand, and I must have spent hours making pies - as the ruler of Albion - in a desperate attempt to raise money and save people from impending doom without turning myself into a monster.
Fable III is an engrossing and compelling game. Generally well put together and with great voice-acting and cinematic fights against aristocratic werewolves or leading Redcoats against zombies in a swamp. For anything else, check out the Fable III wiki. Seriously, this is a game I would recommend.
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