The Fable series’ creator, Peter Molyneux is famous for promising a lot, and subsequently delivering a lot less than promised. Fortunately, the games have been quite a lot of fun despite this, having met with critical and commercial success. Fable epitomises the modern-day action-RPG, thanks to a solid combat system, character development and customisation, fantastical world to explore, solid story and voice-acting. The games in the series have also sported wry, slapstick British humour that gamers around the world have come to love, and Fable III, the latest in the
series, is no different. It sticks to the same formula while adding some interesting elements. But is there enough new content in the game to keep gamers hooked?
Fable III is set 50 years after the events of Fable II in the land of Albion. The hero of Fable II has passed and his son, Logan is the ruler of the Kingdom. The player can choose to play either as the prince or princess and while the fundamental gameplay experience remains unchanged, you will notice some subtle differences in the way people respond to your presence — there are some mild differences in the quests as well. So, as the prince/princess, it is your job to start a revolution to overthrow your brother, Logan, who in the last four years or so, has turned tyrannical and cruel. With the help of your mentor Sir Walter Beck and your butler, Jasper, it is up to you to mobilise resources and allies to partake in your revolution. The journey will take the hero (that’s you) to various parts of Albion, some familiar, some vaguely familiar and some utterly and completely alien, where he/she will have to perform deeds that help in gathering followers and support for the revolution. Also in the process, you will have to make various promises to your new-found allies. Making promises is easy enough, but will you be able to keep them? Your game in Fable III doesn’t end with the defeat of Logan, it carries on. You will actually become the king/queen of the kingdom and can choose to rule with compassion or with cruelty. An interesting addition to the Fable series, the part where you play as the monarch of Albion is also arguably the best.
Like previous Fable games, morality is hugely important in Fable and determines if your hero is admired or feared. Most of the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ deeds can easily be told apart, but there’s a large grey area as well. And while it’s satisfying to play as a goody-two-shoes, there’s a lot more cash in store if you choose to play evil. Fable III’s open-world is as good as any we’ve seen in the series, but the variety in mini-games and entrepreneurial ventures has been expanded, since managing Albion’s finances plays a crucial role later in the game. A quick access mini-map in the game’s ‘Sanctuary’ (hit the start button to access it) makes life a lot easier and is very useful to identify available side-quests, properties available for purchase and fast-travel. The Sanctuary also lets you quickly change outfits, change your weapons and purchase stuff from the online store. Fable III’s interface is fantastic overall and a great improvement over previous versions.
The combat system in Fable III is solid. Your hero has access to three types of attacks —
melee, ranged and magic. There is no ‘mana’ bar that limits your use of spells, ammunition or a fixed health bar either, so you’ll mostly be spamming your ranged and magic attacks, while timing blocks and powered-up melee flourishes. You can level up each of these attacks in the ‘Road to Rule’ (a level-up environment) using ‘guild seals’ (which are like XP) gained from slaying monsters, performing quests and, well, just about anything else in the game including socialising with townsfolk. You are allowed to carry two weapons, one ranged and one melee, as well as a gauntlet for spells. Later on, you can unlock the ability to equip two gauntlets and create spell combos — a neat addition. Fable III also allows you to unlock dyes (which you can use to change the colour of your outfits), expressions, game abilities (such as marriage and entrepreneurship) and higher level mini-games in the Road to Rule. All of these are great additions and for a ‘simplified’ action-RPG, Fable III’s character development system is surprisingly deep. And if you ignore the dated graphics and embrace the open-world of Albion, there’s dozens of hours of gameplay in store.
Verdict: 8/10
Fable III is a unique action-RPG that lets you play king. Now how many games can claim to do that?
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