*Warning: Wall ?O Text*
Though its abundantly clear that Fable 3 did not register well with fans of either Fable: TLC, or Fable 2, I do not count myself amongst them. Did I think, however, that Fable 3 was perfect? Far from it. The story, while interesting in certain areas (Aurora) lacked a certain?weight, perhaps? The game persistently tried to make you believe that you were starting a Revolution, when in point of fact you were merely the focal point of a coup against a Tyrant. Revolutions usually involve toppling an entire system of Government and changing it completely. Replacing one King for another does not equal a Revolution. Also, there was never any real sense that you were fighting a desperate battle against said dictator. Yes, there was the Marquis? French underground, but it just seemed so lackluster. It was made to seem that one woman and her few dozens men were the *whole* of the resistance. You never encountered cells, and your quests always had very little to do with destabilizing or launching attacks to weaken the corrupt King?s Government. It really just felt like the ?Revolution? was a very ambiguous background plot. Also, basically running around and shouting to everyone, ?Hey, look here. I?m the Former Prince! You know, the Traitor my King/Brother should be scouring the land to find?!? gave the story a kind of detachment. If Logan was as desperate as he seemed to do what needed to be done, wouldn?t it make sense to stop another Figure head from derailing said plans? That said, they did do quite a few things right. The recruiting of allies was done fairly well, and Theresa?s cryptic guidance did lend the story, at times, a sense of gravitas. However, in regards to the story, these moments were too few and far in between.
Moving on from story, there were just so many ideas thrown into the game that just didn?t work and really just bogged down the game. The influence of Co-Op, frankly, had no place in a game of this nature. FPS titles like Modern Warfare, or conquest mode games like Battlefront or the forthcoming Lord of the Rings: War in the North are titles made for Co-Op. Fable has always been about a personal story concerning an epic ?Fables? like journey, forging a Legend and becoming a Hero. When you have an RPG with that type of story direction/intention, throwing in Co-Op or elements that force one to use Co-Op least they miss something, i.e. Demon Doors that won?t open unless you have someone from another ?world? with you, defeats the overall intention and immersion factor of the game. Hence the reason you will never see Co-Op in RPG games like Mass Effect or the Elder Scrolls. It just really defeats the point of most RPGs which are meant to be single player stories that might involve companions and other NPCS. At the end of the day, I should not have my game experience hampered in any way if I don?t want to play *my* Role Playing game with someone else.
Other ideas that just didn?t work? Keeping in place the Fables forced multi-class system. In any RPG, one should be able to choose how they want to play without being reminded or forced to use other systems, either in combat or for puzzles, etc. If I want to play the game as a Full Will user, being forced to run around with a sword on my back and pistol that I will also be forced to use is just redundant. Some have argued that, in the Fable universe, the Heroes were all multi-class. However, over the course of all the games we have seen Heroes that were single classed, Fable 2 being the most intense in regards to that with the Heroes of Strength, Skill, and Will. If I wanted to play Fable 3 as a Garth like character, I should have been able to, never being forced to rely on a sword or pistol for even the slightest thing. Hopefully, in Fable 4, they will permit one to choose from the start, or near start, how they want to play without forcing them through Melee, Pistol, Will tutorials if they choose one over the others.
The Road to Rule. It?s use in the context of the narrative was thin as best. Theresa showing you visions of your path would have been sufficient. Acquiring Guild Seals to unlock skill chests was just?frustrating. If I want Dyes I should have been able to buy them. Expressions should have been unlocked via levels/actions like the previous Fables. And my Skills should have improved/upgraded with use, not by unlocking chests. As to the Free Flow combat style? I rather enjoyed it, despite certain aspects of it, like rolling in battle, not always working correctly; couple this with an auto Targeting system that almost never worked in conjunction with the camera? Sorry, Mr. West, but you needed to take your system back to the drawing board, just a little bit. It was not something to be super proud of.
The Dog. For the love of Ponies, please *stop* giving me the Dog. I know Peter Monlynuex and his son have a hard on for Dogs, but I don?t want it. Give me an enchanted compass that can find treasures or something of that sort. That and the shovel is fine. I don?t know how many times I had to wait for that Dog to get unstuck from the terrain so it could dig up a quest item or rare treasure. ?Nuff said.
The absolute last thing which bothered me and kept this game from being amazing? The game is called Fable, and, as such, should maintain at least some semblance of the Mythic/Fairy Tale tone it implies. Setting the game in the industrial age, with no evidence of Magic (save from the Hero), Mythical creatures (save Hobbes -British version of goblins I?m assuming- and Balverines) Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, etc really defeats the goal of making the game feel like it?s set in some storybook universe. Now, by storybook, obviously I don?t mean it should be devoid of dark or mature themes. Both Fable 1-2 maintained elements of The Brothers Grimm and even C.S. Lewis, whilst Fable 3, save for Aurora (Arabian Nights), had none of them. I understand that Lionhead intends to continue the series, moving even further ahead in time; however, at this point, taking the game back to it?s roots with the world of Albion would do the series a great deal of good.
I know all of this may seem as though I did not, in fact, enjoy the game, when, in point of fact, I did. The game simply frustrated me with the level of potential that just *wasn?t* realized. The game is gorgeous, visually and musically. The acting? Save for the repetitive Butler that just would not shut up every time I stopped by my ?sanctuary,? was amazing. Michael Fassbender needs to play a villain in *every* RPG series, I don?t care which. Also, please note that John Cleese is a Legend that I love dearly. I just wanted him to be quiet or even not present every now and then. So, overall, there were many things that Lionhead should be proud of, and even with all the little hiccups I would still recommend the game as being worth a buy, especially if you have the previous Fables. However, I do think, instead of being so adamant about the game being Super Good, Lionhead and members of the team like Mr. West would benefit from trying to look at what they *might have* done wrong, and keep these lessons in mind if they choose to go forward with the series.
