Preview: Fable 3

[Forktongue]

The new menu system sounds interesting. I'm a long-time completionist so having a series of rooms to display all of the crap I've collected sounds fun.

My biggest concern hasn't been mentioned in any previews I've seen. What made me feel disconnected from the world itself was the lack of variety in npc models and voices. It sounds like they have an impressive cast list for the main characters but I'd almost prefer less a-list actors playing lead roles and more voice actors providing a wider variety of voices to all the npcs (although I cant imagine who I'd want to cut from the current cast list!).

Any word on how many npc models/voices there are?

 

[mike1921]

The problem with doign away with menus entirely is that it trends towards simplification in all the aspects menus touch on (IE invisible war, bioshock, doom 3, others).

But the spell blending sounds terrific, perhaps THIS time it will be reasonable to be a mage?
Fable one's magic was diverse, but difficult to utilize and enhance, and fable 2's magic was stupid (summon undead FROGS?!) for the most part, time manipulation + guns notwithstanding.

I thought both games had ridiculously overpowered magic systems. By the time you had level 4 magic it was the only thing you needed to use.

 

[Charli]

Yesss I've been waiting for Lionhead to move away from their damn, menu/interface kick for so long. They do games so well without them.

 

[whaleswiththumbs]

John Cleese is in it.

I'm glad to hear that I'll be hearing him a fair bit as I run around changing clothes.

And I've always wanted more Cleese, this game satisfies there.

OT:
The reduction of menus reminds me of your Villa in AC2. Of course, there were still a lot of menus, but there was a room for your armor and weapons and you could buy paintings for some change in the rest of the house.

 

[antipunt]

Fix some of the most annoying flaws in Fable 2 (shallow story, uninteresting and/or irritating characters, annoying NPCs) ; then we'll talk.

 

[Caligulust]

I'm happy if eating meat won't give me douche points like it did in Fable 2.

I've always enjoyed the Fable series. While not the best games, they aren't horrible.

 

[dghjdgdjf]

Just ONE word.

John F*cking Cleese!

Okay, maybe that's three. So what? Sue me.

 

[Kavonde]

I went back and played a little Fable 2 recently, and I gotta say, the sheer awfulness of the menu system really jumped out at me. So glad it's getting overhauled, especially if John Cleese will be making fun of me while I use it.

 

[RooftopAssassin]

This is something that applies to most games. The best example, I think, is Mass Effect. Simplifying the menus and items made Mess Effect 2 much more enjoyable to me.

I'm anxious to see it for myself, though.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

i'd be curious if you could choose of taking the king out by:

-Mass Mob + Firing squad
-Exile
-killing him by yourself
-reconciliate
-a contest of chickenkickin' and send him home...

 

[Miumaru]

I am looking foward to this. Mostly since I am one of the seemingly few open advocates of Molyneux.

 

[jthm]

So in otherwords, it's the same system Molyneaux implemented in Black & White. This doesn't fill me with anticipation.

 

[B2kCyclops]

Sounds very good, maybe Fable 3 will be the first game of the series that I actually really enjoy.
I hate to be pessimistic, but....
....considering what the last two games of the franchise(or Mr. Molyneux to be precise) promised, and so perfectly failed to deliver, I'll wait for the actual release and then be suprised by a new and unique way of failing.

I sincerly hope that I'll be wrong and that Fable 3 will be a great and awesome game, but history has the well reported ability to repeat itself seamlessly, especially when the same people as before are involved.

 

[thimblyjoe]

Sounds like it could be good. I'll just go in with no expectations and enjoy it for what it is.


And by the way Susan. Your question about the chickens? That's going back to the first Fable in which they basically made an entire mini-game out of kicking chickens. Why they did that I can't tell you, but it was kinda fun for the first five minutes or so.

 

[Evilsanta]

It certianly looks that i can be good. But i wonder if it can live up to the hype.

 

[ahappycamper]

Susan, about the chickens, the origin of chickens goes back further than Fable, in Dungeon Keeper (Bullfrog Games - under Peter Molyneux) used chickens to feed the creatures in the game, i'm not sure about DK1 but DK2 also had a spell to turn enemies into chickens, you could also splat them by 'flicking' them.

 

[QueenWren]

I find it amusing that Fable is such a Marmite series. Of course I also think that we gamers are much more critical than devotees of other mediums, but that might just be the view from the inside.

OT: I'm liking the new menus and everything, think it's a bit daft that we'll have to unlock things like hair dye, but could you please fix the story more! I know its tougher in games where the player makes the decisions but other games manage just fine (DragonAge springs to mind). I like Fable, I think the concept is great and I loved the story in number 1 but please just let this be an improvement on the story in 2.

Also as several people have said fix the villagers, makes me want to be evil and slaughter the lot of them.

 

[IamSofaKingRaw]

I can only hope the ending is better

This, and pretty much everything else in Fable 2...
Horrible story and equally horrible ending, combat that punishes you with boredom and nothing else, no real reason to heal, the generic mess that was the spells in the game, just how overpowered the rifle was, oh, and the fact that legendaries were just joke weapons compared to the stuff you unlock barely even halfway through...

And thank god the family thing isn't going to be forced upon me, I could care less for them, much less the damn useless dog I'd of killed off in the first 5 minutes (Fable 2 made me hate dogs for once in my life...).

The menus weren't an issue, and never have been. Deadspace didn't have any issues, and that never made me go "Hey this is nice!", and neither did RE5.

The ONLY shining point with Fable 3 so far, was that out of all the interviews, Molyneux managed to stay out of one of them.

Now you want to discuss a real issue? Customization. I don't want my weapon to dictate what my character looks like, and I sure as hell don't want skills to either. Let me actually shape what my guy looks like. But hey, we all know Molyneux loves doing the needlessly redundant and ultimately retarded thing in the end, and speak of it like gospel until its time to start hating the game to hype the next generic sequel...

edit: Oh yea, forgot another thing. The fart emote. Its one thing to be childish, its another thing just to be plain stupid. It isn't funny to watch someone violate their own rectum with some random guys nose. If I wanted to see that, I'd look up some odd porn.

MWAHAHAHAHA!

> : D

Spoiler: Click here to see your wildest dreams

 

[Catalyst6]

I foresee countless flow-breaking runs back to the inventory hub, complete with constant load screens and annoying runs back and forth through the same corridors...

 

[Danpascooch]

With a visual interface, how are we going to know which piece of equipment is better than what? Or which item is better than another?