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The Double Edged Sword of Fable 3

By sweep November 8, 2010 23 Comments

Fable 3 is, in many ways, a clear regression from much of what defined Fable 2. For reasons unbeknownst, gone are much of what made Fable 2 such an interesting and innovative game in the first place.

As I am writing this I have Fable 3 running right next to me, left so that gold can accumulate.

I have just seen a man kick my dog. Oh hell no.

But the man kicked my dog because I put his rent up as high as it would go. I am, essentially, a bastard. Normally when I start playing a game like Fable 3 I set a course and stick with it. I decide, at the beginning of the game, whether I will be good or evil and stick to that decision rigidly throughout the game to see exactly how far those boundaries can be pushed. It says volumes for Fable 3 that, despite my intentions of staying Evil from start to finish, the design of the world and it's characters actually guilted me into being... you know.... nice.

It is a shame, therefore, that this innovation is undermined by it's occasional clumsy and awkward design.

Holy shit, another fucker just kicked my dog. I am accumulating a small pile of corpses in the middle of Bowerstone Market.

There's a lot about the game which is just awkward. As Brad mentioned on the bombcast, there are a lot of UI and HUD decisions which are impossible to access unless the game decides their inclusion is appropriate. The map, though inconvenient, is not as terrible as he would have you believe, however, as the sanctuary loads fairly promptly. Property management is a complete cunt though, especially when you establish your empire and have to navigate awkward menus to maintain and repair such a large number of dwellings. Fast Travel is unhelpfully unpredictable, sometimes taking you where you want to be, others dumping you at the opposite end of a huge sprawling level which is consistently repopulated with Hobbes, Hollow Men, and an entire menagerie of pointless cannon fodder which you are then expected to slash through.

There are design decisions which are just awkward.

To attack you press X, but to block you hold X. To flurry you hold X then press the directional stick towards your target. It's just convoluted, and unnecessary when you consider the trigger and bumper buttons remain largely useless throughout the game. The framerate also has a filthy habit of dropping during the QTE focussed mini-games, the sole source of income in the early stages of the game. As you play, a crowd accumulates around you - but a large crowd produces a crappy framerate. I have lost many rounds of Lute-Hero thanks to Fable 3s awkward stuttering. The pedestrian commentary can also be hilariously hypocritical. "Ere, aren't you that psyco killer wot I been hearin' about?" chimes a guard, followed immediately by a sharp salute and "Good morning your majesty." Off with that motherfuckers head.

Sabine looks unfortunately similar to the Burger King in this photo :S

What saves Fable 3

is it's humour, characters, and playful imagination. The voice acting, something which I am exceedingly sensitive about, remains of such startlingly high quality that I often guffaw at the humble British idiosyncrasies on display. "Balls!" cries Sir Walter Beck, charging hilariously into the battle. It says a lot about me, spawn of the West Country, that I felt so immediately at home in the rusticity of Brightwall. Lionhead has successfully retained the magical Britishness that made Fable 2 so incredible. I often wonder how much is missed by international players.
The characters themselves are beautifully rendered, leaving lasting impressions that make the late-game decisions so perilously hard. This isn't a generic little sister you are harvesting: this is Sabine, leader of the Dwellers, a mad welsh dwarf with a majestic moustache and a healthy appetite for explosives. Telling him I could not make good on my promise to him from the beginning of the game was fucking heartbreaking.

And it's visible in the humour too, arguably my favourite aspect in the entirety of Albion, though you might have to seek it out. The dryness of Fable 3s charm was an instant winner with me, and made me want to explore and see as much of Albion as possible. I especially like the names of the houses in the Bowerstone Industrial district. Discovering "Guiltford" and "Chavingdon Manor" made me genuinely burst out laughing. The assorted posters on display are also fantastically realised, and the general impression is one of a beautifully fleshed out world.

Too damn true.

Fable 3 is far from perfect, technically flawed and frequently patronisingly simplistic.

But there is a wealth of humour, charm, and imagination that makes Albion such a wondrous place to explore. It's also surprisingly inventive, frequently placing the player in original and imaginative situations. Being shrunk and forced to play through a parody of Dungeons and Dragons was a personal highlight, as was my first trip through the desert. Exceptionally well crafted videogaming.

So... yeah. Fable 3 happened.

Big thank you to everyone for their support on the 300th blog, now that shit is over i'm hoping to get back into my usual blogging schedule. I have a lot of university work to be getting on with, so i'm desperate for excuses not to do it :D

Thanks For Reading
Love Sweep

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