Well, Fable III just crashed for the third time in as many hours, so I'm done.
Quite simply, this is one of the worst games I have ever played. Perhaps the worst. I loved Fable: TLC, quite enjoyed Fable II, but this third entry is just beyond horrible. It has no redeeming factors whatsoever.
- The story is terrible. Oh no! My brother is evil and wants to kill people including a girl I just met who loves me! I must avenge her and the kingdom! Granted, I've never cared much for the story in the Fable games, but after the backlash Fable II received it seems Lionhead hired a few manatees to push a bunch of word-balls around, and have their own writers elaborate on them as little as possible. (The VA also sucks, but it's become a staple of the Fable series so it's unfair to berate it. John Cleese is awesome, but he would've been far more awesome if he wasn't simply reading from a page with an uninterested tone.)
- Even maxed out, the graphics look like they tripped and fell out of 2006. Hell, if you put Fable: TLC and Fable III side-by-side, the only difference would be the lighting.
- I'm certain there are a TON of audio assets re-used from the previous games, to the point where it felt like I was playing a mod more than an actual sequel.
- The idea that gameplay mechanics and even basic options should be "drip-fed" to the player as you progress is profoundly stupid; for example, I accepted about half a dozen side-quests and the game tells me that I can switch to the one I desire by using the map. Not only is that pathetic game design (no dedicated quest menu in an Action-"RPG"?), but I don't have the option yet as I haven't progressed far enough through the game. Why allow players to accept side-quests at all at this point if they're unable to switch between them?
- Side-quest design itself is equally lazy; literally every side-quest I did was in the same spot relative to the task. For example, every "hidden object" quest was in the same small area about 20 seconds into Brightwall, and when I went to deliver an object to another person, when I reached the area the handful of other such quests I had accepted were still active so there were 5 or 6 people there waiting for me to give them their gift. I had to lead each and every person away from the immediate area before I could move on to the next one thanks to the utterly stupid way the game handles NPC interaction.
- The concept of limiting how powerful a player can become in each section of the story is ridiculous. I actually don't mind the "Road to Rule" as a method of improving your character, but closing off each section until you've reached a certain point of the story is piss-poor game design. Forget linear, this game is on bloody rails.
- Regenerative health! I've yet to encounter the need to use a potion. What's the point? If you're overwhelmed, simply back off for a few seconds and then get back to it. To be fair, the game does mention that you can enable Challenge mode or some such to disable it, thereby necessitating the use of potions, but the fact it's enabled by default is pathetic.
I'm sure there's more, but that's all I have off the top of my head. The stark contrast between this product and Molyneux's vision for the series is astounding. It's done nothing but take backward steps with each entry, presumably in an attempt to make a better product for the so-called "casual" crowd, but all this has culminated in is an all-around terrible experience for everybody concerned.
Back when Fable III was announced, I was cautiously optimistic. I didn't think Molyneux would actually spearhead a game that is exponentially worse than its predecessor in every possible respect, but that is exactly what happened. Needless to say, when Fable IV is announced I won't even blink an eye. Unless the series actually improves - something I can't see happening as long as Molyneux is behind it - I refuse to care.
