[Review] Fable III for PC, Part Two

A while ago, I posted my original review for Fable III. Until now, I haven't had a chance to fulfill my promise of giving it another go and seeing whether my opinion of it changed. Since I upgraded to my new computer, however, I've had a chance to play again, starting afresh since I had some issues transferring my save game files.

First, for clarity on the "Fable 3 Main Executable Error" which has been plaguing people with few answers for a while now, if updating Windows Live doesn't help-- and it does help some people, apparently-- your graphics card might be too weak. This was my problem-- using Can You Run It? might help you figure out if this is the issue. For a run-through of computers I've played it on:

• Nvidia GeForce 9800M runs Fable III perfectly at Very High.
• ATI Radeon x1300Pro cannot run Fable III at all and resulted in a Main Executable Error.
• ATI Radeon 4200 HD runs Fable III at Very Low, with significant stuttering. The graphic interface is so affected that playing the mini games successfully is impossible, as well as battles where you have to keep moving and dodging (e.g. boss battles like Saker).
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 runs Fable III perfectly at Very High.

On to the updated review. I'm using female pronouns for the player character, since I played her as female and skirting pronouns eventually becomes problematic.


Roleplaying Capability

Morality

The patterning on her face is due to Good morality.

In trying to roleplay a bandit princess, as I also attempted to do before the issues with transferring my saved game, I again failed and have a very high morality. As I stated before, it's occasionally rather unclear why one choice is good and the other is evil. To use the example of the playwright quest again, why is it evil for me to deviate from the script? My motivations aren't evil, and the reason that people still perform plays are because they can be unique, with different twists on different roles. It's evil to have a mind of your own?

If the player wants to play an evil character, they have to make evil decisions all the way through, regardless of whether they think a choice is evil or not, and regardless of whether it fits with who they're roleplaying. There are no room for murky morality questions, where a player could have good reasons for doing a bad thing, or even just greedy reasons for doing a bad thing: there are only things decided by the all-powerful Lionhead gods to be good and evil, sometimes for no apparent reason and sometimes just to murder chickens. An example of murky morality or greediness in Fable: The Lost Chapters would be virtually all of the quests one could do to raise money for Teresa's present. The player could take the cheating husband's bribe, but still tell his wife, or could beat up the "good" little kid, but still beat up the bully and give the bear to the little girl, etc. The lack of any grayness to the morality in Fable III makes for a flat experience when trying to play a character who's just a little morally questionable rather than out-and-out murdering, chicken-torturing evil. It also means there are no places where the player could make up a turning point in their roleplay: I wanted a character who was basically good to be changed and become evil due to the death of her beloved. So I made good decisions. When I wanted to make bad ones, the ones available were too bad to ease from one moral path to the other and still keep roleplay characterization.

Tattoos glow blue due to Will use and morality.

This is all additionally problematic due to the storyline. The player's purpose is for their character to be the good ruler compared to King Logan, the evil ruler. This means that the entire story is propelling the player to be good, regardless of what they want, and the story until the Princess becomes the monarch is all about making people like her so that they support the bid for the monarchy. If the player wants to roleplay a perfectly good, all the time, character, Fable III is excellent for it.


Relationships

For the first time, ever, a lesbian! It only took twelve hours. For every five gay men, one lesbian.

I doubt that anyone will disagree with me if I state that the Fable series has the stupidest system for forging emotional connections yet seen in games. This doesn't even just apply to relationships, but also, haggling: to haggle, I would have the Princess dance a few times with the shopkeep. A few rounds of dancing and hero posing will make everyone fall in love with her, and then begins a plague of Relationship Quests, which usually involve fetching and carrying for no apparent reason. This would be a fine enough idea if it was harder to accidentally set off a quest and if the quests were all unique, and developed individual character personalities somewhat. As it stands, one character is much the same as the other, and there are times when I can barely keep myself from shooting them when one of them tells me, "Why don't you do something bad for a change?

"Oh, if only you realized," I think, resisting the urge to turn off the safety and take aim.

Rating: 2/5. It would be lower, given the inability to affect the Hero's morality or form any complex relationships with other characters, but after playing Oblivion I've come to appreciate having different choices in armor/clothing and weapons. Customization is, as the game masters in The Game quest say, key.


Battle

This is where I would give the highest rating hike between the first Fable III review I did and this one. Magic in Fable III is much more limited and has fewer options than it did in Fable: The Lost Chapters. However, what one can do with it can be interesting in its own ways. Slow Time and Summon Creatures are both potions rather than spells, and all that's left now are attack spells in the form of gauntlets-- nothing available to make me/the Princess invisible, move faster, etc. This is a weakness in that I often wish I could cast spells on myself in some way, and am frustrated by the lack-- most RPGs allow spellcasters spells they can cast on themselves.  Despite this, spellweaving allows attack spells to be used together is very interesting-- I like to combine the Shock and Vortex spells to make what I call the "insta-win" spell. Essentially, it brews up a thunderstorm that can toss entire parties of enemies around as well as paralyze them.

My naming scheme: angry women warriors with wings.

As the player character moves up levels in melee and ranged combat, various customizations to the weapons occur based on gameplay. For example, if you're charitable, murderous, or treasure-mad, all of these things can affect the appearance of the Hero Weapons. This is a nice way to make a completely customized weapon, perfectly suited for the way the game has been played up to that point. Legendary weapons, which can be bought or found, have a preset appearance that changes as individual features at the same time as the Hero Weapons. They have unlockable bonuses that enable them to become more powerful, and which provide sort of mini quests for the player. Killing 300 humans, having an orgy, digging things up... these are all ways to upgrade Legendary Weapons.

Another nice touch is the Princess' finesse with her sword-- the animation and the way she moves and parries shows real skill, which is a pleasure to watch. Most RPGs are just slashhackslash, so it's nice to see a game where the character actually looks like she knows how to use her weapon as something other than a baseball bat.

Once the player progresses past the starter area where there are only wolves, there are lots of Hobbes and Hollow Men. This can get very tedious and some variety would be welcome, but at least it's no longer far too easy. And eventually, the wolf packs gain Balverine leaders! Lack of difficulty was one of the larger faults of the game, so it's very nice that it picks up after that. As my Princess leveled up, groups of enemies also began to get harder. The Mercenaries start to wear armor and have Will users, the Hobbes have their equivalents of the same, the Hollow Men have their equivalents, &c. The only flaw in this is that the hardest of each group looks like a previous boss. For example, the hardest Mercenary unit to beat looks and acts precisely like Saker. So, until I saw the unit more than once, I was terrified I had somehow managed to accidentally kill Saker himself and would lose his help in gaining the throne.

The other large fault with battle remains, however: no will points, no hit points, and since games are essentially a system of rules to manage various resources (e.g. points) with, this is a problem. I think I've only had to use potions once so far, in the battle with Saker. I feel less like I'm fighting for my life and more like I'm having a mix of target practice with my gun and tornado fun-times with my magic.

Revised Rating: 3/5. There are many flaws, but even with them, combat is still enjoyable.


Quests

What are these people smoking? And can I get them some more?

The early quests (first ten hours) are watered-down versions of those that appeared already in Fable: The Lost Chapters, and they are still boring. However, the main line of quests is fairly solid, especially in comparison with the cripplingly weak side quests. Once Reaver entered, I was intensely pleased by how incredible he is and instantly wished I was him. It also made me want Fable II even more than I did before. (Dear Fable IV: I would like to become Reaver.)

Reaver is my hero. Can marrying him be a new DLC?

Everything gets better once the main quest moves on to Bowerstone. The side quests are more interesting, though still much the same thing: escort X to Y, in general. The Game is hilarious, as are the ghost quests in Mourningwood with the Lovecraft jokes. The Silverpines Curse is... actually heartbreaking in some ways, but possibly only if you love dogs a great deal. It is a little disappointing that the Sunset House, despite being so creepy, culminates in chess. It does make a great mini game, since it has just the right level of creepy to make it interesting, but it doesn't work as the end of a quest. Halloween might be affecting my mood here, however. The Game reminds me of Terry Pratchett, and thus makes me intensely pleased, even though not much really went on in it besides listening to voice overs while I cracked up every five seconds.

Revised Rating: 2.5/5. Early quests are largely, though not always, awful and uninspired. Deal with it. Side quests tend to fall into the same patterns.


In Comparison to Fable: The Lost Chapters

Demon Doors

I don't think that it's that there's fewer of them. I think the problem is that none of them can be opened until the player progresses at least fifteen hours into the game, probably more. This is made up for somewhat by the silver key chests and the gold key doors, but instead of gold key doors, I would honestly prefer just a few Demon Doors with quests that are easier to accomplish.

Everything Else

See the first review if you desire the incensed answer to this. Let's just say, almost everything about Fable: The Lost Chapters was better and leave it at that.


Overall Rating

Story: 4/5
Battle: 3/5
Quests: 2.5/5
Roleplaying Capability: 2/5

Final Score: 2.9/5

Fable III is an average game, verging very close to being a bad game and often slipping over that fine line. However, nostalgia for the original Fable, love of the ability to customize your weapons and outfits, and a fondness for attempting headshots might keep you coming back for more. Seeing the accumulation of gold, accomplishments, and upgrading legendary weapons is also addictive. Come to Fable III for fun and familiarity, but you won't find anything groundbreaking.