Sunday, October 24, 2010

Destiny is What You Make of It

  




Hi there,

Today in some what “honor” of the near release of Fable 3. I thought I’d post a quick informal review on Fable 2 and what to expect from Fable 3. Although I’ve been a fan of the Fable franchise since the 6th grade this will definitely not be a post full of praise. Fable 2 in my opinion did not meet up over all with the original Fable. One can only hope that Fable 3 will redeem its previous predecessor and restore honor to the Fable franchise.

Fable 2 takes place 500 years after the original Fable. The land of Albion has transformed in to a colonial/ early modern setting. You take the role of a young child nicknamed "Sparrow" who is a penniless street beggar with his/her older sister Rose. Over all to make a long story short (and this is kinda a spoiler) the main
antagonist Lord Lucien kills your sister and attempts to kill you because you are the hero foretold to be the down fall of him. After getting shot out of a 80 ft castle and being rescued by Theresa you are told that you must find the Hero of Strength, the Hero of Will, and the Hero of Skill in order to defeat Lucien.





From that brief synopsis Fable 2 doesn't sound like that terrible of a game. But for those who played the original Fable you'd agree with me that it had so much more to offer story wise. In Fable you face a giant bandit king named Twin Blade (who ironically had twin blades),you duel your childhood rival/friend in the arena, you take down an army of warrior skeletons, you kick the mighty kracken's ass, you defeat your Hero mentor, and then you go one on one with the legendary hero Jack of Blades. Plus for those who purchased Fable:The Lost Chapters you face Jack of Blades reborn in his dragon form. In Fable 2 the only supposed boss battle is at the end with Lord Lucien but even that can't be really called a boss battle because it ended up with Lucien ranting and me accidentally shooting him in the toe ending his life. Over all Fable 2's story wasn't as challenging and or interesting/enjoyable compared to Fable. Another notable dissatisfaction was it's co-op feature. Not only could you not migrate your character to your friends game forcing you to become a generic henchman but the co-op camera was so horrific that it ruined the enjoyment in co-op by its self. Also the lack of various weapons, clothing, and hair styles was a major disappointment. But with all complaints put aside (and there is a lot) I must say I did enjoy the feature where the actions you made as a child decided if Bowerstone would turn in to slums or a crime free city. Also the dog companion feature was cool (even though after a while the constant barking of treasure and such got highly annoying) as well as I enjoyed the ability to purchase every property in Albion, the color dying feature, and the mini-game jobs. My final verdict for Fable 2 is a 6 out of 10.

So Fable 3, will it redeem its predecessor or just add to the shame. The game continues 50 years from Fable 2. The land of Albion is now in a industrial kind of age. With the Hero of Fable 2 dead, the throne of Albion is now handed to the tyrannical king Logan. You take the role as the sibling of Logan. It is up to you to gather followers, become a revolutionary leader and overthrow your brother. Once you overthrow your brother the second half the game begins and as King of Albion you must decide if you keep the promises you made to your followers or turn your back on them and become what you sought to end.


From what I've read, viewed, and heard, Fable 3 is supposed to correct what Fable 2 failed in (
which is a lot) although I remember them saying the same thing about Fable 2. Fable 3's game play should be longer than both Fable and Fable 2. Some new features worthy of mention would be weapon morphing. Not only will your character morph depending your actions but also your weapon will morph too. For example if you kill lots of innocent people your sword shall morph in to something dark and dripping with blood. Also with character morphing depending on your alignment your character can supposedly turn in to a full demon with wings or a holy angel. Other features include location morphing, which depending on how heavy you tax a location will decided if it becomes nothing but poor or rich. Another feature grants you the power to choose whether the citizens of Albion shall be thrown in to jail for bad deeds or executed by an army. The co-op featured is also reformed. No longer will both players be tied to one screen. In addition you are now able to migrate your character to your friend's game along with everything including your dog. Your even allowed to marry a co-op partner and have a child. They've also included a new feature called dynamic touch which allows players to embrace NPC's in a new way. An example they gave was using dynamic touch to carry a child out of a burning house. The menu system should also be a lot smoother. A final few mentionable features would be a treasury room which gold will pile depending on the players wealth. Lastly the Sanctuary, a room accessed by pressing start. This is where you will be able to access your wardrobe room to change clothes , your personal butler for in game advice, and your gauntlets. Gauntlets is the way you will be able to cast magic.




So over all, I cross my fingers giving hope that Fable 3 will redeem the Fable franchise. Being a loyal Fable fan I was disappointed at the outcome of Fable 2 and was skeptical about getting hyped for the release of Fable 3. From the look of it does seem to have potential and worth purchase but only time will tell. Fable 3 will hit stores in the United States, Tuesday, October 26th and for The European Union the 29th. Be sure to follow us to be aware for the release of our review of Fable 3. Until then...





   

13 comments:

  1. Fable 2 was a bit of a disappointment.....debating if I should give 3 a try.

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  3. I'll buy this game... or maybe I'll try it "for free" some days...
    Thanks!

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  4. I played the first 2, I just hope this one is still enjoyable after beating the main story line. I found #2 got boring really fast after its relatively short story was over.

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  5. I share the same opinion with you, i really did like the original Fable and Fable 2 really was nothing special especially the story line. The only real downfall of the fable series is its never really challenging, still i shall give Fable 3 a try

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  6. These games always seem so cool in the ads, but I'm sure the games are nothing like that. Also, I have little patience for RPG types of games.

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  7. I guess I will wait and see what people feel about it in general.

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  8. one of my friends recommended this game to me. he said the first fable is awesome!

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