First Impressions - Fable III
Fri, November 5, 2010 at 4:20 PM
Brendan T. Smith in 3, 360, First Impressions, Video Games, fable, first impressions, iii, lionhead studios, microsoft, peter molyneux, xbox

Fable III

Developer: Lionhead Studios

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Release Date: October 26, 2010

Date of Play: November 4, 2010

Stated as politely as I can manage, Fable II was a game I came to rather dislike. Perhaps it was Peter Molyneux’s incessent promising of features he couldn’t deliver, perhaps it was a case of high expectations being soured by a good, not great, game, or perhaps it was simply bad timing. Fable II released a week before the magnificent Fallout 3, after all, giving me only a short time in Albion before being blown away by the openness, freedom, and expansive world to explore in Bethesda’s somewhat wonky masterpiece, leaving Molyneux's world feeling a bit lacking by comparison. 

I would call my time with Fable II enjoyable, to be clear, but I would classify it as good, not great. The ending was lousy. The game world felt small. And it had some issues mechanically that took me out of the experience, such as the absolutely stupid relationship system based on absurd repetitions of dumb animations, or the occasionally frustrating, simplistic combat. 

Still, I liked the idea and the humor of the world, and I hope that Fable III might deliver a better overall experience. I must admit to being highly skeptical of Molyneux’s ability to make this happen, but I’m going to try to keep an open mind. In an interesting twist of fate, the tables are turned from two years ago. Fallout: New Vegas released a week before Fable III and a negative first impression of Obsidian’s lazy sequel leaves the door open to a reversal of fortunes. Can Fable III take back the crown and impress a hardened skeptic who wrties off Fable II as a loss and never even played the original Fable?

Let’s find out.

Conclusion: I realize that I’ve spent quite a lot of time badmouthing this game in my initial impressions. I must once again stress the fact that Fable II really managed to get on my bad side for a number of reasons, so I’m intensely skeptical. Plus, there’s just the general fact that it’s easier to nitpick than to praise.

On the whole, though, I must say that I’m impressed. I’m more hooked by this game than I thought I would be. Enough that I’m seriously rethinking my spiteful decision to be evil at the expense of story immersion. It now seems unfair not to even give it a shot. 

It’s still clearly not a perfect experience, but I thought it would be one that I barely even wanted to play and that’s obviously selling it short. I think the menu operations, or lack of them to be more precise, are going to be an annoyance, but hardly a game-ending one. The real test will be the actual missions and combat, which I haven’t seen yet. And of course the ending, since that’s what truly sealed Fable II’s fate as disappointing for me.

In the meantime though, I must admit that Fable III at least makes a good first impression. Whether or not this will last I don’t know, and I still have my doubts, but out of the gate it’s a lot stronger than I would have given it credit for. Fallout: New Vegas got better as it went and some of my initial concerns began to fade somewhat as I played. I can only hope the same will be true here. If so, I’ll have finally gotten a Fable game I can really enjoy. 

I'm going to maintain a healthy air of skepticism for a while though. The curse of Molyneux is not one easily forgotten. 

Result: Success! For now….

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