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I hated Fable 2. Well, that's how I remember it anyway. I ended on a rather sour note, however, thanks to som eextensive glitches that seemed to ruin my gameplay at every corner. Also the story was lame. So I have not been excited by the build up to Fable 3's release.

Unfortunately, the game was getting pretty good reviews and . . . and . . . *shrug* what can I say? I buy video games. And so I bought Fable 3. I'm not very far in at this point but it's quite a bit better than I remember Fable 2 being. Of course, I may not have encountered the really terrible bugs yet.

The Fable series has garnered a lot of praise but I think it's just now come into its own, in terms of its visual aesthetic and in terms of its gameplay. The steampunkishness of industrial Albion is what this setting has needed for a long time. The streamlining away of traditional RPG elements is also nice, given that it was never too serious an RPG anyway. I especially like having weapons that level with me. Perhaps most importantly, I'm already twice as invested in Fable 3's fairy tale storyline than I ever was in Fable 2's. It looks like LionHead may have realized (somewhat) that the greatness of games sometimes lies in recognizing and working with their limitations (i.e., what they know they're good at) as much as or more than expanding on their supposed innovations (i.e., what they're not sure will even work).

Speaking of which, the great claims LionHead makes regarding gameplay innovation continue to ring hollow. Interacting with NPCs is lifeless. How am I supposed to find a meaningful game experience in courting, marrying, and procreating with one of the countless (uniquely-named!) templates of the realm? Ho hum. Holding hands can be a tad ridiculous and I have already encountered examples of it not working so that quests are potentially ruined. Carry over the New Vegas mantra, my hearties: save and save often. Jobs remain tedious at best but you can seemingly make more money more quickly. Real estate barony is back for those who like and easier to micromanage--but it still feels like a lot of micromanagement.

I feel that it's only worth renting. The story is dull, combat is flat and repetitive and I found a lot of the dialogue to be pretty stilted. I liked the British humour, but that didn't sell it for me.

I normally don't judge a game fully until I finish it, but Fable 3 hasn't entertained me yet. I've sunk about 5 hours into it, and I'd expect a game to actually go somewhere by then.

I liked it myself, I feel it was a massive improvment over Fable 2. That said I did feel it to be a tad short, and combat to be far too easy. Apart from that a good game.

Fable 3 looks set upon giving disappointment again :/ which is a shame really, there was alot of potential for the Fable franchise.

Guess ill pick it up when the prices drop, either that or possibly get it for christmas.

Be careful what you say as some people, like me, may read this thread even tho they havnt played it.

Moving on: I would really like to know if the game cuts after you have made all the decisions as king or not as it will very much affect my play style. It will also knock off about two stars from my review if you cannot.

As well publicized as it may be, i hadnt heard of any such war until i heard it in this thread, even though i have watched all the development diaries that you can download on xbox live.

I found Fable 2 very overated. My buddy bought Fable 3 and loves it but Fable 2 is his favorite game ever (and its definately not mine).

@johnscott10: I have edited the thread to reflect your concerns.

To reformulate the question:

Can you keep playing after you have made all the treasury decisions as King/Queen of Albion or does the game end at that point?

Manchu wrote:@johnscott10: I have edited the thread to reflect your concerns.

To reformulate the question:

Can you keep playing after you have made all the treasury decisions as King/Queen of Albion or does the game end at that point?

Well if any other Fable game is to go by then yea you should be able to, would be a bit of a change if they had an ending like that.

You are able to keep playing once you have finished the main story.

I have beaten fable 3 and loved it, some great choices and twists. I never played fable 2, but fable: the lost chapters was one of my favourite games.

Well, I've "finished" this game (last Thursday, in fact)--meaning I have completed the main quest and played a bit afterward. It's more accurate to say that I'm "finished with it," for all intents and purposes.

My final verdict is this not worth the launch price. If you could get it for twenty, new or used, it might be worth it to people who like the idea but not the reality of RPGs.

2/5 stars -- a marked improvement of Fable II, which I'd give 1.5/5

ouch. I would give Fable 3 3/5

I've played it through a couple of times with my wife in 2 player. Much easier/better than Fable 2 in coop.

The story is pretty good, the leveling etc is pretty cool. Just a shame it is too short. Again...

Yeah, to be fair, I like RPGs with more . . . "meat"? I finished Fable III in seven days, most of which I worked nine hour days, and I did a fair amount of side quests. That's pretty pathetic. This is the sort of game that I would recommend to a girl who hates video games.

yeah...my gf liked Fable more than i did I think lol.

Manchu wrote:Well, I've "finished" this game (last Thursday, in fact)--meaning I have completed the main quest and played a bit afterward. It's more accurate to say that I'm "finished with it," for all intents and purposes.

My final verdict is this not worth the launch price. If you could get it for twenty, new or used, it might be worth it to people who like the idea but not the reality of RPGs.

2/5 stars -- a marked improvement of Fable II, which I'd give 1.5/5

Good to know. I'll do what I did for Fable II: Wait a couple of years for the "Game of the Year Edition" with all the DLC is available used for $20.

Manchu wrote:Yeah, to be fair, I like RPGs with more . . . "meat"? I finished Fable III in seven days, most of which I worked nine hour days, and I did a fair amount of side quests. That's pretty pathetic. This is the sort of game that I would recommend to a girl who hates video games.

I firmly believe that this is why most major game retailers have a seven-day return policy. I've returned RPGs before, simply explaining that, "I shouldn't have been able to complete it this quickly".

I here this game was kinda bad(only 7.0 or 6.5 or something on reviews I've seen).......

I hated it.
I never really liked any of the Fables (they were good for a few hours of mindlessness), but I felt this was... Ridiculously simplified. It was almost insulting to play. =/

I bought Fable for the Xbox and loved it. Then I bought Fable: The Lost Chapters for my PC and loved the extra content was so much fun.

Fable II, I'm still working through. Honestly, it's got it's ups and downs. But my biggest gripe with Fable II, was how they went from Fable's melee to spell caster easily to Fable II's melee to shooting easily. I just never liked that. I also didn't like the charging of spells in the game, as I don't think a solo (or co-op) action/adventure game should make use of a charge up magic system. That part really bugs the hell out of me.

As for Fable III, I've only see trailers and the such and I'll be honest, I prefer if they kept more medieval in period of time. As in not moving through the evolution of time. *shrug* But that's just me, I like the medieval feel of the first game, with melee weapons and bows/crossbows being the only projectiles besides magic spells.

But I'll probably wait till I beat Fable II to pick up Fable III. This is only because I'm a fan of the genre and I do enjoy the look and (for the most part) feel of the game.

Thanks for th review though, I'll definitely keep it mind while I'm playing, as to not get my hopes up and be let down.