As I knew I would, I spent most of last night playing Fable III, exploring the world of Albion. I don’t want to give away spoilers to those who have not picked up the game yet or who are holding off (why, why?! Go get it!) but I do want to talk about some of the changes compared to Fable II. Hopefully I don’t actually give away the story. If you’re worried that I might then please feel free to skip this post!
First of all the graphics are amazing. Characters look a little meh but the scenery is fantastic. It looks far more robust to me then the previous version of the game, and the character models are improved (but not quite as well done as I’d personally like). I also LOVE the new sanctuary which basically is a re-designed menu (except this time it’s a room that you access via the start key) where you can choose your outfits, weapons, save game, and any other options you’d have normally selected from the menu in Fable II. The best part about this sanctuary is that you can invite your XBox friends over to hang out and view your trophies and other goodies. I love viewing my “outfits” on mannequins in the sanctuary, and the quick travel and zoom features of the map are a huge improvement.
Combat, and training skills has also been greatly improved. Some hardcore gamers may think that they’ve simplified things a little too much but since I am not one of those hardcore console gamers, it’s a great thing to me. In fact Fable is probably the only console game I’ve actually stuck with and played through besides the older Mario games (We’re talking regular nintendo here). You earn guild seals which are spent towards unlocking chests and inside of these chests are upgrades like improved weapon damage, and interactions with towns folk (in other words new emotes). As far as I can tell you can’t actually progress to the next section of chests without first purchasing everything in the previous area, so it’s temporary customization as you decide which skills you want first (and eventually you end up with them all).
Just like Fable II you’re faced with incredibly difficult moral decisions that affect your character in numerous ways. I’ve always been a proud supporter of giving gamers CHOICES and Fable III has this in spades. I played for roughly five hours last night and the story is just incredible. It grabbed me from the get-go and just improved as I progressed. Again, I don’t want to give away spoilers, but I’m VERY glad I picked up this game, and am looking forward to playing more. If you want to add me to your XBox friends list feel free to, my gamer tag is: stargrace05.
Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!
@BlueKae – good to know, thank you for the info about the chests! It seemed as I was unlocking them the next section wouldn’t open until I had opened all of the previous chests, but perhaps that’s just the way it worked out.
I’m a bit behind you in the storyline, I’m guessing based on playtime, but I agree with most of what you said about the graphics and menu improvements. One thing though, I don’t think you have to unlock all the chests on “The Road to Rule” to get to the next section. That seems to unlock as you complete the storyline quests.