Fable 3 (2011) (PC) (Lionhead Studios)
4I consider myself to be a reasonably hardcore PC RPG gamer. I also happen to think that the unabashedly streamlined and accessible Xbox-exclusive action RPG Fable 2 is one of the very best realtime roleplaying games of the current hardware generation. The moral choices Lionhead presented the player with may have been simplistic and the game's various "challenges" (whether it be combat or puzzles) remained extremely easy throughout the entire story mode. But Fable 2's vibrant storybook art design, anarchical humor, playful interactivity, flexible skill trees and responsive combat controls were genuinely satisfying and a welcome break from the lifeless dark fantasy tropes and stale mechanics of most of what passes for "RPGs" these days. By not taking itself too seriously and not being afraid to veer towards the fairy tale end of the fantasy spectrum, Fable 2 showed some old school mentality amidst the wealth of breadcrumbs and assists which were clearly meant to introduce a new generation to RPG gaming.
Sadly, Fable 3 has not been nearly as well-received even by fans of the series. Most of the criticism seem to center around a few very peculiar structural design flaws relating to the end game in particular, as well as an unnecessarily heavy-handed narrative with some rather arbitrary and forced moral dilemmas. It's a pity that Lionhead weren't able to continue to improve and polish the smart gameplay formula they came up with in Fable 2 (which in terms of quality was miles ahead of the generic and forgettable Fable 1), but as someone who really enjoyed visiting the endearing world of Albion I want to give Fable 3 a try regardless, and when the game was 50% off as part of Steam's daily summer sale deals I decided to get it.
From the first hour of gameplay it's very clear that Fable 3 is (surprise!) a somewhat lazy console port, as the controls are a bit sluggish and the textures feel rather low-res and muddy when viewed in 1920*1080. Still, the trademark Albion atmosphere manages to shine through (especially in the awesome soundtrack) and the addictive if supremely irrelevant character customization is likewise intact. Combat difficulty has supposedly been increased for the PC version (...cuz we ain't no noobs!!!), but I found the tutorial dungeon to be drag on for a little too long with an absurd amount of combat. In general, though, what I've seen so far does make me look foward to explore the world, complete silly quests, engage in various stupid mini-games, find hidden treasures and make my companion dog look as embarrassing as caninely possible.
[Note: Sorry about the recording-related graphical glitches in this video (including visible mouse cursors and a choppy performance not really indicative of the actual in-game experience at all). I'm afraid that's what usually happens when for some inexplicable reason I can't use FRAPS to record a game.]
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