I remember playing the original Fable quite a while ago. I skipped number 2 simply because of lack of funds, interest, and the PC version not coming out immediately as I seem to recall. I'm also told however that it is an inferior game and I'm not missing a whole lot, so I'll save my money for something else! Fable 3 was on sale on Steam however at one point so I decided to go for it.
It's no Dragon Age, but it is entertaining at least. While set in a medieval, fantasy sort of setting, it incorporates elements of steam punk. There's still swords and magic, but there's also guns, industry, and strange mechanical contraptions. All in all, a fun sort of environment.
It's a little more goofy than Dragon Age however. It has humour and it doesn't take itself quite as seriously. This isn't a bad thing of course, I love humor, especially British humour. It just means that it's not quite intense of a story to immerse yourself in. Whereas Dragon Age is the kind of fantasy story that keeps you engaged and wanting to find out more, I suppose Fable 3 is simply a bit more casual even if interesting.
It does however have something major going for it. I never bothered to read any reviews nor do I know anyone who played it and so didn't have any spoilers ruin the story for me.
For most of the game you're lead to believe that it's a fairly straight forward story. Your brother, the King, is an asshole, and nobody likes him. It's your job to overthrow him and make things better (or worse if you're playing an 'evil' character though I think it makes more sense if you're good)! Never for a moment does the game really elude to the fact that anything else is going on, or that there's more to the story then that simple objective. You travel the lands winning favour and gaining allies so you can take your brother down.
It isn't until you're down to your last potential allies that the story suddenly takes a turn for the dark and mythical.
One of your commanding allies is unexpectedly executed, and it starts to go downhill from there. His last communication to you was that you would find allies in a far off desert land. However, when you rush there you're shipwrecked along the way, losing track of another of your important allies and left alone with your original companion from the start, Walter, your mentor. Having no real idea of where you are, the only way to move forward seems to be through a dark cave. That's not ominous at all!
However there's some kind of magical barrier covering the entrance. Skeletons laying in the dirt around the barrier hold a journal or two, though it seems to be merely filled with insane ramblings. In a feat of brilliance, Walter finds another journal with strange phrases in it and decides to read from it. What could possibly go wrong there? Conveniently the barrier opens and you're able to transverse down into the dark, suspicious cave, before the barrier closes behind you again. No worries, I'm sure that's perfectly normal. Let's congratulate Walter for becoming a novice magician!
The further you go in the cave the more ominous things become predictably. You encounter a creature, or perhaps entity is a better word, called The Crawler. You never see the Crawler much, but you certainly hear him. He speaks cryptic, slightly foreboding words and sends fleets of shadows to attack you, jeering all the way. It's actually fairly disturbing, playing off the darkness and seeming to suggest that the characters will 'lose all the light' within them. Having found skeletons above the cave above, one starts to realize that they likely met an end to the Crawler, though not before having the time to go crazy first. Unfortunately, Walter starts to lose his shit as well.
Having always been one of the stronger, more resolute characters from the beginning, this is slightly concerning. At one point the torch is blown out and he all but panics, but manages to light it again and throw it into the Crawler's face, presumably killing or scaring him away. Unfortunately this is only a ruse, and it seems the Crawler has an unhealthy fascination with Walter!
At a convenient moment when you've jumped down but Walter has yet to, the Crawler returns and drags him away. At this point, with the new trend of allies disappearing I was starting to believe that Walter was actually quite dead and that I wasn't going to have any allies to face my brother with. It was rather a pain since I'd put so much work into getting them in the first place, but I thought perhaps this was the game's way of 'toughening up' the hero.
It turns out that Walter at least is still alive, though blinded by the Crawler. You have to fight even more powerful constructs and shadows before you're able to free Walter from the Crawler's clutches and drag Walter to safety in the sunlight at the end of the cave.
It soon becomes apparent that the Crawler is actually the real villain of the game, almost killing your character as well. As it turns out, your brother knew about the whole thing! All his hard ass laws and extortionate taxes were in an effort to prepare for the Crawler coming to your lands. You have the option to follow in his footsteps or try to raise the money even while maintaining benevolent policies, though this is much more difficult.
I thought this was a fairly clever twist, I certainly never saw it coming or expected it, though I admit I was glad for the extra 'oomph' to the story. I'm also proud to say that I was able to save my kingdom while remaining a benevolent ruler, removing child labor and other such harsh laws. The only real downside is that the 'good' luck is rather dorky, and the evil quite badass. But these are small details!
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