Fable III

The Good
Fable III is a classic sword and sorcery game that tasks players with starting a revolution in the fictional kingdom of Albion. After your parent passed away (the hero from Fable II), the Kingdom is left in the hands of your brother, Logan. But Logan is generally hated amongst the people for his high taxation and brutal leadership, and after forcing the player into making a terrible decision, you are cast out of the family castle and begin your quest to overthrow your brother. And while most games end with overthrowing the monarch, Fable III is only halfway, placing the players on the throne and having them play out an abridged year in order to raise funds to build an army to stop an impending threat to the kingdom. This added elements makes Fable III a much more engaging experience, forcing players to make important in game decisions,with consequences for each one made.

During your quest to become the next Hero, players are given several weapons to aid them on their journey, each with their own strengths. The Sword/ Hammer weapons allow for quick action, ranged fire arms give players the ability to hit targets from afar, and spell gauntlets give players the ability to uniquely affect enemies within the game. These abilities are mapped to their own individual button, allowing for players to switch attacks on the fly, and coupled with good blocking and dodging mechanics, make fighting bad guys in the game a fun and rewarding experience. Coupled with much fewer menu screens then your average fantasy game, and a level up option that allows you to spend experience points in anyway you want and Fable III becomes one of the most accessible games to almost any gamer of any experience level.

And aside from its main story, Fable III contains countless moments that are both charming and funny. Not only featuring John Cleese (of Monty Python fame) as your trusty Butler, several other supporting characters have amusing one liners and distinct personalities, thanks to some very well written dialogue. Side quests range from catching criminals, to rounding up chickens (complete with Chicken costume), obtaining a play for group of performing ghosts, and even a moment where the player is shrunk down and placed on a Dungeons & Dragons style board complete with nerds walking the player through the game. These side quests, coupled with the game's great blend of midieval and industrial revolution era motifs (creating a unique "steam-punk" feel to the game) help give the game a distinctive charm and character, creating one of the most memorable game experiences in quiet some time.

The Bad
Despite Fable III's stellar qualities, the game can feel like some parts could be longer. Despite being appointed King (or Queen) and having a year to prepare for the attack, the game itself only uses a small handful of days (the abridged year takes maybe a few sessions at most) to simulate the year. While playing each individual day would be a daunting and tedious task, it would have been nice to have a few more days to make important decisions (since no more important decisions need to be made after the threat has passed).

The only other large problem is in traversing the rather large kingdom. While the game gives you a map and the option to transport to the area you want to go, it doesn't always take you to the middle of town. This can be a problem in certain areas where deadly creatures are in ample supply and you are not prepared to deal with them, making the game frustrating.

And despite becoming the monarch, players don't really get to exercise many of those powers. You don't command any soldiers, you can't collect taxes more than one time, and despite subtle perks such as being able to take from the registers of the stores you own as well as getting discounts and while the game does a good job of making you look important (soldiers salute, peasants bow when you walk past), it largely feels like your status as a monarch is more of cheerleader than ruler.

The Bottom Line
Fable III is probably one of the best games available on the XBox 360. Giving players the ability to exercise powers (though limited) as a monarch in addition to going out and slaying monsters and enemies of the states allows players to do almost anything they could want from an adventure game. Combined with a well made environment, great characters, and some of the best written dialogue in a game, and players will find plenty to love about Fable III.