Fable 3 Post Mortem

Having only a mildly enjoyable time with Fable 2 (even though I did 2 playthroughs of it) I wasn't all that interested last fall with the release of Fable 3. So come Fall 2011, and a Steam sale, I finally decided to go back into Albion and see if all the terrible things I heard about the end game are really true. And they are.

Mostly.

I'll admit that my motivations for playing Fable 3 the way that I did were largely achievement related, and honestly far too much of my 2011 gaming time has been spent in such ways. Thus the only real problem I had, was that I was trying to play a game in a way that I wasn't even all that interested in. I just wanted the points. What this meant was that on the few (and by that I mean very few, as in 3) times when I got reckless and fell in combat, I quit out of the game. And worst of all, I allowed my game to sit idly while I was accruing the necessary money that would ensure that I could save everyone in Albion. But really, that's irrelevant. I chose to play the game in a way that made it unfun. Anyone who complains about the way the ending works, chose to play it in such a way and has no right to complain. Really this isn't where my problems with Fable 3 arise.

The real reason I played Fable 2 for a second time was the Spire sequence. I really enjoyed where they took that story, and the section that required you to play through a very narrative driven section that was free from the free-roaming, quest accepting style that the rest of the game employs. The same thing holds true in the follow up. The only section of the game that seemed to have any sense of unique style, or directed story advancement, was the middle section where you are taken away from Albion and first encounter the horribly non-descriptive Darkness. The rest of the game feels like and endless series of fetch quests which are completely unrelated to anything else that is happening in the game. In this section we got story advancement, and drastic change in scenery, and most importantly, a reason to care about one of the supporting characters. In other words it was the only thing that differentiated this game from the other two Fable games.

All this really told me is that I would like for Lionhead to actually make a more linear, story driven game. I'm a person that appreciates being taken on a ride, and what Fable offers (assuming that that Kinect game really isn't on rails as it appears) doesn't do that. A greater focus on story, narrative and character development would be great, and they have shown the flashes of creativity that could really make it something special

The Great Holiday Release Onslaught: Rage

Now that October is upon us, I can yet again brace myself for the annual beating that my bank account will take. If history has shown me anything, I will amass a ton of games, and maybe finish two of them. As such, with Gears of War 3 out of the way, I can get into the full swing of things and throw my life away!

The big games this week are id Software's long awaited Rage, and From Software's abusive stepfather-cum-action/rpg Dark Souls. As intrigued as I am by the Souls games, I also know that my gaming temper is far to fragile to deal with the extremely tough but fair game play that it offers. So, mayhaps I will take that left-hand path to hell in the future, but for now I'm going to shoot dudes in the face.

I'm still early in the game, but it is stunning. And a lot of fun. They use the same Fallout 3 trick of leaving your confines only to be blinded by the sun before the huge expansive world is revealed to you. I don't know how they managed to drag out that kind of visual fidelity out of the 6 year-old Xbox 360 hardware, but it is nothing short of amazing. It is one of the most crisp and sharp looking games I have ever seen, and maintains a great frame rate. Those id guys are pretty talented.

There is a lack of check pointing in the game, which is mind boggling in this day and age, but since I knew that going in, I made sure to save often (which the game even tells you to do). It only took me losing about 5 minutes of progress to ensure that I won't forget about it again. And it's little things like that that give away just how long it has been since they last released a full retail product. Things have changed, and these guys still have a bit of catching up to do.

The shooting feels great, but considering the pedigree, that is expected. The weapons are your standard id fare, but as usual, they throw a unique items into the fray. All of them feel good to use, and the animators really outdid themselves with the way that enemies react to being hit

From what I'm getting in reviews, the single player experience being run of the mill isn't at all surprising. As great of a legacy as id has, the fact is that they haven't really proven themselves as capable of making a modern style campaign. Their old were built on very repetitive mission objectives where the main sense of progression was more key cards and harder enemies, not plot advancement. It's been the better part of a decade since their last game, and clearly they are still masters of engine tech, but hopefully they can create a campaign that is as memorable as nice on the eyes for their next project.