Gameplay
The player controls the Royal Hero on their adventure to usurp the current monarch and to then manage the kingdom. While progressing along the main story, the player will have to make impactful decisions that will reflect their standing among their subjects, and which will also have consequences in the future that the player must address. A morality system divides most actions as either "good" or "evil", with good-aligned actions generally expressing generosity, kindness, and forgiveness, whereas evil-aligned actions represent selfishness, greed, and cruelty. Most moral decisions are prompted by dialogue branches, but the player's standing will also be influenced by side quests and how frequently they commit crimes, such as robbery or murder. Rewards, in the form of guild seals and gifts, can be earned through how they are viewed by the populace. Combat encounters are frequent. The Royal Hero has three main methods of attack: a melee attack, a ranged attack, and magic. The player can customize each of these attacks with different weapons, such as choosing between a sword or hammer as a melee weapon, or the capability of combining two types of spells. Attacks can be held and charged in order to unleash powerful flourishes, at the cost of making the player stationary. Critical hits will put the player and their target into a unique kill animation based on the weapon used and the enemy type being attacked. Over the course of the game, the player will increase their weapons' capabilities. Weapons also change shape and design based on the actions of the player. The Royal Hero is joined by a pet dog that can be named by the player. The dog will travel alongside the Royal Hero and can be played with, pet, and talked down to. While exploring, the dog can guide the player to treasure chests or point out buried secrets, and they will growl if enemies are ahead. The dog will also assist in combat, primarily in ripping out the throats of downed enemies, but additional tricks can be learned to improve the dog's capabilities. Instead of a conventional pause menu, ''Fable III'' brings the player to the Sanctuary, a hub location that the Royal Hero physically walks through. While in the Sanctuary, the player is safe from combat and can access their weapons, costumes, achievements, save files, and system settings. A map is also available, allowing the player to fast travel across the world, view available quests, and manage their properties. Gold is an important aspect of the game, especially in the second half of the story where the player is expected to raise around 6.5 million gold before war begins. Money can be earned in many methods. Items and treasures can be pawned at pawnshops, and as prices fluctuate, it's possible to earn a profit on items by buying low and selling high. Virtually every shop and home can be bought by the player, which will then earn the player passive income every five minutes (home properties must be rented out to tenants in order to receive rent). These properties can be repaired, and furniture found through the game can be used to decorate homes. The player can also partake in jobs which play out as basic mini-games, earning multiples more money for extended win streaks. Relationships can also be explored if the player so chooses. If an NPC is in friendly relations with the Royal Hero, the player can choose to develop a romantic relationship, if the NPC's sexuality is compatible. The player can marry and have children, as well as divorce and end relationships.Synopsis
Setting
''Fable III'' takes place on the fictional continent of Albion, 50 years after the events of ''Plot
Following the death of their parent, the youngest child of the Hero of Bowerstone (the Royal Hero) lives within the capital's palace alongside their older brother Logan, the new king of Albion. While attending to chores, the young sibling overhears rumours that Logan has changed over the last four years of his rule, becoming excessively tyrannical, to the point that they recently executed a citizen of Albion for a minor crime. Upon seeing their love interest trying to prevent Logan killing a group of citizens that had come to protest his rule, the Royal Hero is left with the choice of sacrificing either the group or their love interest against their will. That night, after their decision, the Royal Hero is advised by their mentor, Sir Walter Beck, to escape with him and plot the downfall of Logan due to his actions. Joined by theirDevelopment
At the beginning of the Gamescon announcement of ''Fable III'', Molyneux stated that the game was taking a different theme compared to the others as he believes the third game in a series to be hard to do correctly: "If all the rules have been established and all you offer is a new story and a handful of locations, people will start to lose interest". In an interview with OXM UK, Molyneux spoke about how ''Fable'' was at risk of becoming a generic game where the player started off underpowered and weak but slowly got more powerful after they met the bad guy. After the player killed the bad guy, the credits would roll. Believing that is the formula that applies to many games, he asked why games "end at potentially the most exciting bit?" It was this that formed the basis of ''Fable III'', where the player can overthrow the tyrant before becoming ruler themselves. He stated that it was when the player was ruler that the consequences of "who you are going to be, are you going to be good or evil, cruel or kind" stopped applying only to the player, but affected the entire country. Molyneux hinted that there may be drawbacks to leaving a player's castle too often to investigate crimes or fight wars, asking: Talking about the inspiration for ''Fable III'', Molyneux said "if in '' Fable'' the inspiration was folklore and in ''Marketing
Shortly before Gamescom 2009, images of famous revolutionaries and quotations appeared on Lionhead's website, causing discussion about what the next game Lionhead was developing. During the press conference of Gamescom, where ''Fable III'' was announced by Peter Molyneux, Lionhead had decorated the walls with medieval shields and banners. Lionhead announced in August 2010 that there would be a companion game to ''Fable III''. Peter Molyneux was quick to say that it would not be like ''Pub Games'' for ''Fable II'' and hinted that it would utilise a mobile phone. The official reveal was made on 28 September for a smartphone application titled "Kingmaker". The game consists of players marking real-world locations for the two factions in the game, the Royals or the Rebels. The game earns players power-ups and gold to use in ''Fable III''. The game was announced for use in the United Kingdom and Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. Various downloadable content was announced by Microsoft, ranging from dyes and extra hairstyles to new quests.Retail editions
The Xbox 360 standard and limited edition was released on 29 October 2010, with the PC version released in May 2011. Xbox games that were preordered (both standard and limited editions) in participating stores, were given a code for a special weapon, a code for tattoos, and a code to transfer the villager created from the Villager Maker to the game on the release date. * Xbox 360 - The Standard Edition available on Xbox 360 contains the standard game disk, a game manual and standard plastic casing. Lionhead Studios' Peter Molyneux said as well, that ''Fable III'' would also (like ''Fable II'') be released in episodes on Xbox Live Marketplace, some time after the retail version hit the market. The first episode was available free of charge. * PC - Both a retail version and a downloadable release (via Games for Windows Live) were available. * Xbox 360 - The "Limited Collector's Edition" contains a standard game disk, a game manual, a new in-game quest, limited edition ''Fable III'' playing cards, a "Guild Seal Coin" with good and evil sides to aid the player in making moral decisions, a new " Boxer" dog breed and two new outfits; one for male, one female, a faux book and a new region with a family and a new weapon. * PC - All Standard Editions of ''Fable III'' on PC have contents of the Limited Collector's Edition included for free in the game.Controller
Lionhead also released a ''Fable III'' limited edition wireless controller for Xbox 360 on 5 October 2010. The controller came with a code to unlock a unique tattoo for the game.''Fable: Coin Golf''
A mini-game called ''Fable: Coin Golf'' developed by Ideaworks Game Studio, in close conjunction with Lionhead, was released for Windows Phone 7 on 30 March 2011. Played from an overhead perspective, the quest is to rid the land of evil and conquer each area by getting the Hero Puck into the Pillar of Light in as few shots as possible. Gold earned on the phone could be transferred to ''Fable III'' on Xbox 360 or PC and completion of each of the three chapters unlocked a unique weapon in ''Fable III''.Books
Three books titled '' Fable: The Balverine Order'', ''Fable: Edge of the World'', and ''Fable: Blood Ties'' were released in North America and Europe in October 2010 and October 2011 respectively. The books came with DLC codes. ''The Balverine Order'' had a code for a unique weapon called the Shardborne sword while ''Blood Ties'' had a code for an exclusive Dye Pack. Both of these items were for ''Fable III''.Reception
''Fable III'' received a generally positive critical reception. '' IGN'' gave the Xbox 360 version an 8.5/10, praising the final segment of the game involving the player's role as a monarch, the combat system, and the world-building, but criticising its slow beginning and some technical bugs. '' GameSpot'' gave the game a 7.5/10: "This gorgeous world is brimming with humor and personality" but felt "a bevy of technical problems and oversimplified gameplay distract from the fun". ''References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fable 3 2010 video games Action role-playing video games Cooperative video games Fable (video game series) Games for Windows certified games Lionhead Studios games Microsoft games Open-world video games Role-playing video games Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender Video game sequels Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Russell Shaw Video games with alternate endings Video games with stereoscopic 3D graphics Windows games Xbox 360 games Xbox One X enhanced games Xbox One games