Fable 3

Fable III is a 2010 action role-playing video game developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The third game in the Fable series, the story focuses on the player character’s struggle to overthrow the King of Albion, the player character’s brother, by forming alliances and building support for a revolution. After a successful revolt, the player becomes the monarch and is tasked with attempting to defend Albion from a great evil.

Description

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. Fable III takes place on the fictional continent of Albion, 50 years after the events of Fable II.

The player character of the previous game, the “Hero of Bowerstone”, became ruler of Albion and forged a new kingdom with Bowerstone as its capital. As a result, the kingdom has begun entering an industrial age, where large-scale resource gathering and factories have become commonplace. Alongside Albion, the game also includes the foreign land of Aurora, a desert region that is struggling to rebuild after a devastating event. 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 their butler Jasper, the Royal Hero flees from the castle.