Unless you have been in a coma for the past decade, Lionhead Studios' open-ended action RPG Fable needs no introduction. Those who have just woken up should note this gaming franchise - spanning across three titles - as the latest addition to Peter Molyneux's line of god games. One of the most acclaimed game designers of our times, Peter Molyneux is known to tread off the beaten path with the moral fiber of his games. Where almost all games take a subjective approach at morality, one that enforces the stereotypical path of righteousness, Molyneux's games are objective in the way they let your choices - good or evil - define your true self.
Lionhead Studio titles nod at the pragmatism that righteousness is a relative concept; acknowledging the fact that good and evil exist in synergy, and taking one out of the equation disturbs the equilibrium. Molyneux's games, therefore, have traditionally left the players to their own devices; never placing any reward or emphasis on player alignment, and instead letting the game world manifest their choices. Lionhead Studio games carry a special charm for this reason. It feels great knowing that you experience tales transcending the binary traits of good and evil that otherwise restrict the narrative of ordinary games.
Fable III takes place 50 years after the events of its predecessor. Fable II's hero and King of Albion, a fictional continent in Fable universe, has passed on, leaving the throne to your older brother Logan. Albion is now a replica of Britian caught in the dark era of the industrial age, which has brought the plague of hunger, filth, poverty, crime and child labor along with it. This has much to do with Logan's iron fisted rule, depriving the denizens of Albion of their rights. Your brother's transformation into a tyrant has the citizens clamoring for a revolution. It is up to you lead the revolution. However, you need to garner the support of the people to pull off the coup.
Gathering enough followers to build a sizeable resistance forms the crux of the first half of the game that requires you to liberate Albion from Logan's tyrannical clutches. This is achieved through what Fable III dubs as 'Road to Rule', which is a metaphorical representation of your journey to the throne. As you complete the core quest and amass followers for your cause, successive gates are opened towards the throne. Each gate requires you to complete certain quests and gain the allegiance of the various parts of Albion, fulfilling which you are rewarded with added abilities and unlockable items.
Although the Fable series is slotted under the action RPG genre, it takes a fundamentally different approach to questing, item upgrade and levelling elements of the genre. The most important gameplay twist that Fable brings to the RPG table is the incorporation of both good and evil alignments. The player can choose to be good or evil by making pivotal choices that game forces on you. Another way involves using the Fable's expression system, which has three different types of interactions that allow you to induce love/friendship, fear or laughter in people. You can dance, chat, pose, hug, or kiss to either befriend or seduce the NPCs, all of which improve your moral standing and align you with the righteous side. Doing so allows you to earn their approval, which unlocks side quests from them. These quests give enough guild seals to progress the Road to Rule.
However, that is not the only way to progress through the game. The evil ones amongst us will revel in taking the path of fear and intimidation to achieve the same. You can achieve that by threatening, insulting, mocking and otherwise harassing the people. What cannot be gained through flattery or nobility is taken care of with fear. Choosing to be evil will instill hatred towards you, but they will still side with your cause, albeit with fear.
For example, people will bring you gifts irrespective of your attitude towards them. The difference being, a good character will get gifts for his/her nobility, while an evil one will get the same as a bribe so you leave them alone. Your alignment also changes the kind of quests you get. Choose to be the bad guy and the side quests will have you murdering people, while the righteous ones will be rescuing lost children and being overall good boys and girls. The core quests, however, remain the same irrespective of your alignment.
Just like the rest of the Fable games, Fable III also modifies your appearance as per your alignment. A noble hero will radiate a very human aura, while an evil one will appear dark and scary. Appearances can influence the people around you as well. Wear clothes of dark and brooding colors and you'll intimidate all those around you. Wear bright and sunny outfits and people will react positively.
The game deviates from the RPG system with its unique take on weapons and upgrade system. Instead of giving the player a variety of weapon choices, Fable III equips the player with a single instance of each weapon type. So you have only one type of sword, hammer, pistol or rifle, but the weapons are upgraded, both in terms of looks and power, based on how you use them. Use the blade to spill the blood of the innocents and it'll take a sinister form, dripping blood. Turn it into a tool of righteousness and it'll look clean and noble with more ethereal features.
Just as you can change the weapons, the weapons transform you as well. Lean on the sword too much and you'll turn out muscular, while the rifle makes you taller. Magic is another offensive discipline that is incorporated using different elemental gauntlets. You can combine different gauntlets to increase the potency of your magic attacks, and infuse some element of strategy. For example a fireball and shock gauntlet combo will stun and burn the enemies, while the blades gauntlet used with force will push and impale your enemies.
Your companion dog can also be taught new tricks and will learn to attack enemies over time. However, that is more cursory than anything, as the real role of the dog is alerting you of hidden treasures and dig spots harboring a range of goodies. These attributes of the dog can be upgraded by the means of books that can be bought from the traders.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Click to see the code!
To insert emoticon you must added at least one space before the code.