Fable III PC Review

As we’re just one day from the release of Fable III’s PC port, the Guardian publishes its review. They award it 4 stars out of 5 noting that “Fable 3 aspires to greatness and finds it surprisingly often”.

Some of the puzzles are intriguing. Early on, for instance, you have to act out a lost play before its ghostly author will release you and the treasure they hold. It’s highly inventive stuff which makes the more formulaic quests (retrieve an item, beat a monster, etc) seem increasingly lazy.

In fact, Fable’s greatest problem is that it sets such high standards in some areas that the gaps elsewhere seem all the more noticeable. The social interactions start off promisingly, but soon pale when you realise that you must belch, dance or whistle your way through almost every encounter. It’s also a shame that your three main trades (blacksmith, pie-making or lute-playing) are basically the same mini-game with different animations.

Other niggles seem to have been ported over from previous console versions. Having to hold a key down until a little green circle fills up may be fine for Kinect users trying to avoid making accidental choices, but PC owners will find it an annoying two-second delay between almost every interaction. It’s also irritating that you need to click to confirm adding any treasure to your infinite inventory surely having to dig the damn thing up is confirmation enough.