Fable III Preview

Lionhead’s third Fable installment has been treated to another hands-on preview, and this time it comes to us via the folks over at GamingExcellence.

Equipment takes a rapid departure from the norm as well here. First, there’s no ‘magic’, per se, at least not in the traditional sense. I was shown gauntlets, gloves that grant you magical abilities when you equip them. In addition, you can equip two gauntlets of differing spells (once you’ve unlocked the ability with guild seals, at least), that can be combined to create a hybrid spell, such as merging a wind and fire spell to create a sort of whirling flaming vortex. The weaponry you pick up and use is also more personalized this time around, as equipment you use will actually change in appearance to fit what kind of person you’ve become, the way your character would change their physical looks to fit their actions in previous games. This means a simple sword can end up a glowing magical white blade or a spiked, demonic looking thing as you continue through the game. In addition, weaponry can be upgraded to improve its damage-dealing potential.

Co-op gameplay makes a return, though in a much grander form this time around. As the person demonstrating the game said, “Two characters, two dogs, two cameras.” Unlike the stilted version of co-op that Fable 2 had, this time around you’ll be able to visit a friend’s world as your own character, venturing around with them while doing your own thing, with the caveat that you must stay in the same large area. This method of co-op also extends to local gameplay, allowing two people to play two characters on the same screen, though with this mode of co-op the screen is shared and not split. So far Fable 3 is shaping up to be a humorous jaunt (moreso than its predecessors) through Albion. From what I’ve seen, it definitely looks to differentiate itself from what came before it, even to the point of having a physical space known as a Sanctuary that you can run around in instead of a main menu, which was jarring at first, but interesting the more I used it. When it comes out, Fable 3 could be quite the action RPG to play for anyone who enjoys the genre.