Fable III Previews and Video Interview

There will no doubt be a number of Fable III articles emerging out of this weekend’s Penny Arcade Expo, but at the moment I only see a preview on IGN:

Road to Rule is a snaking path, segmented by several gates. These gates represent major plot points. When you cross a narrative threshold, you visit the Road to Rule and pass through the next gate on the highway, cheered on by the allies you’ve made thus far. (Placing key figures on the side of the road is a far preferable way to measure support than looking at sterile faction meters.) Between each gate are fields of treasure chests you open by trading in guild crests, earned by completing missions, throttling bad guys, and using the much-ballyhooed “touch system” to actually gladhand Albion citizens and warm them up to your eventual (hopefully) rebellion. The chests are full of goodies, such as weapon upgrades, new magic spells, costume changes, and new touches to use on citizens.

My initial fear with the Road to Rule is that it would be too “video game-y.” Here, Lionhead is crafting a gripping yarn about a sibling rivalry that could reshape a nation and while I cannot guess about the entirety of the story, I can tell you that I was immediately pulled into the narrative and remained interested during my five hours and then they plan on breaking it up with a magical freeway? I was surprised how well it worked for me, as it was a wonderfully visual way to measure my progress. And besides, I’m sitting on a couch with a controller in my hand. I know I’m playing a videogame. And while I do not want to spoil how the Road to Rule is fitted into the storyline, it really does make a degree of sense in the rules Lionhead sets up at the beginning of Fable III.

And both a preview and a video interview with Lionhead’s Louise Murray on GameSpot:

The visuals in the work-in-progress version of the game we played were coming together well. Albion is a picturesque place teeming with variety. The different environments we’ve seen strike a nice balance between new and familiar. The world has a more (lived in) look to it this time out, which we expect is due to all the oppression going on, though we did come across some places that still had some natural beauty to them. The residents and your chosen character are an expressive bunch that come alive as you try out whatever interaction options you have on them. Animation on your character and the various non-player characters you’ll come across tend to be where you’ll find the game’s broadest stabs at humor so far.

In terms of effects, there’s quite a bit going on during combat, thanks to the different options open to you. Magic is obviously where you’ll find the flashiest effects; the fire and shock spells we saw were impressive and tossed around a good amount of particles and lighting. Melee and gunplay, while not quite as showy as magic, featured more cinematic flourishes tied to camera angles and more subtle lighting to reflect your charged attacks. The unfinished version of the game ran fairly smoothly, although there were the occasional hitches that are to be expected when dealing with an unfinished game.