Fable III Previews

Between telling journalists that there will be a Fable IV and the Pub Games concept will be replaced by something else in Fable III, Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux has been busy giving demonstrations of his latest sequel.

Kotaku hits us with the first preview of the day:

I learned about spellweaving, the practice of combining two magic spells for different effects. In this case, my character was already wearing a fire gauntlet on one hand, a force-push gauntlet on the other. That combination translated into an area of effect attack. Holding down the B button charged up a spell with a big blast radius, capable of taking out multiple foes. But after charging, that spell could be directed with the left analog stick, targeting a single foe with a powerful force-fire blast.

Without spoiling too much, the core storyline mission involved dispatching numerous royal guards, then making a bee line for a suitable ship on which to sail to safety. My character was joined by an AI controlled partner who fought alongside me, but wasn’t much of a help in battle. We made it to the boat, safe and sound, a trail of bodies in our wake.

Then Shacknews shares their impressions:

Taking your companion by the hand you set off to discuss the issues with the castle’s kitchen staff. This is one of the first major decisions you’ll make in your quest during Fable 3. You can choose to berate them and force them back to work or reassure them that things will get better. Like previous Fable titles, morality exists. Sadly, from the choices I was given during the demo, the options were extremely cut and dry. Either blantantly good or evil.

Soon you’re introduced to Walter, a gruff soldier who is training you to be able to defend yourself. After a brief tutorial explaining melee weapon combat, which is essentially identical to that of Fable 2, your companion bursts through the door and explains that the uprising of Albion has begun. Later your brother, the king, calls for the heads of all that oppose him. When you make your opinion known, which automatically lambastes him for his brutality, he turns on you. Moments later you are given a life or death choice that destroys the relationship between you and your brother, forcing you to leave the castle forever. Or until it’s time to bring back the revolution. This is the first thirty minutes in Fable 3’s epic quest.

And RPG Site chimes in, as well:

Even your progress is shown in a similar way, on the ‘road to rule’ – a vision that tracks your progress towards becoming king. Overseen by Theresa, the mysterious blind seer from Fable II, it’s a misty road with various branching paths along it. It doubles up as both a progress tracker and your character progression, as which paths you take down the road will determine what unlocks you get from it – ranging from combat bonuses to new out-of-combat abilities.

Rather than just having a menu for these things, Fable III again strips that stuff away and replaces it with something you can walk around and interact with. There were echoes of this in Fable II, but Lionhead insist that they’ve learned from the experience. As an example, the rep cites Fable II’s cutscenes, which allowed you to move around in them but were sterile. They’ve been switched out for traditional, cinematic cutscenes this time.