So, I finally got around to playing Fable 3, and as you can see on the dates on the preceding posts... it took me awhile. All I can say is... Lionhead,
FIRE PETER MOLYNEUX.
My god, I don't know how someone could fuck up a game so terribly, but he did it! He took anything that's relatively normal in a RPG and either removed it, hid it or made it even more obtuse than it was in Fable 2. Let's look at a list, shall we?
- Menus? We don't need no stinkin' menus!
So, for some reason, they designed this game to have pretty much no menus. In place of them, they added separate 3D areas that represent the same content that one would find in a menu. What's the problem with this, you say? Well, just the fact that it makes everything take longer to do and there's actually less that you can do from the menu now.
The in game menu isn't the only sacrifice to Molyneux's idiocy. The only textual remnant left is the Game menu, which is accessed in the Sanctuary or when you hit the XBOX button. An example is how this all makes stores considerably more tedious to browse.
- How can we make the map less useful?
I really didn't care much for the map in Fable 2, but it seems they tried to make it better in Fable 3. However, they missed all of the actual issues with the map.
1) It doesn't show the player's current position.
2) It isn't flippin' accurate (kind of negates the actual usefulness)
3) Only accessible through the not-really-a-menu menu. Sometimes, you can get the menu context as UP on the d-pad, but it's not common.
- Let's get rid of those pesky RPG features!
The biggest thing that I noticed first off was... no health bar. Did they forget what type of game this is? You do actually have health, but the only indicator is the fact that potions and food appear on your d-pad (right and left respectively). If you're really low on health, your screen flashes red.
- We need less story! More action!
I don't know what was going through Peter's mind, but Fable 3 has an awful story. At least in Fable 2, you had this persistent evil entity that you fought against throughout the entire game (albeit, the end fight was laughably awful/boring). In Fable 3, they randomly throw in this "evil thing" that looks like a sandy Xenomorph (alien from Alien). At least they keep true to the prequel in that Fable 3's end boss fight is just as lackluster!
- Let's make this expressionist game contain less expression!
One thing I cannot understand is why they gutted the interaction system from Fable 2. At least in Fable 2, you could select whatever expression that you wanted to use. In Fable 3, you get some predetermined subset along the same lines as the original: good, silly, rude.
I really don't get what the hell was going through their minds when they gave this game the thumbs up. I can't help but have this game make me equate Molyneux with another "visionary" who's gone blind: George Lucas. Both have made great works in the past, but lately... not so much. Maybe Molyneux has the same problem as Lucas? Perhaps they both just need someone to say, "No."
EDIT:
Oh, and what was with removing the only two good magic spells from Fable 2 (Slow Time and Raise Dead) and turn them into potions? Lame. Although, I did find myself using magic considerably more often, but that's because of how awful most weapons are. In Fable 2, I used a life stealing gem, which meant I pretty much never lost health, and it was easier to just use melee.