When Lionhead studios head Peter Molyneux announced the original Fable to the world before its 2004 release date, he made some pretty lofty promises. Though the team at Lionhead Studios tried, the finished product didn’t deliver on a number of those promises. Now, over six years later, little has changed and while the game does feature a number of gorgeous set pieces and a slew of breathtaking moments; it also fails to deliver in a number of ways, including game crippling bugs and a still unfixed combat system. But hey – at least John Cleese is your butler.

In theory – Fable III is a much different game than its predecessors. Rather than starting off as an earnest and simple village boy who goes on a quest to become a great hero, you start off as a prince… who goes on a quest to become a great hero. While it may just be a new coat on the same old mechanic, it does add an interesting twist to the formula, from the start, you’ll be making decisions that impact an entire kingdom, as well as your character’s personal growth. You play as the son (or daughter) of the hero of Fable II, your older brother Logan has taken up the throne and rules the kingdom of Albion with an iron fist. Do you follow in his ways and strike fear into the citizens, or rule as his just and fair counterpart? Not only what you do, but how you do it will have a lasting effect on Albion and its citizens.

While you do have an impressive amount of choice in Fable III, the main story is strangely linear. Fable III features a much bigger emphasis on story, and isn’t afraid of holding your hand to tell it.  In some aspects, this makes the game a bit too easy – you’re rarely allowed to do anything that will change the way the game’s main characters see you. In fact, it’s not until you overthrow your brother’s rule and take the thrown that you’re given the freedom you’re accustomed to in Fable games. It’s excusable to an extent, as it makes for a far much more interesting story, but you lose a sense of what makes the franchise so different.

Make no mistake about it though – Albion is the game’s main character. The folks at Lionhead have brought the village to life more impressively than ever here, and you’ll find it tough not to marvel at times. The main kingdom of Albion is now a center for industry and trade, her skyline is dotted with smokestacks and factories, but going outside of this area, as your quests often require you to do will take you to far different worlds, from snow covered mountain tops to dense and foggy forests. The citizens you’ll encounter are just as full of life as the city itself, they’ll have their own thoughts, send you on side quests and sure as hell aren’t afraid to tell you what they think of your brother and yourself. And yes, like previous Fable games before it, you’ll be able to make friends, enemies or even marry any of them. Oh, and John Cleese is your Butler, so that’s cool. It’s these aspects of Fable III perhaps that make the title such a joy to play through.

As you may have expected, Fable III features an excellent player progression system, but here, it’s much better than even past Fable games. Everything you do, from how you interact with the world around you, to how you choose to fight will shape how your character looks, behaves and is perceived. Use a lot of magic? You’ll start to develop an otherworldly glow. Carry a huge broad sword and you’ll find yourself bulking up faster. What’s interesting here is that with the vast differences between the cities and villages, how you’re perceived throughout Albion will change dramatically as you traverse the game’s world.

Of course, you don’t become a hero by impressing the towns folk with your wit and charm – you’ve got to get your hands dirty and slay some evildoers (or good guys depending on how you act). Unfortunately, the combat in Fable III suffers from some of the same issues that plagued the first two games, and these issues tend to make the combat sections of the game some of the most unsatisfying portions of the game. The targeting system is completely unreliable, but the strangest aspect is the fact that unlike in previous games, each of your attacks acts completely independent of each other, which means that you’ll have no incentive to build up each of your character’s abilities. Instead, you’ll focus more on what’s successful – which in most cases turns out to be magic attacks, which can take out an entire group of attackers at once.

Perhaps the most disappointing part of the Fable III experience is the weird series of technical snafus seen throughout the game.  There are several instances throughout the game where the framerate drops dramatically.  The majority of these drops occur during the game’s side games, like the job missions like Lute Hero or Blacksmithing. Another issue is with the game’s frustrating path finding issues. Sadly, these issues effect the one thing that’s supposed to be a constant in the game – your dog. In a perfect world, your dog helps you find hidden items and attack enemies, but more often than not your canine companion will get stuck behind objects. The same thing occurs with anyone you happen to be holding their hand. It’s frustrating and stops you from enjoying a good portion of the game.

The Blast Factor: Fable III is both as close to what Peter Molyneaux originally promised, and the most far off.  Traveling through Ablion is a deeply rewarding and interesting experience that you’ll want to keep going back to. It’s not perfect, but there’s enough here to keep even the most seasoned heroes satisfied for quite some time to come.

Famed Fable creator Peter Molyneux recently revealed some brief details for Fable III’s downloadable  option. While the game will still receive a standard retail offering to come out in late 2011, Xbox LIVE users will have a chance to start downloading it in pieces a few weeks after the official release.

According to Peter, “Soon after the retail launch we’re doing episodic. We break it down in chapters. We give away the first chapter entirely free, the first hour. When you reach a certain point in the game it says ‘thank you for playing the pilot of Fable 3, do you want to spend an extra 2-5 or whatever dollars to buy the next episode, or buy the whole lot?’ Press ‘yes’ and you will immediately continue playing.”

This scenario looks like it should be a real win for players, as you’re not forced to drop the full $60 up front. Now you can try before you buy. If you feel like the game is dragging, you can simply stop paying for it and move on to something else. Fable III will likely be a must-buy, however, so…

Source: Kotaku

Lionhead Studios’ third installment in the famed Fable universe, Fable III, will set sail on Windows PC in addition to Xbox 360, the development house today revealed. The Guildford, England based developer also announced, detailed and priced a Limited Edition bundle of the popular role-playing-game.

Unlike its predecessor Fable II, Fable III, a title in which you become the king or queen and serve justice unto your land, will arrive on Windows PC. In Lionhead’s news release, it did not specify if both the Windows and Xbox 360 versions will simultaneously launch, only stating “the journey expands to Windows this Holiday season.”

Fable III

This announcement falls directly in line with what was already teased. Last week Xbox 360 boxart for Fable III popped up and adorning its face was a rectangle with the words “Only On Xbox 360 & Windows” in it. The art was swiftly taken down.

The other Lionhead news arriving this morning was the reveal of both the Standard and Limited Collector’s Editions of Fable III. The former bundles everything you’d expect in it; the game and the box, but the Limited Collector’s Edition has many more goodies inside.

First, the Limited Collector’s Edition will feature “a distinctive box created in the likeness of a book from "Fable III,” where oodles of collectibles will be housed.

They include:

A new quest: Uncover the mystery of the haunted forests of Silverpines and earn the legendary sword, Wolfsbane, deadly against wolves and balverines.

Exclusive location: Unlock a new region, ideal for settling down with a family and discovering new treasures.

"Fable III" playing cards: Created by Lionhead, these cards depict every type of character in "Fable III," including Heroes, royals, rebels and villains from across Albion and beyond.

Guild Seal Coin:  The coin features a Good side (blue) and Evil side (red) to assist players in making critical decisions that will impact the fate of the world forever.

A new dog breed: Renowned for its loyalty, the Boxer is a brave canine companion worthy of greatest Queens and Kings.

One unique outfit: Unearth one male and female outfit from the mysterious, faraway land of Aurora, a new destination in your "Fable III" adventures.

The Standard Edition will retail for $59.99/£44.99/€64.99, and the Limited Collector’s Edition will sell for $79.99/£59.99/€84.99.  And for the PC faithful, the Windows version will cost you $49.99/£39.99/€54.99, and will also be available for digital download via the Games on Demand marketplace for Windows – LIVE.

No art of the Standard Edition or Limited Collector’s Edition was provided. If/when Microsoft or Lionhead provides assets to us, we will update the post. [UPDATE] – and now they have. Find the shots below.

Limited Collector's Edition

Windows version

Standard Edition

As video games continue to expand, popular film and television actors are finding their way to the small screen to lend their voice boxes to the imaginative worlds we play in.

Fable III

Actor Sir Ben Kingsley just can’t get enough.

He’s playing a lead role in the upcoming video game film adaptation Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and today confirmed his role in Lionhead Studio’s upcoming role-playing-game Fable III.

Speaking with games site Computer and Video Games, Kingsley confirmed his role as “King of Mist” in the game and spoke further about the medium.

"I’m a voice in a new video game shortly — Fable III. I’m a wonderful wizard character who is the king of Mist Peak," adding "It’s very energising and good for us actors to realise that [acting] is so diverse now. [Games] are as big a jump now as I suppose when cinema was invented, when people went from the stage to the cinema thinking: It’s not really acting, is it? Now, it’s video games — and it is acting. It’s very demanding."

Other confirmed voice actors for the project due out by year’s end are Stephen Fry, John Cleese and Jonathon Ross.

Peter Molyneux, head man over at Lionhead Studios, the team responsible for the Fable franchise, today confirmed that Fable III will release episodically.

He said “the first big episodes” will be the main game and that smaller adventures will follow as (likely) paid downloadable content.

“I’ve often thought it would be brilliant to be walking through Charles Dickens’ London. It was such a dark place and very episodic too — so we’re doing that with Fable III,” he said. “We’ll give you the first big episodes, and you’ll be able to download new episodes, which is analogous to the way Dickens wrote.”

The famed game designer also said downloadable goodies will be available in the game world itself, thus removing the need to fiddle around with the finicky dashboard.

And on the subject of Project Natal implementation in the game, which we know it will have, Molyneux said it’s all up to you.

“You still need a controller to play Fable III but there are places in the world where you can use Natal, where it’s cute, funny, engaging. You don’t need it but it does enable an enhanced Fable III.”

Now, it remains to be revealed if Fable III will release both digitally and on physical disc and if the game will bear a lesser price tag considering not all the content is available. Or maybe we’re misinterpreting his words here and Molyneux is simply referring to DLC, the way Fable II did it.

When word comes officially from Microsoft, we’ll update the story.

Source: Destructoid

There is no combat in the first thirty minutes of Fable III, and creative director Peter Molyneux sees this as a possible problem and wants your input.

He said, via Twitter today, that he is “slightly worried” about the lack of opening scene combat.

He’s asking his Twitter followers if they think this half hour denial of hand-to-hand action is too long.

“Been playing the opening of Fable 3, I am slightly worried that there is no combat for the first 30 mins. Is this too long, thoughts.”

What do you think? In Fable II you fought rambunctious juvenile with a wooden sword who punched your sister in the opening minutes of the game (at 7:35 in this video to be exact). That was fun. But unless you speak up and respond to Molyneux, the same might not happen in the third installment.

UPDATE: Molyneux updated the story on Twitter, saying:

In responce to the 1st 30 min no combat. There is no combat because it is so dramatic, and that drama has little room full combat.

Source: Peter Molyneux’s Twitter

Hot off the 2010 Game Developers Conference show floor, comes this entirely new batch of Fable III screenshots.

The regions shown in the shots are from the deepest, darkest, mines of Albion. Seems like every role-playing-game ever has cave lurking scenes in it, and Fable III will be no different.

Monty Python’s whimsical master John Cleese will lend his voice  to a character in Fable III, Lionhead studios announced at GDC 2010 today.

He’ll play the “Butler,” and while he wasn’t shown, he was vividly described by Lionhead personnel as the game’s comic go-to guy.

According to Peter Molyneux, head of the game’s development studio, when you press the start button in the game, it’ll bring up a menu offering you an ability to change your attire, and, who better to provide comic relief that the witty Cleese?

Cleese’s inclusion is part of a Lionhead’s determined effort to enable players to utilize all of the game’s functions. Fable II was plagued with an ugly and wonky 2D menu system that Molyneux said not even half of the players utilized. Fable III will have fully 3D menus and will strive much harder to familiarize and make readily available to the gamer all its functions.

Source: Kotaku

Lionhead Studios released a brand new screenshot dubbed “Dragging” today only enticing gamers more and making that Holiday 2010 release window seem so painfully far away.

There’s a lot to be learned about “Fable III” before it releases. First, we know you’ll play as a King or Queen, but don’t know how it’ll exactly work. We also know it’ll have more dynamic co-op, but we’ve heard that before. And it’s also supposed to use Project Natal in some manner, though it will not replace the controller-in-hand experience.

Anyway, just food for thought.

Lionhead Studios, makers of the “Fable” series, want your input concerning merchandise for the upcoming adventure/RPG, “Fable III” and have today ushered out a survey asking just that.

Lionhead says “there are literally hundreds of things we could come up with” and noted mugs, t-shirts, books, and even branded condoms are being considered.

Hop on over here to take the brief survey and potentially help determine what shows up this Holiday season when “Fable III” releases.

Fable III, a game we know to be a role-playing-game, won’t feature the orbs of experience found in its predecessor. In the game you’ll play as a King or Queen and instead of amassing experience, you’ll gather "followers."

Speaking with Joystiq, creative director at Lionhead Games said why it was removed.

"Experience is a core mechanic of RPG games, and we’ve removed it. “Why?” Because experience is all about combat. Fable is more than just combat. We’re not saying that combat is any less or diminished, we’re just saying we needed a mechanic that covered the entirety of the game; experience wasn’t it."

He continued, and explained why the glowing orbs were removed for the third Fable game and why "followers" are the new thing.

"People didn’t understand what the difference between red experience, blue experience and green experience was — they just didn’t understand it! Over half the people didn’t really care about what color the experience system was. It was just wrong. So, when you remove it and replace it with something called “followers” — you get followers for everything you do in the game; whether you’re nice to people out in the street, or nasty to people; who you marry; the family that person comes from makes a difference — it brings followers to you; you’re going to have to have a certain number of followers before you take on the evil tyrant king; you’ve gotta have a certain number of followers to do something else. That all makes much more sense."

Don’t lose faith yet though, the game, from this first video appearance, and these screenshots, looks mighty fine and worthy of our attention.

Jump on over to Joysitq for the full, unedited transcription of the interview.

Lionhead is gearing up to release Fable III this Holiday season, but before it can release, we have to hear creative director Peter Molyneux and a staff of developers describe why the game will be huge.

This is that video.

In it we get a look at Lionhead’s studio as well as an intimate chat with Molyneux, who gushes about Dynamic Weapons and a Extreme Morph.

The Dynamic Weapons, as you could guess, change based upon who wields them. If you’re evil and kill a lot of innocents, the blood of their trauma will run down your sword. This is an intriguing concept, as it will complement how your character will dynamically change based on moral choices as well.

The Extreme Morph is quite a bit more intriguing though. This is an action, located on your wheel of actions, that will allow you, should someone irk you, to demonstrate “who your character truly is” by performing an awe-inspiring morph expression. In the case of the video, angel wings sprout from the character’s back and all are defeated.

Have a look at the video detailing all of this below and the game’s first screen shots, right here.

Lionhead Studios’ Fable III was shown yesterday at Microsoft’s invite-only X10 event in Washington State and along with the revelation of that your kingly character will sport dynamic weapons and a new morph action (more on this later!), Microsoft released a handful of new screens for the game. Some evil, some pure.

Lionhead Studios, the development squad responsible for the Fable franchise is led by a man named Peter Molyneux. This guy loves hyping his games and sometimes he can take it too far.

Today it looks like we’re getting another slice of hype cake, as the Molyneux, in an interview with Gamereactor, was quoted saying “There’s some very, very big things happening in Fable. Bigger than you think, and it’s going to really upset people.” Molyneux then added he is “really scared” about telling people the news and said “they’re going to get super pissed off, they really are.”

Getting people angered with a title before it releases sounds kind of backwards. But, it’s Peter Molyneux we’re talking about here, so really, anything goes.

What kind of huge news could get fans angry? Reporting site Joystiq says the events of Fable II were possibly one long dream sequence. What do you think?

We’ll have an answer for you at the end of the week when the X10 gaming shindig happens.

Source: Gamereactor via Joystiq

Fable III developer Lionhead Studios has been surprisingly quiet about the third installment it plans on launching late 2010 (and teasing in February), but if concept artwork is your thing, today is your day.

Lionhead released a gorgeous wallpaper painting of beautiful Albion today complete with its memorable rolling hills, lush forest, tall mountains, and a general soft tone to the entire thing.

Oh Albion.

The wallpaper is available for download in three different dimensions from the Fable Blog, and looks quite nice once applied as a wallpaper, at least on my screen. Staring at it every day knowing we’re a year out from its release will be painful, but something I can surely endure.

Fable III, the third installment in the Microsoft-exclusive fantasy/adventure role-playing-game franchise from Lionhead Studios was officially unveiled at GamesCom over the summer, but all we saw was a cryptic teaser trailer. That’s all about to change, and soon.

According to Lionhead’s community manager Sam Van Tilburgh, who’s been Tweeting an awful lot, the game will officially be unveiled (likely with gameplay shown) next month.

The man Tweeted the following:

“I’m writing storyboard summaries for two new #Fable3 videos @LionheadStudios.”

And then this:

"videos are to come out when we show #Fable3 for the 1st time at an event next month in SF."

Well now, looks like Lionhead is bringing Fable III to an event in San Francisco in February. That event is a mystery to us, but whatever the time or the place, we know it’s going down in February. So Fable-fans (myself very much included), new information is inbound!!

Source: Destructoid

Whenever the words Lionhead, Peter Molyneux, or Fable are thrown around, you’ve got to take them with a grain of salt, but today’s news is something we can definitely believe in.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday Microsoft nailed down a firm “release window” for the third Fable installment.

That’s right, Fable III, a game set 50 years after Fable II and one that’ll feature a ‘regime change’ plotline, where players will ousts a dictator and assume the role in Albion, is due out Holiday 2010. That means anytime between October and December, 2010.

Concept art for the title.

Thank you Microsoft and Lionhead Studios for not nailing down a release date this far away, I now don’t have to grab my red pen and circle some date that would have likely been wrong anyway, on my calendar.

Fable III, you’re one of my most anticipated games of 2010, don’t let me down!

Here’s the trailer for anyone who missed it this summer.

Source: Lionhead’s Twitter

The Fable series art direction has always left me amazed and in awe. Attention to detail, the feeling of a living and breathing locations, and overall impeccable execution, are all elements I’ve come to adore in the Fable series. I feel a gripping connection to the fantasy world within, and from the popularity and success of the franchise, that sentiment is  probably mirrored millions of times over.

Anyway, today Lionhead, developer of the series, dropped a new concept art shot of everyone’s favorite hub city Bowerstone from the land of Albion.

Looks great to me, and I can’t wait to see it actualized! But I’m just a fan-boy right? What do you think?

Lionhead’s next Fable game, Fable III, due out sometime in 2010, might use Microsoft’s motion-sensing technology.

Project Natal, the technology in question, first announced at E3 2009, could see its way to the role-playing-game in one way or another according to a recent interview with the Lionhead boss.

Molyneux, the master of hype and equivocation, when responding to a interviewer who said Natal would not be used in Fable III, said “I didn’t say that.” Oh here we go.

“I am going to say it’s going to use a controller,” he continued, “But I’ve never said it’s not going to use Natal. And obviously what would probably happen if I started talking about this is you would see a little red dot appear moving on my forehead. And then as I would start to speak the words then there would be a shot, gunfire, and I would be assassinated.”

Molyneux went on to say “Do you really think … knowing me … I wouldn’t want to use something like Natal? I mean that’s just mad, man.”

Does anyone out there want motion-control in Fable III? If properly implemented, like anything, it could work, but it’d have to be damn impressive to sway my mind.

via IGN + Kotaku

Given the success of Fable II, it should be no surprise that a third title in the series is in the works. Peter Molyneux announced that game at Gamescom this morning, while I was still sleeping (time zones heading east are not a journalist’s friend). We have the teaser trailer for you, courtesy of Kotaku and YouTube:

Based on the early details from Molyneux, the kingdom of Albion now needs a king or a queen, and you will eventually become that person. It will be interesting to see how your moral choices and decisions affect the entirety of the population and the land, rather than just your own storyline and personal appearance. To be honest, this is a much more appealing feature to me than the previous two games used (sorry, Eddie) so I’ll be keeping an eye on this one. You have a ways to wait, as Fable II is set for a 2010 release, but it’s not like you don’t have things to wait for in the meantime, eh?