Fable 3 pretends to be RPG royalty, but is actually just the Fool.
Fable 3 streamlines the RPG to the point of absurdity, retaining almost all of the annoyances of its predecessors, and introducing a laughably broken kingdom management simulation. But damn if Albion isn’t fun to explore.
Universal ammo in Mass Effect 2. Linear paths in Final Fantasy XIII. Streamlining the RPG may be all the rage these days, but when a developer feels the need to dumb-down the pause menu, you know you’re in for a rocky ride. Enter Fable 3, the latest edition to Peter Molyneux’s action RPG franchise.
Apparently, Lionhead discovered that the reason more people don’t buy Fable games is that menus are too befuddling for your average Joe. Mainstream gamers are confused by convoluted menu choices such as Map, Inventory, and Skills. These concepts are so complex that they must be illuminated through the use of metaphor. A virtual room with a map table, a wardrobe closet, and an armory. A road lined with treasure chests, each of which contains a skill, and each of which can only be unlocked with experience points.
Wait … there’s skills … you unlock…. Hey, now I get it! Thanks, Lionhead!
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