Difficulty:

Very Easy

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Total letdown"

Fable 2 brought a lot to the table and I found myself playing through it three times without much restraint to get the three different ending achievements. Without such an alternative implemented in Fable 3, you can expect little motivation to play through this more than once - the one time even being somewhat of a chore. The world and dialogue within is quite compelling, but unbalanced combat can leave you reevaluating how you played the previous installments. In the prior games, you could revel in the opportunity to decimate foes with melee weapons and pull-off a whole beserker-esque style of fighting, whereas in Fable 3 you'll find this approach has little merit or success. Instead, combat will consist of you constantly dodging and avoiding attacks while striking enemies consistently with ranged attacks in order to avoid the easy ass-whooping they'll bring down on your head if you try to melee. Also, the first half of this game is boring and feels more like a chore. However, the second half can be interesting regarding your role as monarch, but it ends far too quickly and feels like tacked-on filler. So, if you liked the first two games, don't expect Fable 3 to be an adequate successor, but more-so a sort of expansion on Fable 2. It's easy to enjoy the humor put into the game, but even a character voiced by a comedy great such as John Cleese eventually becomes poorly utilized, and at times surprisingly annoying. Thankfully, I borrowed this game off of a friend who sadly paid the ridiculous launch price of $70. If you feel you must play this game because you enjoyed the first two so much, wait until the price drops to 20-30 dollars, and even then, I would still recommend renting or buying used. The game just doesn't cut it and it's sad that the ending - I assume it is, but you never know - to this trilogy falls flat when even compared to the freshman effort. Fable was never a Zelda or Elder Scrolls quality franchise, but now it doesn't even deserve a nod of comparison amongst these superior action/adventure giants.