Fable III

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 735 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 329 out of 735
  2. Mixed: 270 out of 735
  3. Negative: 136 out of 735
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  1. Ubermac
    Nov 7, 2010
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Having played parts 1 and 2, i expected much more of this. Strangely enough it did seem to be better, but when it ended i was just astounded by the fact i was done.
    When you become king the game becomes pretty much timed. Meaning you do not have all the time in the world to finish, but a great evil is coming and you have 365 days before it reaches Albion. That's fine, but when the "time left" counter starts jumping from mid 200's to low 100's in 1 "day", you know there's trouble abound. And there i was sitting on my couch....jaw wide open to find i was done. It felt like i was about halfway through fable2, but there it was..over and done with. Tbh i can live with the bugs, slowdowns, simplified gameplay etc, but finishing this soon left me wondering wether they had to rush to release it...leaving the rest for future dlc or something.
    Fun while it lasts, but it doesn't last very long. Shame.    … Expand
  2. xxx
    Nov 1, 2010
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As a long-time player of both Fable and Fable 2, I wanted to like Fable 3, i really did. So much so, that i initially dismissed the many issues including the alarmingly prevalent technical problems and the lack of any combat complexity or difficulty. What starts out as the familiarly monty-python-esque fable adventure, and devolves into an experience as devoid of life and meaning as (if not more so than) your 'end'-game foe. But it's not all doom-and-gloom, fable 3 does have its well-crafted episodes. Like previous installments, side-quests are delightfully cheeky and loads of fun. I found myself laughing--out loud!--at the witty dialogue and situations in one quest where you became part of a D&D style, board game adventure. Many of the rare books you find have great excepts read to you in-game which really speak volumes (forgive me) about the creative writing found throughout the fable franchise. And what good would great writing be without great voice-acting? Michael Fassbender, Stephen Fry and the legendary John Cleese do not disappoint. And for those who appreciate aesthetics and atmosphere, Fable 3 looks great and has a fitting soundtrack (though not as inspired as the previous two installments). These attributes, though excellent, were a polish meant to blind us from its rusty, disfigured core. Bugs. Too many to chalk up to the needlessly pandering "it's just an early version all games have bugs-golly gee, that's what patches are for!" excuse we (fans) use too often. As stated in some reviews, there were not only frustrating glitches, but game-ending ones as well. Frustrating, i can live with; game ending...that is just embarrassing (and EVIL!). I personally did not experience the worst glitches, but i guess i was lucky. It's not the hardest game either. Most of us realize though that it is fable, and not Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Ninja Gaiden Black, or playing Starcraft on Korean servers. At least in fable 2 you could have fun casting more than two spells in one battle and PRETENDING like you were about to die-err, get 'knocked out'. Although the animated executions of bad guys are fun, fighting ends up being more chore than it was in fable 2. Not to mention the reward is most often only guild seals. Guild Seals, spent on the road to rule, are experience points. The concept of Guild Seals and the Road to Rule is terrific-for another game. When you get to the bottom of it, it's partially for aesthetics (it looks good), and partially about balancing it and keeping you from becoming too strong. For fable, becoming too strong too fast is as silly as the grunting noises made when shaking hands with an NPC. Not to mention the choices given in the Road to Rule are extremely limiting and more than half of them don't do anything meaningful. If you've played it already, I'm sure you skipped most everything but the combat upgrades, adding to the superfluity of combat. Why not put in more chests, with harder choices associated with them? Why not make you choose between level 3 weapons, a legendary hammer, and a super cool-looking set of armor? Or a chest with lots of cash in it? Or the title to Reaver's Mansion? How about SOMETHING BESIDES DYES? The 'end' of Fable 2 was brilliant. If you haven't played it, stop reading this and do so. Fable 3 developers should have realized a good thing when they had it. Instead, as king (the big selling point of the game) you are relegated to essentially being the CFO of Albion-when you should be out in fantastic realms killing fantastic creatures to come and display in your fantastic castle where everyone can admire just how fantastic you are (it is also far too easy to end the game before you want it to-no warning at all). I was affected by the end decision in Fable 2-it was a hard one to make because you were only guaranteed one option...not 2 or all 3. Now, you can have you cake and eat it too (or eat your cake and have it too) with ease through owning property. Instead of every choice being having people hate you or love you, why not make it more meaningful? Like giving you the same choices Logan had you make in the beginning (albeit with actual consequences). Maybe having time only to save the Aurorans from certain death by whatever, or your castle staff and guards who will die without an antidote to cure whatever and then actually getting to go physically carry out your decision instead of having Reaver talk to you about what he did. Because the choices are based upon your wealth, and becoming wealthy is about as easy as combat, there really isn't a choice at all. And because there isn't a choice, there isn't any real interest, any real attachment at all aside from appearances. Which is really all Fable 3 amounts to. It's just sugar coated; the you longer lick it, the more it starts to melt away until you're left with such a prickly mess , you'll never want to taste the sugar again.… Expand
  3. PevMaster
    Jun 18, 2013
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After seeing all the heavy marketting for Fable III only months before its release, I got pretty excited, so I bought Fable II so I could see what all the hype was about. I loved it. Fable II was a great game, and upon completing the game I got even more excited about Fable III. So for my birthday I got Fable III. It was the most dissapointing game of this generation. The combat is over-simplified, the game tries too hard to make the characters heroic or likeable which makes them quite unrelatable, the quests are repetitive, unrewarding and have no substance, developing relationships/friendships is tedious and constantly feels like a chore AND THE GAME IS INCREDIBLY SHORT. To be fair, the game starts off as quite an exciting adventure. The main quest is very compelling and made me completely forget about the rubbish sidequests. The bugs are more or less forgivable, so this could have made a fantastic game. But the problem is that the game builds up and up but then comes CRASHING down towards the end, resulting in a brief, rude and innapropriate ending. As soon as you become king you are told that you have 365 days to save your kingdom from some kind of evil force with a generic name ('the darkness' or something) and that the descisions you make will influence the outcome of the final battle. For example, you could spend money on rebuilding a destroyed part of town or you could keep the money and spend it on more military power for the upcoming battle. So in the end of the day, if you are good more people die and if you are bad you save people. I could forgive this nonsensical system, but there is ONE MAJOR FLAW that almost ruins the novelty of being king: instead of playing every 365 days making decisions the game COMPLETELY SKIPS days, letting you only make 5 or 6 'kingly' decisions that have been so heavily promoted by Lionhead. Once the weak boss fight has ended and Albion is safe from the menace that attacked it, you can still continue playing. But there is little to no incentive to do so. The side quests, as I mentioned before, are as weak as a broken spine and you can't even make any more royal decisions about your kingdom anymore, leaving you a dead (or alive) kingdom full of brain-dead sheep; the only kingly thing you can do is kill your guards while they do nothing. It really is a shame to see a game with so much potential ruined by just a few flaws. Hopefully they can set things straight again with Fable 4, but I'm not holding my breath.… Expand
  4. stevev45
    Oct 14, 2011
    4
    Fable III is a simple game for small children. If you
  5. DarthMang
    Apr 2, 2012
    4
    Don't get me wrong, I love this game. I still think the first Fable was BY FAR the best of the three, and I think Fable 3, made many improvements over Fable 2. What I don't love is the glitches. This game was released broken, and the biggest of fans who paid full price for it lost that money they spent on it. It is true the game was dumbed down from previous entries, but it still remainsDon't get me wrong, I love this game. I still think the first Fable was BY FAR the best of the three, and I think Fable 3, made many improvements over Fable 2. What I don't love is the glitches. This game was released broken, and the biggest of fans who paid full price for it lost that money they spent on it. It is true the game was dumbed down from previous entries, but it still remains fun and most of all, funny. But maintenance and support are part of the overall package and should therefore be included in the score of the game and that is why I gave it such a low score. If you contact Lionshead Studios, they WILL NOT reply when you have a game-ending bug. In contrast, if you contact a company like Activision, your issue will be resolved promptly. With better support, this game should receive a 7. Now, most people will make it from beginning to end without a glitch, but Lionshead should not be exempt from the same support that most people expect out of any software they purchase. When you pay $60+ for software, you expect it to work. When it doesn't, you expect it to be corrected. My recommendation: Buy it cheap because if it glitches, you are out that money.… Expand
  6. finch555
    May 10, 2013
    4
    Fable III should better be known as orgy III. The story is as fun as having your nuts kicked in by 5000 people wearing steal toed boats on. The best part of the game is the massive amounts of orgies you can have at any point in time. If you take out the massive amounts of orgies what fun can you have in this game? Well you can always go into your friends game kill have of the people inFable III should better be known as orgy III. The story is as fun as having your nuts kicked in by 5000 people wearing steal toed boats on. The best part of the game is the massive amounts of orgies you can have at any point in time. If you take out the massive amounts of orgies what fun can you have in this game? Well you can always go into your friends game kill have of the people in every town and then kill his wife so he rages, kick you from the game and the party and refuse to talk to you for about 3 hours. All and all i have to give it a 4 for the simple fact that the story was more boring than hearing your grandmother talking about her first period in shark infested waters of Bufu Egypt. What saved this game was the endless hours of torturing my friend by forcing him to have gay orgies until he got his weapon upgrade which never happened. all and all i give it a 4… Expand
  7. CasualSum1
    Jun 20, 2013
    4
    Extremely mediocre. The story was rushed. The fortification of Albion was too little time. It barely gives you any time to finish your preparations. The Sanctuary may not be terrible (after they somewhat repaired it), but the map is still quite bad. Shops are kind of odd. The combat system is PRIMITIVE and easy as hell. It literally comes down to pushing three buttons. You will anyways endExtremely mediocre. The story was rushed. The fortification of Albion was too little time. It barely gives you any time to finish your preparations. The Sanctuary may not be terrible (after they somewhat repaired it), but the map is still quite bad. Shops are kind of odd. The combat system is PRIMITIVE and easy as hell. It literally comes down to pushing three buttons. You will anyways end up using no more than two (gun and magic or melee). The worst thing about this whole game is easily the HORRIBLE quest system and interface. This could not be done worse. The ending itself is CUT. I had the feeling that I could take this ''darkness'' and ''the greatest threat to Albion ever'' all by my lonesome and win and the final boss battle was a punch in the face. The only reason I got this game is that it was for free.… Expand
  8. Falcon_D_Storms
    Mar 21, 2014
    4
    Massive flaws. 1.)It's impossible to fail. Literally. You can fight the biggest, baddest boss in the game, set the controller down without pausing and make a sandwich... Then, you can go to work. Then, you can come home and go to sleep. Then, you can wake up and catch a flight to the island paradise of Maui and spend a week there. Then you can come home and sleep off your jet-lag. If theMassive flaws. 1.)It's impossible to fail. Literally. You can fight the biggest, baddest boss in the game, set the controller down without pausing and make a sandwich... Then, you can go to work. Then, you can come home and go to sleep. Then, you can wake up and catch a flight to the island paradise of Maui and spend a week there. Then you can come home and sleep off your jet-lag. If the game is still running, you will still be alive and completely fine. 2.) None of the original promises of the Fable series are fulfilled in this entry. If anything, it's a step back from 1 and 2 in meeting the goals that were originally set for the project. 3.) The menus are all replaced by a cumbersome 'sanctuary' that you teleport to and walk into different rooms, select certain objects and... interact with menus. It's just a nonsensical, immersion-breaking, extra layer between you and menus.… Expand
  9. IllusivemaN7
    May 21, 2015
    4
    I pre ordered this because I bought into the Peter molyneaux hype, still unaware of his last two fable game promises. Needless to say it was extremely disappointing. Disappointing to the point of being a bad game. It IS A BAD GAME. It wouldn't have been if I wasn't so mislead end and lied to.
  10. Hraun
    Nov 1, 2010
    3
    Incredible graphics, simplified RPG, too straightforward and the end is ultimately utterly disappointing and frustrating.

    The graphics and gameplay are good/outstanding. The rpg element is way too simplified, it has been downhill ever since fable I. The questline is straightforward, which is nice, but the sidequests just aren't rewarding enough (by feel, sense of accomplishment or effect    Incredible graphics, simplified RPG, too straightforward and the end is ultimately utterly disappointing and frustrating.

    The graphics and gameplay are good/outstanding. The rpg element is way too simplified, it has been downhill ever since fable I. The questline is straightforward, which is nice, but the sidequests just aren't rewarding enough (by feel, sense of accomplishment or effect on the 'world' as was is fable II). There are a lot of loading times, almost like you're sitting in front of your tv waiting as much as playing. Up untill you get to be a monarch, the game is nice and pulls you in, ever drawing you onward. When you are a monarch, the frustrating bit begins, which leads to the utter downfall of the game. Choose to be a good monarch, caring for your people, leads to the death of everyone, leaving an empty world to play in afterwards. That forces you to be the tyrant you just defeated. So what's the use of being good, if everyone dies because of it?
    As a sidemark, the whole morality issue is mostly removed. The only thing that changes is what the comments of the villagers are.

    All in all: the game doesn't pick up after fable II, actually, it leaves a lot of great features behind. And the end, well the end is just utterly frustrating.    … Expand
  11. Verum
    Nov 11, 2010
    3
    Fable III gets worse and worse with each iteration. Lionhead must be trying to create the Grand Theft Auto of Role Playing Games. There sure is a lot to do in Fable III, but none of it has any substance. Quests generally involve a cave and some bad guys to kill, dressing up is fun but the best colored inks are DLC (Like the color black for instance), raising a family doesn't require anyFable III gets worse and worse with each iteration. Lionhead must be trying to create the Grand Theft Auto of Role Playing Games. There sure is a lot to do in Fable III, but none of it has any substance. Quests generally involve a cave and some bad guys to kill, dressing up is fun but the best colored inks are DLC (Like the color black for instance), raising a family doesn't require any interaction. The combat is absurdly simple, mashing a single button will kill whatever is in front of or behind you. I'd say the combat is the means to an end as the real substance lies in the story, but I'd be fooling the both of us. There is no story, no character development, no reason to continue to play which is fantastic because you can blow through the main quest line in four hours.… Expand
  12. Travie
    Jun 19, 2011
    3
    Utterly disappointing. I really don't see why every feature was dumbed down to the point of making you go around and spend hours organizing your inventory or giving gifts when the first game had those features easy and straight forward. The sanctuary should have been changed to just a viewing gallery for your stuff, not the end-all-be-all for every single little activity in the gameUtterly disappointing. I really don't see why every feature was dumbed down to the point of making you go around and spend hours organizing your inventory or giving gifts when the first game had those features easy and straight forward. The sanctuary should have been changed to just a viewing gallery for your stuff, not the end-all-be-all for every single little activity in the game (again, adding waaaaay too much time to simple activities). Gameplay was far too easy as well, it seems they didn't listen to the criticism of the second game at all.… Expand
  13. GAMESNMANGA
    Oct 15, 2011
    3
    i love fable games the first one and second one was really amazing but fable 3 is a wasted of time and money the story line is plane and really short you can end the main story in one weekend.
  14. Magic
    Oct 13, 2013
    3
    I don't know i'm meant to be sad when a character dies since all you basically do in this game is fart in people's faces. The only improvements from Fable II is the graphics and co-op. Apart from that, nothing was improved.
  15. TheSquirrel
    Mar 21, 2014
    3
    Lionhead has given us a shell of a game that is a major downgrade in every way from it's predecessors. It has a grainier lower quality look, it has had all RPG elements stripped out of it, and it's environments and people are bland and unintersting. The magic system is one dimensional, the weapon selection is laughable, and the road to riches really did make me feel like Disney had aLionhead has given us a shell of a game that is a major downgrade in every way from it's predecessors. It has a grainier lower quality look, it has had all RPG elements stripped out of it, and it's environments and people are bland and unintersting. The magic system is one dimensional, the weapon selection is laughable, and the road to riches really did make me feel like Disney had a hand in this game's development. Having the hardest decision to make in the game occur in the opening tells you how poorly this game was thought out. How can they make a game this thin for 360, I would barely have accepted this game on regular xbox, never mind a next gen system.

    The only redeeming quality to this game is another very well executed storyline that keeps you going until the end.

    I received this for free and still felt like I may have overpaid.    … Expand
  16. Tubey
    Jul 3, 2012
    3
    An abysmal mess of a game that has threatened to derail what was once a successful franchise. Fable 3 takes everything good about the RPG classic and dumbs those elements down into a game which is as stupid as it is short.

    The gameplay is awful - melee combat is completely broken; you simply shoot people in the face for the whole five hours of actual gameplay you'll have in this game.    An abysmal mess of a game that has threatened to derail what was once a successful franchise. Fable 3 takes everything good about the RPG classic and dumbs those elements down into a game which is as stupid as it is short.

    The gameplay is awful - melee combat is completely broken; you simply shoot people in the face for the whole five hours of actual gameplay you'll have in this game. Yes, five hours. An epic RPG experience this is not. You'll maybe play ten hours in total, but half of that will be load screens and following a golden breadcrumb trail to your next location. The storyline absolutely dies after the first half an hour. Within three hours you simply don't care.

    The maps suck, the characters suck, even the trademark Fable humour just sucks in this instalment. The dog you have is utterly, utterly pointless. The game crashes once every few hours. Even the inventory system is an absolute ballache. But the most disappointing thing about Fable? It's how it squandered so, so much promise. I could forgive this title if it was from some fledgling company with up and coming staff. I could make a claim that the intent was there but the execution was way off. I couldn't recommend the game, but at least I'd have some encouraging words for their next effort.

    But this is Lionhead - you simply expect better. Not only have they not improved on Fable 2 with this sequel, they've smashed the franchise with a hammer.

    It's such a shame. As a big RPG fan and a big fan of the potential of Fable, I was watching this series progress with interest. After this, I'm dreading Fable 4. 3/10, and the end of an RPG era in my eyes, as resurrecting this franchise would seem to be as implausible as the plot of Pet Cemetery at this point.    … Expand
  17. DannyAkenson
    May 27, 2013
    3
    It started in 2010 when I picked up Fable: The Lost Chapters. I played through it once, and then played through it again. I really, really liked it. I saw Fable II and bought that. I really, really liked it. Fable 1 was better, but II was still great. I learned about Fable III, buying into the hype. I bought the game on the day of the release, and I was blown away. Not by it being good,It started in 2010 when I picked up Fable: The Lost Chapters. I played through it once, and then played through it again. I really, really liked it. I saw Fable II and bought that. I really, really liked it. Fable 1 was better, but II was still great. I learned about Fable III, buying into the hype. I bought the game on the day of the release, and I was blown away. Not by it being good, buy by it being the biggest disappointment of my life. I never died once. Fable had always been a fairly easy game, but this...you couldn't even die without trying, and just like Fable II, you get right back up and brush it off. The combat is broken. Why is there a melee weapon when the magic and ranged attacks can kill a Sasquatch in a powerless hit? Instead of a pause menu, they added the Sanctuary. I can't even explain how terrible it is. The Road to Rule is the most stupid way of using experience, ever. You have to open a chest to upgrade your experience. The system in I and II was fine. It might have had a few flaws, but it was fine!!! The expression system is terrible. In Fable II, it was a wheel. It was not perfect and it needed improvement, not to be completely ripped out and replaced with randomly assigned expressions. Oh, you want to give him a high-five? Too bad, dance! This game is not worth buying. This game was the biggest disappointment of my life!… Expand
  18. super1
    May 31, 2013
    3
    All the problems i had with Fable 2 have not been resolved the game is still to easy and combat is still based on one button. The game even makes things worse by taking away the loot system and adding weapon morphing. They also ripped the bad menu screen and replaced it with the sanctuary which forces you to watch a boring loading screen for five minutes.
    the graphics and property system    All the problems i had with Fable 2 have not been resolved the game is still to easy and combat is still based on one button. The game even makes things worse by taking away the loot system and adding weapon morphing. They also ripped the bad menu screen and replaced it with the sanctuary which forces you to watch a boring loading screen for five minutes.
    the graphics and property system keep this game from being a one or two out of ten    … Expand
  19. anichels
    Jan 1, 2016
    3
    This franchise is all but dead because of this game - no idea how they still have a following.
    The world is absolutely beautiful and has so much potential, but they come out with this drivel.
    Less than 6 or 7 hours of real gameplay - most of the time is spent on loading screens. The NPC interaction is hollowed out and feels meaningless, the story is mediocre at best. There is no growth    This franchise is all but dead because of this game - no idea how they still have a following.
    The world is absolutely beautiful and has so much potential, but they come out with this drivel.
    Less than 6 or 7 hours of real gameplay - most of the time is spent on loading screens. The NPC interaction is hollowed out and feels meaningless, the story is mediocre at best. There is no growth or evolution - it's pretty boring throughout.    … Expand
  20. Saman_Tepes
    Feb 19, 2017
    3
    This is one of the worst RPG's I've ever played and It's also the worst Fable game to date. Unlike a lot of people I actually enjoyed the first two games Although they were never filled with the quality or quantity of Content Peter Molyneaux always promises they were still pretty good.This game was a huge step backwards for the Franchise and the start of a slippery path to gettingThis is one of the worst RPG's I've ever played and It's also the worst Fable game to date. Unlike a lot of people I actually enjoyed the first two games Although they were never filled with the quality or quantity of Content Peter Molyneaux always promises they were still pretty good.This game was a huge step backwards for the Franchise and the start of a slippery path to getting themselves shut down by Microsoft.

    The Good

    --Good Graphics
    --Good Story not great but wasted on a game that's mated to repetitive/un-intuitive combat and progression system that feels like it's geared towards kids and has no place in a game with an M-17 ESRB rating.
    --A few new and unique game-play mechanics but they get dull and repetitive fast.

    The Bad

    --Everything Else that makes a game a game.
    --The implementation of DLC was horrible and a lesson to the rest of the industry on how not to do DLC in a game. Wanna play Co-Op? better download that stupid Yule Hat and just about all the other useless things they try and sell you.You basically had to have matching DLC with the people that you played with(there's a ton of stupid little items in the game store) which sounds exactly like it is.

    What's really unfortunate is that this could've been a Mature Zelda-Like Franchise for Microsoft that they could have milked for years but either Microsoft had too much control over them and didn't know how to utilize them(getting a developer with a terrible track record in Online Co-Op to make a Co-Op Online only game is probably not a great idea) or the Bosses/management at LionHead studios were too incompetent to carry on without Molyneaux wiping their ***. It's a shame we'll never get to see this "Dark" Fable game they were apparently hoping to make or any other game from them for that matter.Oh well

    Please don't buy this game. If you were unfortunate enough to miss out on a free copy from Microsoft don't worry about it cause your not missing much. The lack of fun and challenging gameplay makes this a game that's not worth your time or money.    … Expand
  21. canceRnya
    Oct 29, 2018
    3
    Думал хужэ, чем Фэйбл 2 сделать нельзя, но я ошибался. Играл до конца, в надежде на чудо, которое не произошло.
  22. CancerDog
    Oct 27, 2010
    2
    I was having a great time with this game until the glitches started ruining the game. I reloaded a 2 hour old save twice to try and get past a specific point but it always screws up. There's an enemy in the room that has to be defeated before you can continue, and you can hear him, but he isn't there. I tried using Aoe magic in all the corners, even tried to go back, so my game can't beI was having a great time with this game until the glitches started ruining the game. I reloaded a 2 hour old save twice to try and get past a specific point but it always screws up. There's an enemy in the room that has to be defeated before you can continue, and you can hear him, but he isn't there. I tried using Aoe magic in all the corners, even tried to go back, so my game can't be finished. I like the game otherwise but this is absolutely retarded. How can a game be released with so many issues? Did they take a page out of infinity ward and not even test the game before it was launched?… Expand
  23. ChChaCharlie
    Nov 12, 2010
    2
    So I pre-ordered this game and picked it up on the day of it's release. After enjoying Fable 1 &2 I was quite keen to get some Fable 3 action.

    The first few hours of gameplay were great, if not a little easy and a bit too similar to fable 2. I got a bit bored throughout the game as I never really connected with the characters, never had to struggle to get anything, there was nothing    So I pre-ordered this game and picked it up on the day of it's release. After enjoying Fable 1 &2 I was quite keen to get some Fable 3 action.

    The first few hours of gameplay were great, if not a little easy and a bit too similar to fable 2.

    I got a bit bored throughout the game as I never really connected with the characters, never had to struggle to get anything, there was nothing which i wanted to level up, never felt even remotely threatened in battle etc.

    Once I'd got near the end I was more just trudging through. Final boss, which should be the climax of the game, I just ran past enemies to the end where a bit of button bashing occurred. The end. For sale on Ebay.

    Gone from a pre-order customer, to someone who probably won't look at a Fable 4.

    I might add that not being able to manually save your game, relying solely on the autosave, is an annoying feature. Don't think it will be likely that I'll start the game again from the start just because a glitch stuffed something up or I wanted to check out the results of a different decision.    … Expand
  24. MrP
    Feb 26, 2011
    2
    This game feels unfinished, both in terms of content and technology. My biggest gripes include ludicrously low frame rate on some NPC's animations, NPC's who repeat the same dialogue OVER AND OVER again while you're standing around and an unreliable frame rate which can seriously mess up your rhythm during minigames (what's it even doing?)

    I'm a big fan of Fable 2 and was displeased to    This game feels unfinished, both in terms of content and technology. My biggest gripes include ludicrously low frame rate on some NPC's animations, NPC's who repeat the same dialogue OVER AND OVER again while you're standing around and an unreliable frame rate which can seriously mess up your rhythm during minigames (what's it even doing?)

    I'm a big fan of Fable 2 and was displeased to see a lot of the old issues carry straight across. However, new to the mix is terrible voice acting that sounds completely out of place in the world, a cringe-worthy, simplistic and juvenile plot and deeply floored progression system that takes you almost completely by surprise (those who played it will know!).

    Deeply disappointed.    … Expand
  25. Darkb
    Mar 25, 2011
    2
    Let's go over the postitive first. Lionhead didn't touch fable 2's combat itself, the controls are the same and they still work, the graphics are still good, the wardrobe improved what with how detailed dying is... that's about it. The combat has become too easy, what with adding a Halo-like automatic recovery that takes seconds to completely bring you back. The RPG mechanics have taken aLet's go over the postitive first. Lionhead didn't touch fable 2's combat itself, the controls are the same and they still work, the graphics are still good, the wardrobe improved what with how detailed dying is... that's about it. The combat has become too easy, what with adding a Halo-like automatic recovery that takes seconds to completely bring you back. The RPG mechanics have taken a nose-dive, what was so complicated about using the weapon class you want to level up, and what's with using experience to buy expressions. Speaking of expressions, interacting with NPCs is a **** joke, how they think of you is way to simple, even more so than Oblivion, it all comes down to how often you press the A button. and rather than everyone knowing what's going on in front of them, it's like you're in your own private chat room, and the expressions I don't know where to begin, you have about 1 maybe 2 that aren't friendly, so if you want to be an **** your choices are belch 12 times per person, or go on a killing spree for no reason, one of which is just boring as hell the other you have no real reason to do, so you wind up being the most unconvincing villain in all fiction, and they choose your expressions for you. Attractiveness is too linear and ineffectual, everyone likes the same styles, and it doesn't affect anything except people's comments, which in no way reflect people's actual opinions. The alignment system's also gone down hill, removing purity and corruption all together, how about instead of removing that dimension you add order and chaos to reflect your position on authority, so you can still be good, without submiting to the law, real ethics are complicated like these guys wouldn't believe. I'm not going to talk about the story, I barely got the Dwellers to join me before I quit. The economy is more or less irrelevant to your adventure, with your health refilling evey time you stay up for 5 seconds, you don't need any more supplies than what you find in the dungeons, I didn't even need those. And they removed almost all gambling, I mean come on. I'm not saying Fable 3's gone down-hill, i'm aying Lionhead took Fable 2 and ripped it down to the bone like a dog with a chicken leg and threw what was left off EVE Online's learning curve. Fable 2 had problems sure, but 3 is barely enough to qualify as an RPG.… Expand
  26. Regal4point1
    Jul 31, 2012
    2
    Fable 3 is definitely one of the worst games I've ever played. Its combat is broken and horrible. Its "moral choices" are so ridiculously simplistic that they have to add a random third act to justify them. Gameplay as a king is horribly restricted. Sidequests are thrusted upon you. A deadline you have to reach comes at you with no warning. The world is bare and the peoples are walkingFable 3 is definitely one of the worst games I've ever played. Its combat is broken and horrible. Its "moral choices" are so ridiculously simplistic that they have to add a random third act to justify them. Gameplay as a king is horribly restricted. Sidequests are thrusted upon you. A deadline you have to reach comes at you with no warning. The world is bare and the peoples are walking clones. There's so many things I despise about this game I can't even keep count.… Expand
  27. Kermie
    Feb 8, 2013
    2
    An absolute tragedy. A shadow of the original, this is just BAD. Easy, Short, TERRIBLE DESIGN, TERRIBLE CUSTOMIZATION, AWFUL STORY, AGGGGHHHHH!!!!! I was a HUGE fan of the original, but this in not anything like the first. Just BAD. BAD BAD BAD. I'm sorry, but just save your money, no matter how cheap it becomes.
  28. Spawnova
    Nov 23, 2012
    2
    Very disappointed by this game, compared to the others it seems like a giant step down.
    The story is EXTREMELY short, the is no visuals for whether you choose to be good or evil other then when you perform only one ability which you almost never use.
    Having to load up a map every time you want to access the "menu" is so annoying, you have to actually consider whether it's worth the time    Very disappointed by this game, compared to the others it seems like a giant step down.
    The story is EXTREMELY short, the is no visuals for whether you choose to be good or evil other then when you perform only one ability which you almost never use.
    Having to load up a map every time you want to access the "menu" is so annoying, you have to actually consider whether it's worth the time and trouble or should you just skip what you wanted to do.

    Overall if you find this game on sale for about $5 or less it might give you a few hours of enjoyment but will be quickly shelved and forgotten.    … Expand
  29. xiaolinstyle
    Oct 28, 2010
    1
    Lionhead Studios apparently went out of their way to be the most dissapointing studio in 2010. Fable 3 has enormous potential but manages to fail so epically its really quite spectacular. Glitches and broken game mechanics abound to such an extreme extent that Lionhead has offically taken the glitch 'crown' from Bethesda. Fancy spending 10+ hours makin pies? Wanna play through half theLionhead Studios apparently went out of their way to be the most dissapointing studio in 2010. Fable 3 has enormous potential but manages to fail so epically its really quite spectacular. Glitches and broken game mechanics abound to such an extreme extent that Lionhead has offically taken the glitch 'crown' from Bethesda. Fancy spending 10+ hours makin pies? Wanna play through half the game only to have to start again? Play Fable 3! Ive literally been forced to do both of those things I mentioned above. These are patently ridiculous things to have happen in a high profile title and Lionhead Studios should be ashamed of themselves. Peter "you aren't playing it right" Molyneux should fire himself for releasing such a grand travesty. There is absolutely no excuse for the unfinished and untested form that this game is being proffered at. For $60 bucks its a damn crime. If I were Mr. Molyneux I would never leave my house again.… Expand
  30. MillionPoundHam
    Jul 3, 2011
    1
    How can I say this, in the nicest possible way, Fable III is just terrible. It's a far cry from Fable 1, which actually held promise. Peter Molyneux may have promised the world in Fable I, but regardless it was a fairly enjoyable game, with a fairly decent story. Fable III on the other hand is just poor. The dog is back from Fable II, but yet again it's merely a treasure hunter. TheHow can I say this, in the nicest possible way, Fable III is just terrible. It's a far cry from Fable 1, which actually held promise. Peter Molyneux may have promised the world in Fable I, but regardless it was a fairly enjoyable game, with a fairly decent story. Fable III on the other hand is just poor. The dog is back from Fable II, but yet again it's merely a treasure hunter. The combat has been dumbed down even further, and yet again the game relies on mashing one button. It's simplistic and annoying. The social interaction is even worse now. Fable II provided some variety but even that has been simplified to pathetic proportions. Now it's random.... Fable III isn't even an rpg any more, it's a tech demo and a cash grab from lionhead. Just disgusting...… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2010
8
#8 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2010
6
#6 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 88 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 72 out of 88
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 88
  3. Negative: 0 out of 88
  1. Absolute Games
    Jan 31, 2011
    80
    Lionhead carefully preserved everything that made Fable 2 so good. Though it's a pity that the "king simulator" concept is totally wasted here.
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  2. Cynamite
    Jan 16, 2011
    85
    There are more highlights in the first two missions of Black Ops, then in Medal of Honor. The requirements of Treyarch seemed to be better, than in the past few years. They made an interesting setting. In addition, there's a nice zombie mode and an overwhelming multiplayer. No doubt, this is Treyarchs best Call of Duty ever!
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  3. Eurogamer Spain
    Jan 15, 2011
    60
    Flaws in design and execution are even more obvious with this new game and, as usual, Lionhead fails to live up to the expectations.
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