Upon starting the game back up, admittedly it’s been a long while — since I’d had little interest in replaying a game like Fable III, when I have Dragon Age: Origins to play through again and again — I found my Queen right where I’d left her. Unfortunately, from the get-go, I was plagued by a bug of sorts, wherein my faithful servant, Jasper pretty much went over a list of sayings and tips he gives you in the base game: like having amassed enough to buy a house, or telling me to choose where I want my wedding to be. He didn’t stop until after the first scene of the new story started in full. Not a promising beginning. Even still, when I popped back up in the Sanctuary for any reason, Jasper seemed full of more useless and ill-timed things to say. He also continually thought I had gifts waiting, when I had none.

The story itself (once you return to Hobson to start the quest) starts with an Assassination attempt on your royal person. As you fight (a good way to be thrown in feet first, if you’ve not played in a while) the assassin talks about what a bad ruler you are and how he won’t be the last one to come for your life. When you’ve dispatched him thoroughly, you find a ship has arrived and when you go to meet it, a Commander Milton is waiting to escort you to the Keep where the country’s worst criminals are kept. He was chasing after your assassin, but with him dead, it’s time for you to get a real look at what else your country is hiding.

The men in the prison seemed to have been riled up by a General Turner. He sent the assassin after you and managed to start a riot while Commander Milton was on his way to Albion. So, by the time you both arrive at the Keep, the place is a mess and fights are breaking out in the first riot they’ve had in two decades (according to Milton). Eventually, you realize that the worst of the prisoners have escaped and that your royal majesty needs to recapture them in order to protect the kingdom. You leave your royal aide, Hobson, in the Keep’s record room to research more about the most important and dangerous of the escapees (“witchcraft” Mary, the inventor Faraday and General Turner) while you and Commander head out to look for them.

The DLC is also not without it’s bugs. At one point I popped out of the Sanctuary, to find myself in a graphics nightmare where the floors were missing, the ceilings were flashing and Commander Milton’s voice was coming from thin air. It didn’t last long, but it was another clue that the DLC might be just as troublesome as it’s base game counterpart. There were also several stuck camera angles and a few times, I watched prisoners or guards or other random people as they got stuck inside doors or walls.

For the story however, Traitor’s Keep does actually provide you with a few hours of gameplay, even if you follow the story straight through without detours. You get to visit the island homes of Witchcraft Mary and the inventor Faraday, along with all their insane creations. And, you get to learn a bit more about your brother’s time as King, in the process. If you enjoyed the Fable III story line, then Traitor’s Keep makes a nice addition to the game. You get a few more hours of game play, plus a few new places to run around (there’s even a new Demon Door near the Keep), not too mention an interesting story, that ends with a bit of a twist. It’ll also garner you another 250 gamerscore, if you’re looking for a boost.

But, if like me, your Fable III experience left you disappointed, then you’re probably not going to get much out of this DLC. It’s definitely not going to wipe away the bad memories and you’ll be in store for some of the same bugs you might’ve almost forgotten all about. It’s definitely not going to be worth the 560 points and the time to download.

Sandbox title Minecraft was also quite successful, taking home three awards during the GDCA. Earlier in the day, Minecraft also won the grand prize at the Independent Games Festival Awards, making it the first title recognized by both awards committees during the same year.

Special awards were also presented to Peter Molyneux, Tim Brengle and Ian McKenzie and Yu Suzuki.

A full list of award recipients is below.

Rating:

RENT

I​’ve tried my best, but this review will have spoilers — consider this a warning.

When I picked up the Collector’s Edition of Fable III, I was excited to dive in and play the ever-loving crap out of the game so that I could come back here and tell you all about it.  Sadly, by the time I finished the main plot (sort of accidentally) I was pretty disappointed.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I REALLY wanted to give the game a BUY rating because I think it’s worth playing.  But, I think you’ll need to know what you’re getting into before you push play that first time and definitely before you pull that plot trigger on the second half of the game.

So let’s start at the beginning: you start the game with a choice between playing a Prince or a Princess of Albion.  I picked the Princess option and started my game.  Your Prince(ss)’s older brother, Logan, is King and a hated one at that.  You spend the first half of the game trying to gather enough allies to you in order to fight back against your brother and take the crown for yourself.

For those that are familiar with previous Fable games, you’ll recognize the ever-knowing mysterious seer, Theresa, has made a return.  In the first half of the game, Theresa introduces you to the “Road to Rule”. When you complete major plot points you are transported to the Road,  Theresa gives you a little pep-talk and then leaves you alone to pick up the goodies along the road.  The Road is basically your level-up home.  There, you’ll be able to pick up new spells, as well as upgrades to your martial, ranged and spell-casting abilities.  You’ll also find new interactions to purchase and upgrades to the jobs you can take in the game (pie-making, lute playing and blacksmithing).  All of these things are unlocked or purchased with Guild Seals – which you earn through completing quests (both major plot items and small personal tasks you complete for villagers).   And of course, the price of items goes up the further down the road you progress – but if you can manage to snag all the chests, there’s an achievement waiting for you.

S​o for those people familiar with the first or second Fable game, much of this is going to seem familiar to you.  You wander around completing quests for townspeople, buying up shops and houses then renting them back for income, and generally making everyone everywhere love you.  The big difference in Fable III from Fable II is the story line.  You’re on a far more specific story plan than you have been previously, but the ultimate goal is still to become a Hero (for good or evil is still up to you) and in this case, you’re also gunning for that crown your brother is wearing.  But as I’ve said already, that’s only the first half of the game.  The second half of the story, is about how you rule as Queen or King, and this sadly is where the game falls down.

One of the biggest problems with the game overall is the way the economy is handled.  You’ll notice this pretty immediately as you start buying property around the kingdom.  Houses and Shops are oddly priced in comparison to one another and no matter how disgusting a house might be when you buy it, you’ll be expected not only to make it nice for your tenants, but also to keep the house up to a certain level of care, or they’ll stop paying rent altogether.  When you only have a house or two, that’s no big deal.  But, when you start buying up entire villages, the repair costs and the time it takes to make sure they’re kept up, is a big problem.

The second economical problem sets in when you take over the kingdom from your brother.  All the promises you made to get people to fight with you, it’s time to make the big decisions about whether to keep your promises or not.  Well, all those promises, they’re costly.  To keep them, to be “good”, you’ll need to have some money on hand, because each one of them, strangely takes away from the kingdom’s coffer.  It doesn’t make any sense.  At one point, you’ll have the choice between building an orphanage or a brothel and for some reasons there’s no way to build both; while it make sense that building a brothel might bring in money, it doesn’t make sense at all for the orphanage to take away the amount of money it does.  The whole second half of the game revolves around money.  You need it.  Strangely, you need it more if you want to be the “good” ruler.  The best way to get money is to make your own money and transfer it to the kingdom’s account, but most often making your own money is through the buying and renting of shops and houses.  As I mentioned already, when you’re buying lots of places, the upkeep is tiresome.

It’s disappointing to have this game place so much emphasis on a broken economy and break down your rule over Albion into something strictly monetary.  The ability to be perceived as a good and decent ruler is about how much money you can make in the short time you have in the second half of the story.  By the end of the story, if you want to have been a “good” king or queen, you’ll have to keep the promises you made in the first half of the game and have enough money built up to protect your kingdom.  So, despite the broken economy you’ll have to gather as much money together as you can and you’ll have a limited amount of time in which to do so.

Once you’re the ruler of Albion, you’re given a schedule, by your new assistant.  Each day, you’ll have a few tasks assigned to you by your assistant, they usually consist of making the final decision on one of your promises and then heading out in to the kingdom to complete a quest or two.  The catch is that before the story is over, you only have a limited number of days (a few days that make up a year to your ruler); meaning you only have a certain amount of time to gather all the money you need.  If you’re the type of player that likes to progress through the story pretty quickly, there’s pretty much no way you’ll be able to get the money you need.  So you really have to stretch those days out and make them as long as you can so that you can finish the tasks without triggering the next day and make sure to get all the money you’ll need.

The strange thing is, the endings you get, regardless of your rule, aren’t that different.  It’s a lot of effort to put into for a measly 10 point achievement at the end of the game, without a remarkable difference in the way the game ends.  I mentioned at the beginning of this that I finished the plot sort of by accident.  That’s true.  See, those “days” that make up the second half of the story?  There’s no good indicator of when the last one actually is because of how they skip around.  So, you have a year, only each “day” that you play in that year, skips by no logically discernible amount.  One day I’m playing day 330 something, and the next it’s 265 (I don’t think those numbers are right, just used for illustration purposes) while you might think, okay, the game skipped 65 days the next one should be 200.  But it’s not.  So, when you reach the “last day” before the major event that ends the story, you really don’t know that it’s the last one you’re going to get.  Now, I’ve heard people say that it should be made clear because part of your royal daily duties is to decide how or if you’re keeping the promises you made.  Theoretically, you could realize that when you make a decision about the last promise, that would be near the end of the game.  And, that is sort of correct.  The point I’m trying to make here is that it could’ve been handled so much better than it was.

My review for Fable III can pretty much be boiled down into that thought, so much of this game could’ve been handled SO much better.  Maybe this is where I make a comment about something I learned about a kid: that high expectations equal low gratefulness.  Maybe part of that is true here.  I know I’m not the only one that expected a whole lot more out of this game than I think I got.  But, I honestly think that Lionhead could’ve done a lot more with this game and the time they had.  Thankfully, I didn’t run into any of the game-breaking glitches that so many other people have managed to find.  Though, did run into a lot of glitches, mostly broken trails, camera clipping in weird places, and slow loading times.  The game also suffered occasionally from slow downs while I was running/walking.  I eventually installed to the hard drive, hoping that might help but it didn’t; the game just has trouble loading at times as you’re running through populated areas.

There are some really fun parts to Fable III though, lest you think it’s all bad.  The actors: John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg, Michael Fassbender, Ben Kingsley?  Top Notch talent.  Reaver, voiced by Stephen Fry, is a rich businessman in Albion, one you’ll be dealing with on a “daily” basis as ruler.  Each time you make a decisions there’s a voice-over from Reaver as a comment from him about how the area was built or changed by Reaver Industries.  These are hilarious, and one of my favorite parts of the entire game.  In general, I think that for fans of the series, it’s worth picking up Fable III (though I recommend renting it or picking it up used or on sale) for all the little things: like the voice acting, the mentions of your previous king/queen, (provided you have a Fable II save), recognizing towns from the previous games and of course, finding a mate (or six) to settle down and have children with.

There’s not much difference to the marriage mechanics from the previous games, though all relationship levels (friend/love) require quests to be completed.  Usually these quests involve running between towns picking up items or delivering letters.  If you’re looking for love, you’ll also get to take your intended on dates and sneak kisses in secluded parts of town.  An addition in Fable III is the ability not only to get married to various mates, but also to choose your wedding location.  I don’t think there’s anything special to the locations, but each different location provides a unique cut-scene with you and your mate – the size of the crowd and the extravagance of the event varying with the cost (based on the location) of the event.  So, when you’re ready you can choose a huge extravagant wedding to a special someone at the castle to make them your royal spouse.  It’s not limited and if you’re a history buff (and loyal readers will already know that I am) you can recreate a Henry VIII-themed rule by playing fast and loose with your royal spouses to the tune of an achievement.

Thankfully along with online multiplayer, there’s also couch co-op, so no matter how you and your friend want to play, you can.  There’s also the ability to do business with or marry your friends.  To be honest, I didn’t play online much, because I’m so much a story-oriented player.  But, I did try and overall I think it’s an improvement over Fable II’s guest like co-op, but it’s not something I’d want to spend hours doing.  There are benefits if you’re interested in opening special areas.  Like most things with Fable III, it’s not really worth the price of admission.

European Fable III fans will be able to earn gold early using a mobile app. Fable 3 Kingmaker allows players to take land ownership for their faction. To do this, players tag the land with a virtual marker using the phone’s GPS tracking.

The faction with the most flags wins the territory and the gold that comes with it. The gold can be spent on player customisation and in-game products.

Peter Molyneux, Creative Director, Microsoft Games Studios Europe, comments, “To be able to earn gold you can use in your Fable III game, and to check-in and claim land for your side is brilliant for both Fable III and Xbox 360. We all love the innovation and feeling of being connected that Kingmaker brings to gamers.”

Sounds like more fun than Pub Games! Available in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and Sweden – “Fable III: Kingmaker” is available for Windows phone 7 and other devices starting October 4th.

The latest Fable III video to take you behind the scenes discusses the new control scheme. This also introduces John Cleese as a member of the cast. Cleese portrays the faithful butler of the main character, Jasper.

More episodes of “Inside Lionhead” will be available soon.

From the creators of “De Blob” back in 2007, comes a very new, fresh, an innovative developer. It was only 2008 when Rumino Games was signed to be a Nintendo Licensed Developer and their first title, “Swords and Soliders” is making quite an impression.

The Wiiware game “Swords and Soldiers” has been getting a lot of positive attention lately. “Swords and Soliders” was originally nominated for five categories at the Dutch Game Awards, Best Game, Best Visuals, Best Audio, Best Original Gameplay and the Control magazine Industry award. Well, Rumino Games is proud to announce “Swords and Soliders” being honored at two award shows in a row;  it was given ‘Best Original Game Design’ at the Dutch Game Awards diner as well as the ‘Control Magazine Industry’ award given to Rumino by legendary game designer Peter Molyneux himself. That’s not all however, the game also won twice more, taking home the ‘overall’ and ‘games’ award at the Europrix Multimedia Awards in Austria because, according to the jury, it was highly addicting and a blast to play.

In many ways, “Swords and Soliders” is one of the first sidescrolling, real-time strategy game for the Nintendo Wii. In the game, three unique factions battle for the powers of the gods. Each faction has his own completely unique units and spells allowing for lots of strategies and variety. Rumino Games focuses on creating games for the enjoyment of all ages and gamertypes. For more information on Swords and Soldiers visit www.swordsandsoldiers.com!

And check out Naomi’s review of Swords & Soldiers here on GA!

Fable III

A tweet from UK Gamesbrief founder, Nicholas Lovell has stated that Peter Molyneux confirmed that Fable 3 will feature Natal support.

The Tweet said:
“Fable 3 will have Natal support. Is that an announcement? #molyneux”

Molyneux seems to have been talking about it at a BAFTA lecture in London.

It makes sense after his Milo showcase and Peter’s love for continuing to push games forward.

Fable III

Peter Molyneux announced last night the next game for Lionhead studios will be Fable III. Why all the revolutionary teasers? Because in Fable III, gamers will be placed as the ruler of Albion. Players will have the choices to choose whether they will be a fair ruler, or a villain.

“We’ve spent a lot of time at Lionhead thinking about how we can innovate the gameplay and progress the world of the ‘Fable’ games for its third chapter, and we’re confident that players won’t second-guess what we have planned for ‘Fable III,’” said Molyneux, who also serves as creative director of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Microsoft Game Studios. “Though I can’t give too much away right now, players should expect to have to make much tougher choices with far wider consequences than ever before in Albion — and with many more interactive adventure elements.”

In Fable III the story starts five decades after the events of the last chapter. Gamers will play as the child of your hero from Fable II. Serving as Queen or King, you’ll be faced with challenges that will test your morality.

Lionhead Studios worked hard on story and drama and are experimenting with a new way to make story for games. The basically wrote out the script and then went to a film studio and had actors and actresses act out the entire story with a directory. This helped them see the story in real-time and re-write dialogue as they went.

There is also a new game mechanic called the touch system.

“”When you first meet someone, you can either shake their hand or refuse. Later on, that handshake could become a hug, then an embrace, and then a full, passionate snog.”

Peter reminded us that we shouldn’t expect the title in early 2010 and that he is still working hard on Milo and Kate. No mention of Natal being used with Fable III.

Peter Molyneux started the Microsoft conference with announcing that Fable II will now be getting the episodic treatment.

Fable II Episodic will be Fable II broken into five chapters. The first chapter will be free to download and players will then get the option to purchase the next chapter or the rest of the game.

Fable II Episodic gives players a chance to try it out if they have not jumped on the Fable bandwagon yet. The first episode will be up on September 29. There are no details on pricing yet.

Lionhead

Lionhead’s sixth and probably last teaser for it’s website today features Joan of Arc.

The quote is, “I am not afraid…I was born to do this.”

To recap we’ve had Che Guevara, Abraham Lincoln, Emma Goldman, Aristotle, Maximilien Robespierre and Joan of Arc.

On the website if you go to followers, the scroll know has a crown on the bottom of it, while the subjects scroll shows red leaves falling down and a crown on the bottom.

We should know in a day what all these revolutionary teases mean.