Fable III Catch-All

My pre-order has shipped. Feel free to add me.

Looks like there's some free dlc on xbox.com. It's a weapon pack that looks suspiciously like the pre-order bonus material offered by GameStop, Amazon.com, etc. but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...

The pack, a sizable 150+MB, started downloading as soon as I fired up my 360 (clicked 'purchase' at work), so you don't have to wait until you get the actual game before nabbing the goods.

EDIT: Looks like they've put up a description:

In-game content. Communication is very important in Fable III, and what better way to communicate with the world than to bash it in the head with the new hammer, Bloodstone Bludgeon, and shoot it in the face with the brand new rifle, Gusket's Musket? These items will be added to your gift queue in the Sanctuary, and will be available when weapons are unlocked in the storyline.

Those items sound familiar to anyone?

I'm wondering why Fable III seems so big on hammers. Give me a short blade! A marksman does not carry a gigantic sword!

I loved FABLE II, yet I had zero interest in this game for some reason. The TV ad was extremely epic, though, and the $20 credit was too good to pass up-- ordered it 3 minuts ago.

This game flew in completely under the radar for me. I know absolutely nothing about it. But, I love Fable, so I can't wait to put the disc in tomorrow when I get home.

Aaron D. wrote:

Looks like there's some free dlc on xbox.com. It's a weapon pack that looks suspiciously like the pre-order bonus material offered by GameStop, Amazon.com, etc. but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

IIRC with Fable 2 they had some trouble getting people's preorder DLC to them which led them to giving away codes to anyone who emailed asking for them whether they could prove that they'd actually preordered or not. (It was just some dumb anachronistic Halo armor anyway.) Guess they're just continuing the tradition. (-:

Amazon has shipped my preorder, although UPS is estimating Wednesday as opposed to tomorrow. They might just be being conservative; I won't have time to play until Wednesday night anyway so I'm not sweating it.

hbi2k wrote:

IIRC with Fable 2 they had some trouble getting people's preorder DLC to them which led them to giving away codes to anyone who emailed asking for them whether they could prove that they'd actually preordered or not. (It was just some dumb anachronistic Halo armor anyway.) Guess they're just continuing the tradition. (-:

Amazon has shipped my preorder, although UPS is estimating Wednesday as opposed to tomorrow. They might just be being conservative; I won't have time to play until Wednesday night anyway so I'm not sweating it.

They also continued the tradition of pre-release stuff (PreLC is the hip term I believe) being broken as hell. Remember ye olde Pub Games catastrophe? I see some of that in the villager maker.

Mine was scanned at a city about two hours away at 5:18am. I work until 3pm. Hoping with all my hopejuice that it doesn't get here before then.

I don't remember anyone complaining about the pub games being broken such that you could exploit it to get buttloads of free gold. (-:

Edit: The free Day 1 DLC and the preorder bonus DLC are apparently two different things: Amazon just emailed me a code for the latter and they downloaded separately and show up as two separate files. According to Joystiq the FreeLC gives you "a war hammer (the 'Bloodstone Bludgeon') and a rifle ('Gusket's Musket')" whereas according to the Amazon email, the preorder bonus gives you "the champion hammer and balance tattoo."

Apparently hammers got really popular in Albion post-F2. I've always been more of a sword guy myself.

I wasn't planning on getting this but because I took advantage of a deal here in canada, I ended up getting 45 dollars trade in value towards fable, so I will be picking this and smackdown later today. I am looking forward to this but I wish the fable 2 save gave you something in the game and for some reason I heard it doesn't

Brad at Giant Bomb gives it 3 out of 5 stars.

Didn't like some of the late game mechanics or the interface. Enjoyed the humor and combat.

MannishBoy wrote:

Brad at Giant Bomb gives it 3 out of 5 stars.

Didn't like some of the late game mechanics or the interface. Enjoyed the humor and combat.

Guess he's not a hammer fan either.

IMAGE(https://s3.amazonaws.com/cs-victoriatimescolonist/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/womanontherun/6567.mc-hammer.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0TTXDM86AJ1CB68A7P02&Expires=1288108374&Signature=M4w%2f36Zes%2blV0QPERYNdYezVhXg%3d)

MannishBoy wrote:

Brad at Giant Bomb gives it 3 out of 5 stars.

Didn't like some of the late game mechanics or the interface. Enjoyed the humor and combat.

I'll have to play it for myself, but Brad's review reads a lot like a guy that was rushing the game. Particularly his end game complaints. I will be absolutely shocked if I stumble into a mission that irreconcilably leaves my world incomplete. It sounds more like he wasn't paying attention.

The reviews are all over the place. Metacritic gives it an 82 and everyone agrees that it's a Fable game (charming, well-written and with a unique style). The question is how willing they are to forgive its usual Molyneaux-style quirks.

I'm definitely looking forward to diving into this tonight as I really enjoyed Fable 2, though I hope the engine received some updates as I remember the framerate to be stuttery at times.

Does anyone know if the magic floating orbs of other players appear in your world this time? I'd love to have seen something like Demon's Souls ghostly representation of other players implemented.

Does the game still have local co-op? I should get my copy in a few days from Amazon.

wokavan wrote:

Does anyone know if the magic floating orbs of other players appear in your world this time? I'd love to have seen something like Demon's Souls ghostly representation of other players implemented.

AcidCat wrote:

Does the game still have local co-op? I should get my copy in a few days from Amazon.

Yes
and Yes.

I this video may have been previously posted on this thread but here is a demo of the Fable 3 Co-op experience.
The orbs are still there, couch co op and over LIVE. The big difference being each player has their own Hero and camera.

An interesting review of sorts courtesy of GeekDad

While the best bits are likely only to be fully appreciated by the more committed gamers of this world, there are enough roads into the experience now for many more people to sample its delights.

I’ve so far managed to resist my Fable III pursuits falling into the spreadsheet like game play – I admittedly enjoyed – of the previous game. But I still can’t quite escape the glee at the heart of all this fun that is an ambitiously realized world that lives and breathes even when you aren’t there. And this, more than Hollywood stars, improved visuals or action sequences, is what I keep coming back for.

All I want to know is this:

Is FABLE III as good as FABLE II? If I liked the last game, will I like this game? Hearing people coming out with negative reviews makes me nervous over my pre-order.

LobsterMobster wrote:

The reviews are all over the place. Metacritic gives it an 82 and everyone agrees that it's a Fable game (charming, well-written and with a unique style). The question is how willing they are to forgive its usual Molyneaux-style quirks.

The Fable games have been interesting to me because they give a sense of what individual critics value in their games. They're not tightly-woven games where every element clicks with every other; they're ambitious, sprawling games with so much stuffed into them that unfinished bits hang out over the edges. Whereas other designers have a tendency to truncate unfinished mechanics or purge half-formed ideas, the creators of Fable leave in their oddities and let them unspool as they may. Outside of the Kirby series, Fable is perhaps the most experimental big-name franchise around.

I found the first two games to be fascinating because they were essentially two attempts at the same ideas and mechanics; I expect that this third game will be yet another swing at the same pitch. I'm really interested to see what was kept, what was discarded, and what new unfinished ideas have been added with this one.

I found the first two games to be fascinating because they were essentially two attempts at the same ideas and mechanics; I expect that this third game will be yet another swing at the same pitch.

This is the reason I've bought the game. I think this is accurate, and probably the reason I'll enjoy Fable III. As I said, I know NOTHING about the game other than the prostitutes picture that came out. I have no doubt that fun awaits when I put the disc in.

Fear not, Matt. If you liked 2, I have a strong inclination to think you will like 3.

For whatever reason, I liked Fable 2, while the original Fable fell flat for me. I'm a bit curious to hear how people like this version, but given all the options out there right now, I'm not in any great rush. Heck, I'm still deciding if I should pick up Red Faction: Guerrilla.

Subscribing. Loved the second game; looking forward to this one.

The lack of being able to change equipment in a menu bothers me. I don't want to have to transport to some kind of hub world to change my gear. I'll probably hold off on picking this up right now. I'll wait to see what others think first.

SirRockford wrote:

The lack of being able to change equipment in a menu bothers me. I don't want to have to transport to some kind of hub world to change my gear.

For what it's worth, I'm reading that the Pause button to Sanctuary (Menu) is instantaneous both in and back to game world. Most are saying it was a gamble that paid off.

I was all "It's just more Fable, I can wait till Christmas", but I was just reading the reviews, particularly CVG's and The Escapist's, and now I remember what makes Fable Fable: not just chicken suits and farting, but a driving desire to do things differently from every other RPG out there. Now I can't wait till Christmas, but already have RB3 coming up. Very much looking forward to playing it now.

Edit: Sorry for all the "now"s. :/

I suppose I could find this with some Googling, but since the characters in FABLE III are supposed to be the children of my hero from FABLE II, is there any sort of save game transference thing going on with FIII?

No save transference, that I was made aware of.

I played a few hours this afternoon. I really, really like it; it really is "more and better Fable II." Also, the opening cinematic is awesome.

Poppinfresh wrote:

Heck, I'm still deciding if I should pick up Red Faction: Guerrilla.

Answer: no.

Seriousness: Red Faction: Guerrilla was one of those games that perfectly represented everything I hate about open world gaming. However, I WOULD recommend a game like The Saboteur, which is similar but better polished and just more fun. I plan to go back to that game one day (which typically means I'll buy it and then it'll sit there).

Oh, umm, uh....Fable is awesome but I wish they kept the original Jack of Blades voice for Lost Chapters.

Is that on-topic enough?

I've been playing for about an hour and a half, and it's quite good so far. Strangely I haven't received my first sword or gun yet, probably because I've been exploring every nook and cranny.

That relates to my highest praise so far: there is more exploration available in the first major area (Mistpeak Valley) than in the whole of Fable 2, from what I remember. I may be the minority in this, but I think every RPG needs some aimless wandering in a pretty environment to keep that sense of possibility tingling.

The engine seems to still have framerate issues, which is disappointing. I'm not very far yet, so more impressions later.