Fable 3 DLC, should it be free?

[Kratenser]

Slapping the name "Fable" on a game automatically sets expectations to be high. Fable the lost chapters was a golden beacon of hope for most fantasy game fans, as it did everything so brilliantly and near flawlessly that the whole experience flowed together seamlessly. Any bad things about it were nearly instantly forgotten due to all of the good things about it, which is 99% of the games total content.

Fable 2 brought new aspects using the world fable TLC was set in, using 1 minor character and the "Heroes guild" theme, once again in the land of albion. One or two locations were similar to the old ones, but the game as a whole was new and exciting. Sure enough the whole fantasy theme was diminished by the lack of monsters and dragon, but again it all flowed together seamlessly.

Then fable 3 arrived, a highly anticipated sequel to fable 2 and... it was terrible. The combat was repetitive, all the decent features had been removed, the game was 3 hours long, it was all just a waste of money. It didnt even feel like a fable game, just a crappy and expensive expansion pack with some new features which spelled out "waste of money and design time". With that in mind, i believe its more than fair to say that the DLC for fable 3, which currently costs 400 microsoft points, should be free, considering current gamers who purchased fable 3 wasted their money on a game which felt only half complete.

What do you think? Should the DLC be a free update considering people paid for a game which wasnt finished when it was released, or is there a way to justify the 400 MSP charge? By all means, debate in comments.

(Personally, im not going to buy the DLC because im not going to buy anything from lionhead studios unless fable 4 is as good as the first 2)


Oh and lastly, if you disagree with me, please specfy WHY you think im wrong, dont flame.

Edit: Lol i forgot to add a poll

 

[Judgement101]

REAL DLC will never be free sadly.

 

[WorldCritic]

I question how you define a Fable game exactly when the first one was the only one that you liked. On topic though, personally I liked Fable 3 a lot more than the second one so I don't mind paying for DLC (if I decide I want it that is).

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Well a lot of what you're saying is opinions... I enjoyed Fable 3 a hell of a lot more than Fable 2 and felt it was generally a lot better.

As a general rule because of the high sales of the game and the quite small sized DLC I think it should have been free to pave the way for more paid DLC.

But that's just me. 400MSP isn't too bad for it anyway.

 

[HT_Black]

You are aware that Fable: The Lost Chapters was designed by developmentally disabled lower simians, aren't you?

But yes, even though I liked the game a good deal, MS shouldn't ask for such a pretty penny; I have a strong suspicion that it was just unreleased on-disc content, since it was created with such fiendish speed.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Fable 2 was my favorite Fable. I didn't mind paying the the DLC that went with it. Fable 3 was my biggest disappointment when it comes to the X360. The combat in Fable has always been about the same (wasn't it supposed to incorporate music at one point?) which isn't necessarily bad. I enjoyed the spell-weaving but it seemed completely for the hell of it since nobody seemed to have a specific elemental weakness.

Anyway, I don't plan to get any of the Fable 3 DLC. If it was free I would but since it probably won't be, I think I'll save my money for the HD re-releases of Ico and, Shadow of the Colossus.

 

[WanderingFool]

having played all there Fables (but not Lost Chapters), I, INMO, can say that 2 was the worse. Fable was played when I had no expectations, a friend said to me,
Dude, you have to try this game
Okay, what is it?
Fable, its only on the Xbox though, you hav one, right?
The fuck were we playing Halo on last night?

Despite the slowness of said friend, he was right, Fable was a good game. But when I got online and read up on what was suppose to be in it, I became somewhat saddened. Apparently, what was promised was not delivered.

So when Fable 2 came out, I had been fallowing it, and was again disappointed.

Fable 3 came out, and... I quite enjoyed it. Sure, alot of the promises were either not fallowed through or were shallow, but it was still a much better experience than Fable 2.

 

[Kratenser]

I question how you define a Fable game exactly when the first one was the only one that you liked. On topic though, personally I liked Fable 3 a lot more than the second one so I don't mind paying for DLC (if I decide I want it that is).

Well, Fable 1 focused on a solid storyline that made sense, and was able to balance the entire game around it, which is kinda necessary in a fantasy game. The upgrade menu let you manually pick which area you wanted to increase. There was strength, skill and will, and each of those had sub categories which affected certain elements of gameplay. EG, Skill - Guile would affect sneaking, as where Skill - Accuracy would change how accurate the PC was with a bow. In fable 3, the entire level up system is completely generalized.
Another aspect, equipment. Wearing a set of armour gave defence bonuses, as it would. In fable 2 and 3, being naked gives the same defence bonus as wearing equipment. Im not a fan of realism in games, but it seems redundant in fable. Weapons, there was a great deal of effort required to get new weapons in fable TLC and fable 2. In fable 3 the game says "right, these weapons upgrade as you use them, go have some fun". That took most of the challenge away from gameplay. Spells, in fables 1 and 2, your characters have been able to channel will energy to blast their opponents to tiny bits. Your fable 3 character needs a glove to use magic, which can affect appearance and once more, seems redundant in a fantasy game.
Money, it was pointless in fable 3. You didnt need weapons, armour or housing for... well anything really. It may as well not have existed.
Side quests, these were always fun in the first 2 games because they increased your renown, and whats the point of being a hero if no one has heard your name? In fable 3, the side quests are completely unneeded. You no longer have renown, just guild seals. Guild seals are obtained from smacking enemies or farting on peasants. That makes the side quests useless.
Marriage: In fable 1 when i first discovered it, it was a complete LOL moment. In fable 2, it gave me an achievement and said i could start a family. It wasnt a needed feature, but it added a suprise to the game at the very end. (spoiler warning). In fable 3, there is no reason to bother with it. In fable 2 at least you could sacrifice your spouse for a legendary weapon, in fable 3 the sacrifice feature has gone!
Allignment: Morale choices are important in the fable series, as they determine whether your character is shown as a stalwart hero of the land, or an evil despot intent on destroying civilization. In fable 3, your allignment just changes whether you have angel wings or demon wings which only appear briefly. Bleh.
One last thing about fable 3, the upgrade system. I always enjoyed being a ranged hero because it was fun watching your characters accuracy and skill increase as you levelled up. I was shocked to discover the shoulder-view ability was available from as soon as you pick up a gun. However, it locks onto an enemy and doesnt allow you to choose which body part you wanted to maim first. I assumed i would unlock that feature later on, like you did in fable 2, but NOPE. just keep shooting at the enemies torso, forever. On the whole, fable 3 felt like a very weak and pathetic attempt to outlive its predecessors, but failed miserably and wasnt fun to play. For the people who enjoyed it, great, im glad you liked it. I guess someone has to.

 

[TaboriHK]

Fable II was awful. The females in that game looked like dock workers. It lost all the personality and charm that the original Fable had. In fact, it was so weak that I ended up skipping Fable III entirely.

 

[TheWolfsHowl]

Only fable worth playing was the first one. Fable 2 and 3 were just let downs.

And Fable 2 did not flow well. At all, there were transition loading times between area to area, and in the world of free roam that gaming now has, background loading and seamless area movement is basic for any adventure game. Face it, there should have only been one fable, that being the first