Hey folks, here's a bit of pointless thread for ya'll.
I like the Fable franchise. Even thought it feels every new iteration is a downgrade from its predecessor, I still had quite a lot of fun with Fable 3, even has I was bitching about it on various forums.
A discussion about Borderland today made me realize tho... I should by all account hate the games.
I like 'difficult' games.
I beat Viewtful Joe, Ninja Gaiden Black, Ninja Gaiden 2 and so forth. When I get a new game, I usually do my first first play throught at Hard and my second (if warranted) at Very Hard/Hardcore/Nightmare (whatever the top difficulty setting is). I enjoy bosses that can kick my ass and require me to actually get better and learn to defeat.
But all the Fables are pretty much easy street. There's no difficulty setting to begin with, and your character is all but godlike. On top of that, making money is super easy and make many of the tougher thing in the game way easier (Maxed out stats in F2 from potions or avoiding all the moral dilema by simply buying your way out of in F3).
I like complex games.
I played several RTS over the year, from the Warcraft franchises, to Starcraft to Civ to Dawn of War 2. I also enjoy rpgs in general. I enjoy a game that requires you understand the game mechanics in order to be good at it. Part of the reason I loved Mass Effect 2 on Hardcore is that it really pushed that - you had to know which guns to use, which power to use and by default which allies to bring based on the mission at hand... and the game rewarded you for your knowledge, since I actually found my Hardcore run easier than my Veteran run (Because I knew how it worked under the hood, it was easier for me to crush my opponents, even if they had more health, did more damage and had better tactics).
But Fable is pretty much as braindead as they come. Whack stuff, charge to whack stuff if they block. Roll out to become invincible. Spells really only come into 2 flavors and gun play is just something you use while enemies narrow the gap. Any depth the combat system has is really lost because ultimately, you can beat up anything by just smashing them with your sword and chugging potions.
I like stories
While a story is not necessary for me to enjoy a game (I tend to build my own in my head when games are story light), it does help and I think videogames are a great storytelling media. I'm actually ready to forgive a lot of gameplay errors (Such as with Dragon Age and pretty much every single FF game ever made) if the story is good.
But all of Fable's story have been rather shallow revenge stories with little complexity and nuance. Pretty much all of them have disappointing and/or anti-climatic last boss.
I like purposes and consequences
This is also why I don't like most open world game... such as GTA or Just Cause 2. In most of those game, you just end up dicking around for hours on end doing whatever... and to people who like open ended world, that's the entertainment in its own. For my part, I like to have a clear goal. I also like it when failure has consequences... when all that happen when you 'die' is that you respawn at the closest hospital and the entire city is cool with you having just murdered hundreds of civilian and half a swat team... well, it looses a lot of meaning to me. And meaningless bores me.
On paper, Fable should be perfect in that aspect. You do evil stuff, people hate you. You can raise a family and have kids. Except it isn't. Having a family is totally meaningless. Owning houses is good for the money it makes you, but having one has your house has little meaning. Being good or evil only changes your appearance (big whoop) and what villagers says.
On top of that, Fable 3 added quite a lot of grinding, which I don't like.
So yeah...
Yet I still beat the game and had the 'perfect' ending. I still ate it up, even thought I saw it's many problems (even made a thread here about it). Heck, during boring days at work, I'd daydream about what I'd do next.
Which I don't get... by all account, I should hate the game - it's almost a checklist of things I don't like. You'd ask me to defend Fable from a hater... and well, I really couldn't. I can demolish it easily enough, yet I still liked it...
Now what's up with that? Am I just crazy? Did Peter Molyneux brainwash me when I was playing Dungeon Keeper or Black & White into liking all his game? Halp!
I like the Fable franchise. Even thought it feels every new iteration is a downgrade from its predecessor, I still had quite a lot of fun with Fable 3, even has I was bitching about it on various forums.
A discussion about Borderland today made me realize tho... I should by all account hate the games.
I like 'difficult' games.
I beat Viewtful Joe, Ninja Gaiden Black, Ninja Gaiden 2 and so forth. When I get a new game, I usually do my first first play throught at Hard and my second (if warranted) at Very Hard/Hardcore/Nightmare (whatever the top difficulty setting is). I enjoy bosses that can kick my ass and require me to actually get better and learn to defeat.
But all the Fables are pretty much easy street. There's no difficulty setting to begin with, and your character is all but godlike. On top of that, making money is super easy and make many of the tougher thing in the game way easier (Maxed out stats in F2 from potions or avoiding all the moral dilema by simply buying your way out of in F3).
I like complex games.
I played several RTS over the year, from the Warcraft franchises, to Starcraft to Civ to Dawn of War 2. I also enjoy rpgs in general. I enjoy a game that requires you understand the game mechanics in order to be good at it. Part of the reason I loved Mass Effect 2 on Hardcore is that it really pushed that - you had to know which guns to use, which power to use and by default which allies to bring based on the mission at hand... and the game rewarded you for your knowledge, since I actually found my Hardcore run easier than my Veteran run (Because I knew how it worked under the hood, it was easier for me to crush my opponents, even if they had more health, did more damage and had better tactics).
But Fable is pretty much as braindead as they come. Whack stuff, charge to whack stuff if they block. Roll out to become invincible. Spells really only come into 2 flavors and gun play is just something you use while enemies narrow the gap. Any depth the combat system has is really lost because ultimately, you can beat up anything by just smashing them with your sword and chugging potions.
I like stories
While a story is not necessary for me to enjoy a game (I tend to build my own in my head when games are story light), it does help and I think videogames are a great storytelling media. I'm actually ready to forgive a lot of gameplay errors (Such as with Dragon Age and pretty much every single FF game ever made) if the story is good.
But all of Fable's story have been rather shallow revenge stories with little complexity and nuance. Pretty much all of them have disappointing and/or anti-climatic last boss.
I like purposes and consequences
This is also why I don't like most open world game... such as GTA or Just Cause 2. In most of those game, you just end up dicking around for hours on end doing whatever... and to people who like open ended world, that's the entertainment in its own. For my part, I like to have a clear goal. I also like it when failure has consequences... when all that happen when you 'die' is that you respawn at the closest hospital and the entire city is cool with you having just murdered hundreds of civilian and half a swat team... well, it looses a lot of meaning to me. And meaningless bores me.
On paper, Fable should be perfect in that aspect. You do evil stuff, people hate you. You can raise a family and have kids. Except it isn't. Having a family is totally meaningless. Owning houses is good for the money it makes you, but having one has your house has little meaning. Being good or evil only changes your appearance (big whoop) and what villagers says.
On top of that, Fable 3 added quite a lot of grinding, which I don't like.
So yeah...
Yet I still beat the game and had the 'perfect' ending. I still ate it up, even thought I saw it's many problems (even made a thread here about it). Heck, during boring days at work, I'd daydream about what I'd do next.
Which I don't get... by all account, I should hate the game - it's almost a checklist of things I don't like. You'd ask me to defend Fable from a hater... and well, I really couldn't. I can demolish it easily enough, yet I still liked it...
Now what's up with that? Am I just crazy? Did Peter Molyneux brainwash me when I was playing Dungeon Keeper or Black & White into liking all his game? Halp!
