When I played the first Fable game, it didn't live up to the hype and had its silly moments, but it was still fun. I explored the whole game and some DLC, had a good time, and came away with the feeling that it was a solid experience with room for improvement.
When the second one came out and had co-op, I was pleased: here was a game my boyfriend and I could play long-distance together. But Fable II was by no means a great game. All the criticisms have been said before: the NPCs are all weird pod people we're somehow supposed to fall in love with, the combat and economy are broken and the ending was just plain silly. Still, the graphics were beautiful and I enjoyed playing it because it was something my boyfriend and I could do and talk about together.
Despite my disappointment in Fable II, though, I knew I'd end up getting Fable III for that very reason; because it was a co-op RPG that we could play together. I had a lot of trepidation about the actual game, which was borne out: I found it to be more of an add-on to Fable II than a real sequel, the characters and quests were even sillier than before, the enemy AI was terrible, the story made little sense at times, and the new mechanics--hand-holding, weapons changing appearance--seemed so arbitrary that I couldn't understand why that effort hadn't been put into making the actual game meatier. I enjoyed the Temple of Aurora immensely, though, mostly because there were no stupid NPCs wanting me to fart or play the lute for them.
So here's my question, and it's a genuine question: if you play Fable, why? What do you play it for; if you've played all three, what keeps you coming back?
Is it for the story? The combat? The graphics? Or are you like me and just wanting to play something co-op with a friend or loved one? Because I feel like the series is devolving into just showing off mechanics (like the hand-holding thing, which is just... odd) while the RPG, story and character elements are being left behind. Does that bother you, or is there something about the series that's more important to you, which keeps your interest?
When the second one came out and had co-op, I was pleased: here was a game my boyfriend and I could play long-distance together. But Fable II was by no means a great game. All the criticisms have been said before: the NPCs are all weird pod people we're somehow supposed to fall in love with, the combat and economy are broken and the ending was just plain silly. Still, the graphics were beautiful and I enjoyed playing it because it was something my boyfriend and I could do and talk about together.
Despite my disappointment in Fable II, though, I knew I'd end up getting Fable III for that very reason; because it was a co-op RPG that we could play together. I had a lot of trepidation about the actual game, which was borne out: I found it to be more of an add-on to Fable II than a real sequel, the characters and quests were even sillier than before, the enemy AI was terrible, the story made little sense at times, and the new mechanics--hand-holding, weapons changing appearance--seemed so arbitrary that I couldn't understand why that effort hadn't been put into making the actual game meatier. I enjoyed the Temple of Aurora immensely, though, mostly because there were no stupid NPCs wanting me to fart or play the lute for them.
So here's my question, and it's a genuine question: if you play Fable, why? What do you play it for; if you've played all three, what keeps you coming back?
Is it for the story? The combat? The graphics? Or are you like me and just wanting to play something co-op with a friend or loved one? Because I feel like the series is devolving into just showing off mechanics (like the hand-holding thing, which is just... odd) while the RPG, story and character elements are being left behind. Does that bother you, or is there something about the series that's more important to you, which keeps your interest?
