Lionhead kills off 'mindless' combat for Fable 3

Lionhead has done away with some of the "mindless" one-button combat seen in Fable 1 and 2 for the third game in the series - in an attempt to get players using some of the RPG's all-new fighting mechanics.

[VictoriousB13]

Lookin smexy.

[Gago]

its painful watching them release a mediocre sequel after sequel

[T9X69]

These mediocre sequels are a huge success that sold over 6 million copies between the first two games.

[Megaton]

Fable 2 was a good game. It just wasn't the game Peter Molyneux promised. Accept the fact that he's a lying sack of crap who never delivers on his promises, and you'll be good with the next Fable game. Just don't listen to anything he says about it, otherwise you'll be disappointed with the final product.

[MrLife]

@Xiphos BUBBLE UP

[Apotheosize]

I agree, Fable has always been very average. Nothing about the games are "amazing". They sell well because of hype(Peter M), and being one of the Microsofts *big* exclusive titles

[Gago]

no shit, thats the only RPG 360 owners have to buy

if it was on ps3 it wouldn't sell more than 3 copies since ps3 owners have access to much better games like Demons Souls, the superior version of FF13, Valkyria Chronicles, Folklore, White Knight, and bunch of other rpgs

[Cock4Gamers]

Fable games aren't the only RPGs on the 360. The 360 has alot more RPGs than the PS3 and alot better ones. If you actually PLAYED some of them then you would actually know what you are talking about(and no, reading reviews of 360 RPGS, not seeing perfect 10 scores, and then commenting here is not the same as playing them). Also, the Fable games sell well because, while they are nowhere near as great as Peter M claims them to be, they are still very fun and have a certain charm about them that people like(you know, people that have actually played the games i.e. not you). Before you try and throw salt on something at least know what you're talking about lest you wind up looking like a fool to people that know what they are talking about. >_>

[tinybigman]

i'm done with this series. Peter M has promised a lot and has failed to deliver on those promises for both the first to games.

[Naughty Dog]

Looks bland, just like Fable 2.

[omi25p]

graphics on this game look outstanding

[Naughty Dog]

not as good as World of Warcraft...

[Alos88]

"We work so hard on all the content so we don't want to use difficulty as a way to frustrate our users and keep them from finishing the game."
Dude, you can't die. There's no game over screen, and if you lose you literally just get back up and keep going at the place where you "lost". If your audience is going to get upset and quit in a scenario where they are invincible then you may be marketing your game to people who have too little patience to play any kind of games.

[DelbertGrady]

"However, I think in the past we have allowed some aspects of the game to become so easy that they became a bit too mindless, so we have made some balance changes to the game to try and keep you on the edge of your seat.

"For example we have included more interesting one-to-one fights as way to increase the drama and push our players a bit further in exploring the combat possibilities."

You couldn't die in Bioshock either, and it worked well. No one likes failing anyways, and this system saves you from having to watch a game over sequence and backtrack every time you die. Depends on how the game is designed really but a good thing in this case since it's story driven.

[Alos88]

If there is no punishment for failure then the rewards will gradually become meaningless in the eyes of the player- I'm not saying it needs to be death, but at least refill the enemies health so they can't just blitz through their enemies without strategy or effort.

[RememberThe357]

I think this set up works for Fable. I'm not saying it should be in all games, in fact, that would suck. But I think in this case it fits that game. Fable has a very laid back play style; it's not Demons Souls.

[madjedi]

@soda Jesus the people that really like this feature must piss in their pants if someone told them to play the ninja gaiden series, demon souls, or put the difficulty on anything other than easy or normal mode.

Trinity universe(a jrpg) also doesn't show you a game over screen, when your party is wiped out. The big difference, trinity universe has lurkers(extra dungeon bosses) that hunt you, who are 20-30 levels above the actual dungeon boss.

Does fable 2 have you regularly running into bosses/enemies 10-20 levels above the mobs in the area?

So does this mean fable 3, will not have the please don't hurt me difficulty mode hard coded in the game.

And if fable's difficulty is just right for you, don't ever try to play shinobi or nightshade on the ps2, you might actually die for a change.

The only reasons enemies should be too easy to kill in a rpg are either, 1. a lvl 1 enemy that has very low stats or 2. your 20+ levels above said enemy and/or have end game weapons and armor.

Everything he said points to the combat and difficulty being dumbed down in the fable franchise. So that even the worst i want my games easy, so i don't get upset crybaby can still finish the game, at least to me.

Enjoy it, far too casual(difficulty) of a rpg for me to want to play, take off the kids gloves and i might.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

I'm actually watching this one closely.

The way they have the Fable franchise set up, it seems it should have played out better than this.

I'm not entirely sure how to describe it.

The humor isn't quite what it could be.
The mechanics aren't quite what they could be.
The characters aren't the most memorable.

It's like everything in Fable is on the verge of "pretty good". It's just not there yet.

It's strange to think that this same team (most of it) created Black & White 1 and 2...two of my favorite games of all-time.

Lionhead,

I'm talking to you! Give me the finalized script for a week and I'll give you an Oscar-worthy script in return. Then, head on over to Naughty Dog to get your gameplay mechanics reviewed by the team there. While you're out there, see what Sony Santa Monica is up to! They can help in the graphics department. Why not see what Bungie is up to as well? Respawn? They could both help with the online struggles of the Fable series.

What I'm trying to say is...

...try harder!

Comparing your old work to your new work is like comparing Monty Python and the Holy Grail...and Monty Python's Meaning of Life.

One of them is arguably the funniest movie ever made, while the other is just a throwaway comedy.

[Alos88]

I mainly play the Fable games for the sidequests, which tend to have interesting little stories and quirky characters. I'd say some of the optional quests are more interesting than parts of the main quests, as long as Molyneux gets them right I'm happy.

[ZombieAutopsy]

Kinda agree with you there, i'm praying Fable 3 doesn't have a lack luster ending like Fable 2 did.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Yeah...

You guys are settling for "just alright" though. Why are you ok with that? With games like Mass Effect 2, Uncharted 2, and God of War 3...we don't have to settle for mediocrity!

Why have just one thing...when you can have everything?

[RememberThe357]

But I love the charm of the Fable games. They could be so much better, but I love both of them.

There is a lot of potential in those game that potential just needs to be realized.

[ZombieAutopsy]

Well I play those games too (besides ME, could never get into it), I know fable isn't perfect but it's not terrible either and the game market is flooded with terrible so sometimes (for me at least) just alright is just good enough. Would I like fable to have a better story and better fighting mechanics, hell yea I would but I wouldn't mind if they stayed the same.

[kasasensei]

I never liked fable and any recent molyneux game. The only one i truly enjoyed was magic carpet^^

[00000000000000000001]

Fable 2 was a great game, I played it at least 3 complete times, very few games hold my interest long enough for me to even finish. If the combat becomes to hard, people get tired of trying over and over again and quit. I like games with three levels Easy, Medium, Hard, it seems to work for most poeple.

[Apotheosize]

And then after Fable 3 is done and released, they'll announce Fable 4. Peter will then call 3 "rubbish" and make more promises on 4 he'll never keep.

[josh14399]

i wanted to like fable 2 but i just couldn't it felt like an rpg for people who are shit at them. if someone said to me recomend me my first rpg id say fable2 but after playing plenty of better games i just cant get into them.

[midgard229]

thank goodness because the combat was so horrible and boring. and thats not including the fact that when u hit a villager (in a world of consequence) all they do is get a angry smiley over their head and do nothin..... this game needs to take some Cue's from oblivion