Dumbed down and frustrating make this entry in the fable series a thorough disappointment . Warning:Long review!

User Rating: 4 | Fable III X360
Before I start reviewing this game,I`ll make sure this,I am a fan of the Fable series,I loved the first and liked the second(didn`t give me the same sensation the story) and as such I was looking forward to Fable 3 although i hardly read previews nor watched videos of it(had done the same for the two others).

But now I see my mistake,this game is horrible compared to the series and as a game alone,it is extremely dumbed down through the lack of features the older games had and frustrating thanks to new ones. Now this is not a review with purpose of making you buy the game but to avoid it at all costs since this is a big waste of time and money,because of this,this review contain`s mostly the bad of this game,trust me,they outweigh the good ones by miles.

ARTS,GRAPHICS and SOUND: As standard to the fable series the musical score and the voice acting is superb,they deliver a great job immersing you in Albion. The artistic value of this game has improved thanks to the new age the world has reached,an industrial one,as such you`ll see a more industrial , darker Albion. On the other hand,the graphics have stayed the same basically,there some new additions such as glowing tattoos if you choose to be a mage,a bigger world and a more beautiful water ,yet it is so similar to Fable 2 that you won`t have the same impact and gives the feeling you`ve done it before.

The GAMEPLAY and INTERFACE: This is where Lionhead dropped the ball,the gameplay,why you must be asking?Easy this game has no improvements over the gameplay of fable 2,the reason is: Combat: The melee in this game is broken,the when you hold the the X button you expect to block and if you hold the L trigger,to aim a flourish one just like fable 2 right?Wrong this game does this only when he want`s it,you be hit many time thanks to incompetent response making hold X useless and only hack your option.The ranged combat has lost it`s appeal,no longer can you aim at the crotch of somebody or tear of his head with a shot.Magic has become overpowered,it is so easy now to channel it and now that you can combine 2 spells,allows you to destroy entire hordes so easily.

Experience:The standard experience based on how you kill was replaced by a new guild seal,that you gain very little by fighting and you always gain one every time you interact with a npc,which is senseless and stupid.

Npcs and relations: They are pathetic,Lionhead took the expression wheel,something that was good,in exchange of getting closer to a npc, pressing A so you can choose between 2 to 4 expression THAT THE GAME CHOOSE`S FOR YOU!Seriously you have no control over it,it doesn`t feel like right and let`s not forget that you must done it to every npc you want to interact with.There is also a problem,npcs don`t seem to care much for their well being and won`t be as scared and frightened as the the older games.

Jobs and property: They did correct one nuisance with property,they got rid of the money exploit from Fable 2,but at expense of adding an **** repair system for houses,that even with the map,is time consuming.Jobs are still the same,except that now you must buy new levels through exp.

Player morphing,weapon morphing and world morphing: The only think they got right among the three is the world morphing,when you become a king your choices do change the world(the few of them,but I`ll get to that soon),yet since this new fable has a less interesting world to mess with,they are not sensible at all.The player morphing is bad this time ,the reason is simple,good and evil has little change in you appearance as well strength,agility and aura(the latter having a more notable impact) and this means you will be basically the same through the entire game.The weapon morphing addition has very little impact because it morphs depending of what you do and you can`t morph it back,simply put like this,you are forced to do the same every game,so it will morph to look the same every time(they are also ugly).

Weapon,clothing and spells:They were all reduced by a fair amount,there are six spells only,some being totally useless(ice storm and vortex) and others overpowered(shock and fire combination),there aren`t many clothes as well(less than Fable 2) and the weapons,the legendary ones not the ones who morph,have been reduced to pistols,rifles,swords and hammers,that all are weaker than the ones who morph because in order to upgrade them you need to do tedious tasks like killing 500 enemies or completing 30 quests,with the weapon,making nearly impossible to upgrade them all,just for some bonus damage(like you need it) or some other stupid bonus.

The interface:To be direct and sincere,they screwed this part badly,there is no longer a menu where you can equip items,spells and such,but an entire sanctuary which in theory was a good idea that could rid of the annoying inventory lag of the series,but it became another burden,there different rooms for clothing and weapons and every time you go to one of these rooms you are faced with a small loading screen,that will just piss you off.Also there is no more inventory,so you never know how many items you have(even if you have),there is no way to tell how attractive you will become with a certain clothe make you,instead you must come back a room and see on the stats menu and come back to change it again!

The world:Albion has become boring,there is nothing to do in it,since it has enlarged also,becomes extremely bothersome to travel by foot and you will get lost easily(there is no map for locating yourself),and do you remember the towns from Fable2?They are no longer in the game,not even references from them.Last,everywhere you go there is a dig spot or chest for you to find and your dog won`t shut up until you do it,but then he gets stuck in the scenery making it even more annoying.

Items:I will make it shot,there are no interesting items to buy thanks to the new inventory policy.

Quests:most of them are repetitive fetch quests that grants little experience,then there is a new feature that every time you want to befriend someone you must do a quest to please this someone,it is stupid in theory and in the real thing.

The story:The last part of this review ,this game has a story that starts good but ends horribly,you are the prince as everyone knows,then you are forced by your brother to do a grim decision,the only one in the game.I wont go in details,I am just going to say that this game has a worse ending than Fable2,the revolution is over before it starts,there are no memorable characters and the kinghood doesn't bring anything new to the table(you are no ruler,just a guy that must do what the game tell you) .

This is where I finish the review,I am just to disappointed with Lionhead,they brought nothing new to the table at all,but replaced functional features with crappy ones,and those that weren`t replaced were made just worse somehow.I hope Peter Molyneux listen to the community after this disaster.