Fable Legends E3 Previews
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The E3-based previews of Lionhead's latest Fable instsallment continue to roll in, with this past week producing several new impressions pieces.
GameZone:
I had the chance to play through a multiplayer match of Fable Legends' take on villains versus heroes Tuesday on the E3 show floor. I was surprised to see such a drastic shift in direction from the series' past, and I actually stepped away with more questions than answers.
The first thing I noticed was the preset classes in the game. One of the cornerstones of the Fable series has been customization dressing up to give your character personality. That isn't the case here, at least from what I saw. You're one of four heroes with specific skills and attributes. You play a role, and that role doesn't appear to vary much.
Four centuries before the events of Fable, Albion teems with the Heroes of myth. This is a younger land than we've seen before; magic is more common and danger lurks everywhere. The four Heroes at the heart of the story follow a narrative arc through the game's series of dungeon crawls, but developer Lionhead Studios isn't quite ready to talk about the particulars yet.
What is clear is the fact that each playable Hero follows a slightly different path through the his or her own story. There's replay value in the overall shape of the game, but players are also encouraged to set out on each character's journey if they want to see the full picture. The open world of the series' previous games is gone, replaced with a hub town that players operate out of and gear up in, before setting out on quests in specific, dungeon-style locations.
CGM:
As with a tabletop game of Dungeons & Dragons, the quality a Fable Legends multiplayer experience is going to depend on the mix of players in general and the effectiveness of the villain/dungeon master in particular. In the sessions held during E3, with everyone playing the game for the very first time, the villain had a dedicated (coach) in the form of one of the Lionhead Studios developers. As a result, the villain during my particular demo wasn't so much strategizing as he was diligently taking every (suggestion) of the developer as gospel for barricade placement, trap activation and monster activity. The practical result of this was that four newbie players were going up against an experienced (villain's advisor) who was quite effective at harassment and derailment techniques.
In the hands of someone that knows what they're doing, walls or gates will suddenly block access, monster hordes will spawn right when you're at you're at most exposed, and bosses will appear when it is the worst time possible for you. Conversely, if someone lacks a flair for strategy and creativity, such dungeons will be a brief, shameless exercise in easy XP as players stumble through with little or no challenge at all.
BGR:
Fable Legends plays like a standard third-person action game when you choose to take on the part of one of the heroes, but everything change when you choose to be the villain.
This is where the game really breaks from tradition. As the villain, you'll be given a wide array of traps and minions to dole out as you deem fit. If you suspect the heroes will turn a corner right at the start of the map, lay down a mine for them to activate. If the heroes begin charging through the level too quickly, raise up a wooden wall to temporarily delay their advances.
And Metro:
As a giant boss-like ogre appears it turns out merely to be the equivalent of a bullet sponge, as we run up to him, hit him a few times, and run away all the time none the wiser as to whether we've done any damage or how often we'll have to repeat that same hit and run tactic.
Even though it's technically cheating we're encouraged to turn round and watch the villain (a Guardian journalist, as it turns out) playing their game. Although controlling the action via a tablet was heavily touted at the Gamescom unveiling this option has now been de-emphasised, and according to the developer will only be implemented if time allows and the controls work perfectly.
