Fable III Preview

The guys over at BeefJack have conjured up a preview of Fable III based on the demonstration and commentary provided by Peter Molyneux at this year's Develop Conference.
So combat's been tweaked again. It's all a one-button system, ostensibly simplified but with added depth and flexibility, where spells can be charged for an infinite amount of time to deliver crushing blows. (You could hold it overnight and see what happens,) Molyneux says. (I love that feeling of power. Why should we cap these things?)

Not only that, but the more overt RPG elements have been hidden behind the scenes. Levelling up is still a key component, but rather than assigning skill points, you're unlocking gates and choosing from treasure chests embedded in the game world. Each new level unlocks a gate on the road to the castle at which you'll eventually arrive and become king. And between each gate there's big boxes of goodies to choose from, which unlock various abilities the ability to buy a house, for example, or to wield (a big bastard sword.)

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It's all looking good. It's all looking very much like a Fable game. That is to say, it's looking like a traditional RPG for the masses: a vast and expansive fantasy world, but with the stats hidden away, the complexity removed. It also looks beautiful, and while there were a few noticeable texture pop-ups in this early build, some of the vistas all in-game and explorable are genuinely impressive. Combine that with a co-op mode catered towards shared experiences (you can marry your co-op buddy, for example. (Why don't we have an intimate moment in Fable III?) suggests Molyneux. (Obviously it's not as realistic as the real thing, but it's a lot less messy.)), and there's a game that's certainly not without charm or potential.