I'm about done with the Fable series.
I loved Fable I and Fable II. I thought that, despite any minor glitches either game had, they were well designed and interesting. This game, alone, has ruined not only my perception of the Fable franchise, but also the entire Lionshead company. Of course, people will continue to buy Fable as long as Lionshead (or anyone, really) keeps making them, but I for one am finished.
From the get go, this game has totally bewildered me with its apparent lack of debugging. First people were having issues with the custom villager maker. Obviously, something as innovative as this would come with its drawbacks: Confused people, misread codes, lost accounts. I say, overall, it worked relatively well, although I can't import my character into my game due to a relatively simple issue.
Now, the crux of the matter. I am only a few hours into the game. Having just recruited some of my first allies, and unlocked a couple of gates on the Road to Rule, Jasper no longer speaks. The start menu is, effectively, no longer a start menu for any convenient purposes. I must fast-travel out of the room, and once already have found myself trapped in there during a quest (resulting in a reset and lost save). People are making complaints about being trapped in a floating gray abyss during a quest that I have not even reached yet (The Game) This mortifies me, because even if I somehow fix the old Jasper/Sanctuary glitch, I may still find myself trapped after even more time is invested into this game.
Now, on top of this whole Sanctuary madness, I was on the Road to Rule, struggling to sidestep any further glitches in the game, when I unlocked the Ice spell. This, unfortunately, froze my character in place. I could spin the camera slightly, but was immobile completely. I spent good money on this game, money that I can't even get back thanks to the policies at pretty much every video game retailer in the world. I expect Lionshead will release a patch at some point in the next week for most, if not all, of these glitches. Nonetheless, I have never been so upset with a purchase, and that they could have released a game with this many flaws expecting us to drink their kool-aid like mindless consumers.
The rumors going around from the people that have beaten the game seem to imply that being a King isn't all its cracked up to be. From the sounds of it, kingship plays a relatively minor role in the game with little for the player to really gain from the experience. I'm not there yet, so I'll reserve personal judgment, but it's tough to go further into this game knowing about all the technical drawbacks that just make the final product seem rushed.
I love having extra free content to download, even if its a weapon I'll never use. I love when a patch is released to fix something so small that I hardly noticed it in the first place. Hell, I love when I have to purchase an expansion on X-Box live that offers me a few extra quests, items, and areas to explore! I do NOT love purchasing a video game, investing my time into playing, and then being forced to wait days for even an acknowledgment from the company that parts of the game are inherently flawed to such a degree that they make it, literally, unplayable. I believe I speak for the entire community when I say this: Conscientious consumers will not stand for this level of arrogance from any business in any market. Rushing a game for completion (read: 4th Quarter Profits) is unacceptable!
Would a novelist release a book half finished, with sentence fragments and missing pages? Would this novelist then tell his readers to check back in the bookstore in a few days or weeks for this missing pieces so the reader can finish the story? Does a movie theater ask the viewers to check back in a week for the second half of a film, abruptly ending it just before the climax?
Obviously not! This is not just bad business, but unethical! Where are the weights and measures for the video game industry that keep the consumer fairly guarded against this kind of highway robbery? Some people claim to have invested nearly $100.00 into this installment of the Fable series alone, and what do they have to show for it? Beautiful aesthetics and shoddy performance, a drink coaster of a video game disc, sitting back in its box, perfectly worthless.
Although, I preordered the limited edition, so perhaps I'll take the hint from Lionshead, and just play War with cards instead.
Sincerely,
A Loyal Fan Betrayed
I loved Fable I and Fable II. I thought that, despite any minor glitches either game had, they were well designed and interesting. This game, alone, has ruined not only my perception of the Fable franchise, but also the entire Lionshead company. Of course, people will continue to buy Fable as long as Lionshead (or anyone, really) keeps making them, but I for one am finished.
From the get go, this game has totally bewildered me with its apparent lack of debugging. First people were having issues with the custom villager maker. Obviously, something as innovative as this would come with its drawbacks: Confused people, misread codes, lost accounts. I say, overall, it worked relatively well, although I can't import my character into my game due to a relatively simple issue.
Now, the crux of the matter. I am only a few hours into the game. Having just recruited some of my first allies, and unlocked a couple of gates on the Road to Rule, Jasper no longer speaks. The start menu is, effectively, no longer a start menu for any convenient purposes. I must fast-travel out of the room, and once already have found myself trapped in there during a quest (resulting in a reset and lost save). People are making complaints about being trapped in a floating gray abyss during a quest that I have not even reached yet (The Game) This mortifies me, because even if I somehow fix the old Jasper/Sanctuary glitch, I may still find myself trapped after even more time is invested into this game.
Now, on top of this whole Sanctuary madness, I was on the Road to Rule, struggling to sidestep any further glitches in the game, when I unlocked the Ice spell. This, unfortunately, froze my character in place. I could spin the camera slightly, but was immobile completely. I spent good money on this game, money that I can't even get back thanks to the policies at pretty much every video game retailer in the world. I expect Lionshead will release a patch at some point in the next week for most, if not all, of these glitches. Nonetheless, I have never been so upset with a purchase, and that they could have released a game with this many flaws expecting us to drink their kool-aid like mindless consumers.
The rumors going around from the people that have beaten the game seem to imply that being a King isn't all its cracked up to be. From the sounds of it, kingship plays a relatively minor role in the game with little for the player to really gain from the experience. I'm not there yet, so I'll reserve personal judgment, but it's tough to go further into this game knowing about all the technical drawbacks that just make the final product seem rushed.
I love having extra free content to download, even if its a weapon I'll never use. I love when a patch is released to fix something so small that I hardly noticed it in the first place. Hell, I love when I have to purchase an expansion on X-Box live that offers me a few extra quests, items, and areas to explore! I do NOT love purchasing a video game, investing my time into playing, and then being forced to wait days for even an acknowledgment from the company that parts of the game are inherently flawed to such a degree that they make it, literally, unplayable. I believe I speak for the entire community when I say this: Conscientious consumers will not stand for this level of arrogance from any business in any market. Rushing a game for completion (read: 4th Quarter Profits) is unacceptable!
Would a novelist release a book half finished, with sentence fragments and missing pages? Would this novelist then tell his readers to check back in the bookstore in a few days or weeks for this missing pieces so the reader can finish the story? Does a movie theater ask the viewers to check back in a week for the second half of a film, abruptly ending it just before the climax?
Obviously not! This is not just bad business, but unethical! Where are the weights and measures for the video game industry that keep the consumer fairly guarded against this kind of highway robbery? Some people claim to have invested nearly $100.00 into this installment of the Fable series alone, and what do they have to show for it? Beautiful aesthetics and shoddy performance, a drink coaster of a video game disc, sitting back in its box, perfectly worthless.
Although, I preordered the limited edition, so perhaps I'll take the hint from Lionshead, and just play War with cards instead.
Sincerely,
A Loyal Fan Betrayed