With a cast including John Cleese and "director" Peter Molyneux behind the "camera", Fable 3 is looking to be one of the biggest titles of the year repeating the success of the first and second outing. But can it really be that good? We went hands on with one of the levels mid way through the game at this year's E3 convention in LA.

Name

Fable III

What platform is it on?

Xbox 360

When's it due out?

Tuesday 26 October 2010

What other game is it like?

Fable II

Does it use any new tech?

No, but we think it will be Kinect for Xbox 360 ready when it launches.

The pitch

“Fable III” is the latest instalment to the action-packed and critically acclaimed Xbox 360 exclusive franchise that has sold more than 6 million copies. After determining whether these characters are your friends or foes, you will either join them or fight against them in explosive combat, alone or with a friend on Xbox LIVE.

The storyline

5 decades have passed since the events of “Fable II”, and Albion has matured into an industrial revolution, but the fate of the kingdom is at peril. In “Fable III”, you will be called upon to rally and fight alongside your people, ascend to the seat of power, and experience the true meaning of love and loss. The choices and sacrifices you make while fanning the flames of revolution, and then as you rule as King or Queen of Albion, will lead to an ever evolving world of consequences that will be felt across your entire land. This sets the stage for unparalleled action and adventure that offers even more ways to fight and engage than ever before.

Our first impressions

Our hands-on play involved a level set in a cave battling scary shadow creatures intent on making mince meat of you and Uncle Walter. The first thing that will strike you when you fire up Fable III is that it's a lot like Fable II. That's no bad thing, Fable II was a great game, but those looking for something very different will be disappointed.

We enjoyed the game twice at the show, once from Molyneux walking through some of the action at the Microsoft press conference and again at the booth with our first look.

Not in our first look but mentioned in the presser were two new features: Touch and Judgement.

The Dynamic Touch feature allows your hero to reach out and embrace a loved one, or exact retribution against those who have betrayed you. Your hero, your faithful canine companion and even your weapons now also evolve to extremes mirroring your morality and personal style of combat. The emotional connections players will develop in the world of “Fable III” will lead to some of the most memorable moments ever experienced in a game. Kinect anyone?

The second is Judgment, that reflects your ability as ruler to pass judgement over subjects at any time. It of course plays on the good vs evil battle that is always going on, but it's a nice idea.

Judging from what we played and what we were shown there is still plenty to come from the game, however it's unlikely that Fable fans will be disappointed.

Please note

The E3 games convention is a fantastic chance to see the latest games due out over the coming year, as well as, letting us get a glimpse into what is going to be the big titles and the ones to avoid like the plague.

The big problem however is that for most of the titles that glimpse is, well, just that. At the show you'll get to play a level here or a multiplayer map there.

So with that in mind we present you with our Quick Play.

What we've done is broken down the key facts you need to know and then given you our first impressions based on around 15 minutes of gaming. For us that 15 minutes isn't enough to do a First Look review. How can you rate a game that offers over 30 hours of gaming on just 15 minutes of play? However it should hopefully give you an idea, a feeling, a notion, of what to expect come launch day.