There exists a pretty damn appropriate word that sums up Fable, and it’s not “hyperbole” or “ultimate” or even “RPG” — it’s “charming.” Whether or not Fable lives up to the magnanimous claims of creator Peter Molyneux, it’s hard to deny that the final product still manages sweet, but not cloying; amusing, but not indulgent; and even dark, but not “Twilight.” For most of its 20-plus-hour playthrough (it took me about 21 hours to finish the main story along with a hefty number of sidequests, and there’s still plenty more to do post-game), Fable 3 maintains the reckless charm of its predecessors.
Taking place 50 years after Fable 2, this installment focuses not just on the the Hero vanquishing his or her foe, but in the follow-through afterwards. While the previous games ended with the Hero triumphant over either Jack of Blades or Lucien (followed by a postgame world in which to continue sidequests and whatnot), Fable 3 doesn’t end after the Hero overthrows their evil sibling King Logan — it continues into the Hero’s own rule as either King or Queen of Albion.
