Review: Off the shores of Albion – Traitor's Keep DLC

Title: Traitor’s Keep DLC for Fable III
Genres: Action, Adventure, RPG
Platform: Xbox 360 (Downloadable)
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Release Date: Mar. 1, 2011
ESRB Rating: M for Mature

Lionhead Studios, as if apologizing for the embarrassment that was their "Understone" DLC, released another downloadable quest as an add-on to Fable III (see my review of the full game here). An apology is worth nothing, however, unless there is heart in it. With that in mind, "Traitor’s Keep" DLC is a panting fireman who’s just saved a family from their burning home and runs back in for their beloved cat, Claws.

Unlike "Understone," which provided only one very small location (albeit inventively placed) with an all too linear objective and short, humorless narrative, "Traitor’s Keep" spans three brand new and expansive areas (islands) – Ravenscar Keep, Clockwork Island, and The Godwin Estate – that collectively play host to 4 new missions and several side quests capable of quenching any post-crowned adventurer’s wander-lust. Lionhead claims that the main story, which concerns events and people at a secret prison that keeps Albion’s most notorious criminals, takes no less than 2.5 hours to complete. As wandering about is half the fun of Fable, I think my gameplay clocked in somewhere around 5 or 6 hours for obtaining all 250 Gamerscore worth of new achievements.

"Traitor’s Keep" is all about back-story. By way of an assassination attempt, the monarch comes to learn of Ravenscar Keep (the aforementioned prison) and that it has long been used by at least the two previous rulers: the current hero's brother, Logan, and mother. Given Logan’s predisposition towards military might and his hard-line tactics towards the general populous, one can imagine what types of people he incarcerated there ... namely revolutionaries, like the present monarch (though less successful), who’ve been seething ever since their imprisonment. While touring Ravenscar, players learn of a plot betwixt three pathologically fixated inmates, each of which (gasp) constitutes a quest, and one of whom fills in some blanks about how Albion transitioned to its industrial state.

While "Understone" presented little challenge to players who had already leveled-up their character by way of completing the game, "Traitor’s Keep" introduces new enemies as well as a few variants on some favorite beasties that manage to evoke some mildly impressive battles (some of which are more inventive than tough and vice-versa). In addition to the new clockwork creatures (beetles, exploding dogs, and psychotic automatons), there are rainbow-licious hobbes, extra-hollow hollow men, and (my favorite) drunken balverines. There are humans to fight as well, and being in a prison seems to have honed their group-based fighting skills a bit.

If there’s a weakness to "Traitor’s Keep," it’s the obvious moral choices. Kudos are deserved for including them at all, but the few choices that are presented are so heavily weighted that there is absolutely no ambiguity concerning where the hero’s yea or nay would place him or her in an opinion poll...a shame given Hobson’s prominence throughout the earlier portion of the DLC. More decisions affecting the public-at-large would have been terrific, especially if they came to learn of the prison despite attempts at secrecy. That could have at least added a feeling of political pressure.

Most importantly, "Traitor’s Keep" brings the funny. Sight gags and great writing as well as Fable in-jokes found scrawled across myriad notes and letters abound throughout this DLC. Supplement all of the above with four new outfits (three collected and one given) and one robot dog (non-exploding) to call your very own, and the 560 MS points it takes to purchase this quest seems a pittance for the experience.

[Highly Recommended]

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This review is based on downlodable content purchased by the reviewer.

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2010 Staff Picks: Ink

For the five days leading up to the New Year, Ani-Gamers is posting an un-ranked list of our favorite titles from the year 2010, featuring up to two choices from each writer. Be sure to check back throughout the week to find out what geeky stuff our contributors really dug this year! We now present the choices from reviewer and columnist Ink.

Ed. Note: We miscalculated the number of contributions we would be receiving from our writers, so we won't be following a one-a-day schedule from this point on. Sorry!

Fable III (Lionhead Studios): What this third incarnation of the Fable franchise does so completely that the former installations do not is create a truly immersive and believable world in which its main character's participation is only a piece of the proverbial pie. It accomplishes this by forsaking the isolated, hero-centric approach of old and broadening the story's focus and consequences to include the needs of all the people around the hero — intimately and in a broader sense. As people in our world continue to grow increasingly isolated from one another, Fable III illustrates how many lives the actions of one person can affect and also serves as a reminder to step into others' shoes before judging their actions. As a poet, I can think of no better video game execution of Shelley's sympathetic imagination.

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House of Five Leaves (Manglobe): Though focused on a group of thieves and a lone ronin, House of Five Leaves is less about action than growing to understand personal reasons behind past actions and present conditions. The main character is a samurai turned woebegone bodyguard who is hired into a den of thieves that kidnaps people for ransom, under the auspice of humanitarianism. The art is a bit jarring at first, with fish-like faces adorning otherwise realistically drawn bodies, but there's no denying the animation's beauty via color contrasts and use of darkness or its direct reflection of the story's pacing, which is slow and utterly character driven. All the above characteristics contribute to the sense that this is not an anime aimed at kids but rather the adult viewers of the noitaminA block in which it appeared.

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See Also:

• Fable III review

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Monthly Snapshot: Choose what? I just woke up!

Monthly Snapshot is a regular column here at Ani-Gamers in which one of our writers chooses a moment from some anime, manga, game, or other media that really made an impact on them in the past month. It's a valuable chance to compare the subjective ways in which we all experience and analyze media. To read previous entries, click here.

Honestly, I'm not even sure if it's worth issuing a spoiler warning for this snapshot, because what made my jaw drop in Fable III happened in the first five minutes of the game, which is all of a minute or so of cumulative gameplay linked together by several cut-scenes. Before purchasing this game, I heard that it offered up some pretty hard choices and thought myself fully prepared for whatever it had in store. Man, was I ever wrong.

It's a fine day to be a prince. I've slept away the greater part of the morning, when my dry-humored butler wakes me for an appointment. The all-important first major decision of the day? What will I wear for my rendezvous with Elise, a "friend" who is currently awaiting me in the castle's garden? When I meet with her, she tells me about some rather unpleasant rumors concerning a factory worker's execution that was condoned by the king (my brother) and the staff's subsequent sense of uneasiness.

On our way back into the castle, I entreat the kitchen staff to a rousing speech in an attempt to make amends for the lack of appreciation shown them of late. Lauded for my generous words, I then head off with Walter for a bit of casual swordplay. On our way to practice, we come across some protesters in the castle lobby. In sympathy, I sign their petition for better living conditions and continue on with Walter, whom I finally beat in mock battle!

No morning that good can last forever, however, and soon there is news of a ruckus directly outside the castle. "This won't end well," says Walter, who’s keen on the king's ill temper of late and rushes to his side to be his voice of reason. Elise and I eavesdrop on the meeting, and I interrupt when Walter is brought low for advising against the king's demand for mortal consequences regarding the non-violent protest. As punishment for me intrusion, my brother, determined to make an example of someone, demands that I make the choice: who will die, Elise or a representative sampling of villagers from the ruckus?

My jaw hit the floor. The A button would send Elise to her death, while the X button did the same for the villagers. What?! This is just about five minutes into the game, and already players are faced with the decision of who would be better to kill to satiate the king's bloodlust. I thought for sure this was a test of being a benevolent person, so despite the king's warning that all parties would die if I didn't choose at all, I decided to test his mettle and wait out the decision. I chose no one, and the controller vibrated with ever quickening pulses until the allotted time to decide had expired. Then the villagers and Elise were all dragged off to their deaths. No trick questions. No got-your-noses. Everyone died because of my own indecision. I failed to save anyone.

Choose who must die: Elise (left) or the villagers (right).

In that moment, I felt the gravity of Fable III. Just like a prince or other pampered person of privilege removed from any real consequences, the decision I had faced and its ramifications served as a wake-up call. My chest sank, just as the playable hero's did in the game, in knowing that I was going to have to make decisions, for better or worse, to avoid further catastrophes in the future. I could no longer call the sidelines my home or my inaction anything less than hurtful to those that needed help the most. This was the perfect setup to a game that makes players experience the thrill of revolution as well as the decisions that besmirch the perceived polished glory of rule.

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Review: Fable III (360)

Genre: Action-Adventure, RPG
Designers: Peter Molyneux (Creative Director), Josh Atkins (Senior Design Director)
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Console: PC (not released yet), Xbox 360
Release Date: Oct. 26, 2010 (NA/AU), Oct. 29, 2010 (EU)
Age Rating: M for Mature

Lionhead Studios' Fable empire is built on the innovative notion of how selfless and selfish choices affect storylines, main characters, and bystanders. Moral choices in Fable I are obvious and easy — to kill or not, to steal or not — and rewarded as expected. Exemplified early in its Bowerstone Old Town region, Fable II ups the ante by adding surroundings to the list of things that are affected by moral decisions. Economics also plays a developmental role, as the amount of gold spent at shops and going rates for their goods contribute to the displayed degree of community affluence as well as shopkeepers' perceived purity. Fable II also makes select moral choices a bit more ambiguous, but they are still pretty clear in terms of consequences. Enhancing all of the above, Fable III tells a story that takes place 50 years after players put down their controllers and shelved Fable II. Within this gap, the then hero-turned-monarch gives birth to Fable III's hero, who has a brother crowned king and a servant from Monty Python's Flying Circus. Despite the latter, many call Fable III heavy-handed ... and for good reason. The story is one of revolution and thus focuses on conditions that lead thereto: crippling poverty, exploitation, and abuse of power.

In the eyes of Albion's citizens, the king has grown corrupt. He neglects or exploits the majority of the land's people and allows industry to determine morality. There are but two thriving towns, one of which can be likened to an open-air mall, while the others are either in shambles or on their way there. As if to exemplify this, beggars, while naught but a scant novelty in Fable II, are prevalent in just about every town, very vocal, and heartbreaking. In fact, the very first heroic act players are tasked with performing is simply to engage the disheveled Dwellers of Mistpeak. The heavy-handedness comes into play via the oppressive atmosphere, lent to by an impressive array of one-liners from the downtrodden, their general aesthetic and manners of motion, and the sight of houses falling into disrepair. Thus the hero's first role is that of the people's savior, a goal that must be reached by accumulating public and military support. To this end, Fable III puts forth decision after decision (almost immediately and most definitely substantially) that affects the story's hero, the people that surround him or her, and the places all of Albion's citizens inhabit. After players oust the king, it's their turn to play sovereign and prove that they can do better.

It may seem a bit odd that a tale about inspiring then leading a revolution made possible by personal interaction takes place via a video game – a medium which stereotypically attracts one-on-none interaction between those with skin sensitive to natural light and some type of TV or monitor – but it is exactly that medium which can inspire the dichotomy the game is attempting to emulate. For example: Fable III is solely available on Xbox 360 and PC. On large, those playing the game presumably have the disposable income with which to purchase the disc as well as a computer or game console that supports it. Thus, being self-aware, introspection should result in gamers feeling one of two ways when confronted with depictions of poor people delivering over-the-top expressions of their desperate situation: humor over the absurdity if they cannot feel any guilt or connection, or pangs of sympathy via understanding of the vast difference in social situation.

The effects of players' actions on the characters of Fable III and the contrast betwixt them and players' lives aren't the only means of fostering sympathy. Little things, like Demon Doors that require you to work with someone online (friend or stranger), achievements for marrying someone online, and the fact that the online co-op portal facilitates random hero match-ups, fosters the same interaction the game preaches as an instrument of positive change. These sorts of details may not exactly be the same as twirling a random citizen about in a two-step or clucking to evoke the laughter of children, but it is coerced interaction (mandatory, even, if the solo player chooses to try and complete 100% of the game).

Of course there are also subtle detractions from the effectiveness of having to interact with villagers. I'm not generally a people person to begin with, so the amount of yokel persuasion required by Fable I & II worked just fine for me. Fable III however, makes you pay attention. Whether the intent is to greedily acquire more guild seals or earn trust to further a quest, constantly shaking hands, dancing, and playing pat-a-cake gets tiresome and downright burdensome despite the efforts of programmers, writers, and voice actors, who do their best to bring a decent amount of diversity to reactions to such interaction.

However, interactivity isn't the only impressive thing about Fable III. A simplified inventory and more streamlined gameplay greatly improve the overall experience. Early on, the most noticeable improvement is with the quick d-pad selection during fights. No longer are the suggested health items and potions randomized; players, when engaged in a fight, are offered 3 types of potions, two of which were formally Will capabilities (Slow Time and Raise Dead), and one food option. Also, there is no more random food or drink, as players can only carry around one type. Similarly helpful, all experience orbs are now automatically collected during a fight instead of requiring players to hold down a button at the end while losing some of them due to evaporative time.

Regarding actual battle, the range of enemies keeps the action on the interesting side of almost challenging (if only a tad redundant). There's a decent diversity among the malicious, with each class usually comprised of three types: brute, ranged, and "special." Examples of the latter include twin-bladed, will (shock)-using hollowmen; fireball-tossing mercenaries; and necromancing hobbes. Combat is fluid and pretty mindless, which can be excused due to the focus of the game being on personal interaction instead of hack-and-slash/shoot/burn action. Still, weapon diversity and morphing capabilities, along with the range of Will types and COMBINATIONS, make even the most repetitious battle fun. Personally, I like creating tornadoes of fire that sweep up and twirl the enemy around me as I shoot them with my rifle. No mercy. The only real drawback to the action aspect of gameplay is blocking. As a Will- and Skill-heavy user, I don't rely on blocking much, but whenever I held the X button (also used for flourishes), the enemy's attack seemed to get right through anyway. Would mapping the block action to a separate button really have been that hard?

The last thing that deserves mention is the start menu. Personified as "The Sanctuary," this ever-evolving hub connecting a series of four rooms is said to have served as the secret base of operations for the Fable II hero during those 50 years between Fables II and III. The current hero uses it likewise for changing outfits, outfitting weapons, basic accounting (you heard me), and viewing trophies. It also offers a portal to online co-op and an in-game, romanticized Xbox Live Marketplace. Aside from the specialty rooms, The Sanctuary offers an interactive map of Albion that integrates fast travel and quest identification capabilities. The only issue I had with it was the lack of detail. Otherwise, the map was an inventive addition that blended in perfectly with the atmosphere.

Some players might find the theme heavy-handed or dislike the repetition involved with the garnering of support, and RPG fanatics might dislike the fact that there aren't 50,000 potion and food choices. However, Fable III's compelling story line with two-part plot, exhilarating climaxes, and myriad options for replay make this game an astounding and well thought out addition to the series that actually manages to carry over its effects into the real world. More than a few moments made me get choked up, and every gameplay session was so absorbing that none lasted fewer than a couple hours.

[Highly Recommended]

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This review is based on a retail copy purchased by the reviewer.

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