GamesCom 2009: Fable II to become an episodic adventure and Fable III will be out in 2010

If you’re an Xbox 360 owner and Fable fan, there’s some great news that’s come out of GamesCom 2009. Microsoft and Lionhead Studios have big plans for the hallmark series, involving Xbox Live Arcade and an entirely new entry.
First, Fable III is in development and will be released for the 2010 holiday season. I know, it’s a long wait. But look at it this way - Fable III allows you to load your Fable II save data into the game, so your new hero/heroine is the child of your old character. It’s good motivation to finish the Fable II.
While Fable II was about heroism, Fable III is all about royalty. You begin the game attempting to win the throne of Albion. Then, you have to manage the whole country. Your decisions impact what happens around all of Albion, and what other countries in the world think of it. The whole marriage and family thing will still be a part of gameplay, only this time your spouse will be stepping up as king/queen to help with the ruling process.
There are two new aspects in Fable III that are used to help make the game seem more realistic - judgement and touch. As the king/queen, you get to be the highest authority in the land. This means that there will be times when you’ll be called upon to rule over disagreements, or determine what’s going on in a suspicious situation and rule. You can then dole out the appropriate punishment for the person you decide is wrong. As for the touching aspect, instead of just using facial expressions or pressing a button to perform a possible action, you’ll be able to use body language to interact with NPCs.
If you still haven’t played Fable II, then it’ll be a lot easier when it’s released in five episodes on Xbox Live Arcade starting September 29, 2009. The first episode will essentially be the beginning of the game, the childhood portion of the main character. It will also be free, which is great if you’ve been interested and hesistant to buy Fable II due to the price tag. The other four episodes will cost Microsoft Points. The entire downloadable game will be compatible with the multiplayer and DLC from the physical copy.
There still have been no announcements concerning a PC port of Fable II.
Read [Guardian.co.uk] Also Read [USA Today] Also Read [IGN] Site [Lionhead Studios]
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i just don’t see how Fable II can be converted to an episodic game…especially considering how open ended it is!
on August 21, 2009 at 01:24 AM - LINKI wish it’d be a PC episodic game.
Apparently each period of the character’s life is somehow going to be an episode I gather?
I’m kind of disappointed in the direction Fable III seems to be taking. I always thought of the Fable games as being about heroism and starting out with nothing and working up to having almost everything. But who knows? Maybe it’ll work out well.
on August 21, 2009 at 12:55 PM - LINKi thought it sounded good, sepcially if you are an EVIL king! ;)
on August 21, 2009 at 02:09 PM - LINKTrue, but what about combat and questing fun?
I still haven’t played the second one yet. XD Is it good?
on August 22, 2009 at 03:24 PM - LINKI read somewhere that Molyneux said something about rpgs having a flaw that he wants to move away from (but of course, I can’t find the quote now *grrr*) which hints at a significant change to gameplay… I’m intrigued.
No word on the cost of the episodes yet?
on August 24, 2009 at 04:48 PM - LINK