Fable III

The only true choice comes at the end of the game, and the outcome can be either utterly mystifying or underwhelming, as a threat from across the seas either kills all your subjects, or doesn't. This in a game predicated on talking to everyone. A little harder when they're dead. Fable III is pockmarked with kernels of delight and imagination, but they're harder to root out among such a bland backdrop.

Fable III is a fascinating mishmash of concepts that don’t always mesh well

An underdeveloped combat system, uneven story, heaps of bland quests and an endgame that feels rushed make the overall experience feel unfocused and unbalanced. The cast of characters may occasionally make you giggle, but aren't developed nearly enough to establish a meaningful bond to create the kind of moral turmoil Lionhead is clearly aiming for. For a game that tries so hard to get under your skin, Fable III rarely manages to do much more than scratch the surface.

It’s easy to recommend Fable III to anyone who enjoyed the second game. It’s very similar, but the story is stronger, the decisions you make have more gravity, the coop is vastly improved, and the design forces you to sample everything the game has to offer. It’s a brief experience for those who choose to follow the bread crumb trail, but there’s still no other game like it and it’s worth the effort to find out what kind of ruler you will be.

Thought provoking and thoroughly entertaining - but be warned: This time your choices really do have consequences

In a bare-bones appraisal, this works no differently to the traditional action RPG model (meet characters, find out what they want, achieve it via a combat-driven dungeon-crawl, get them on side), but thanks to Fable III’s idiosyncratic new interface and the story’s darker, harder edge, it all means so much more. Big, clever and funny, you'll rarely have enjoyed going through such punishing emotional torment