Microsoft Fable promises tyranny, poverty and injustice

Cologne, Germany – Microsoft has announced Fable III at gamescom in Germany. The new game will be available on the Xbox 360 in time for Christmas.

According to Microsoft, ‘In this new adventure, players will witness tyranny, poverty and injustice plague their land. They will see a people divided, and they will be compelled to stand up for change. They will also be forced to answer a question: What would you sacrifice to secure the crown of Albion? Will you uphold the values and principles that led to your ascension, or will you be corrupted by the station you’ve strived to acquire? Will you be a monarch of the people, or bring the entirety of Albion to the brink of collapse?’

All good questions.

“We’ve spent a lot of time at Lionhead thinking about how we can innovate the gameplay and progress the world of the Fable games for its third chapter, and we’re confident that players won’t second-guess what we have planned for Fable III,” said Lionhead Studios’  creative director Peter Molyneux, who is also creative director of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Microsoft Game Studios.

“Though I can’t give too much away right now, players should expect to have to make much tougher choices with far wider consequences than ever before in Albion – and with many more interactive adventure elements.”

In the epic story of “Fable III,” the journey to rule the throne of Albion begins five decades after the events of the last chapter, and you play as the child of your hero from “Fable II.” As you rule your kingdom as king or queen, you will be called upon to make choices and sacrifices that will test your morality and can affect your entire kingdom. Themes of heroism, leadership and consequence are taken to a grand scale as you fight to unite a divided people.

Fable II has become the best-selling role-playing game on Xbox 360 and Microsoft is to release an episodic version on Xbox LIVE. “Fable II: Game Episodes” will launch on September 29 with the release of the first episode for free download exclusively on Xbox LIVE.

The episodes are fully compatible with the disk-based, retail version of Fable II, allowing players to enter Albion and continue their story should they purchase the retail version of Fable II.

“With the launch of Games on Demand on Xbox LIVE, we have a great tool in place to deliver classic titles in an incredibly convenient fashion,” said Phil Spencer, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios.

“With the Fable II episodic model, we’re encouraging people to experience the first chapter of the game for free, then move onto other chapters when they are ready. It’s a unique model and one that will appeal to gamers who’ve been hesitant to dive full into the original retail release.”