Fable III: Understone Quest Pack (Xbox 360) Review
Posted by Adam Larck on 11.23.2010
Is this pack worth a trip back to Albion? Find out inside.
Title: Fable III: Understone Quest Pack
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Genre: Action-RPG
Players: 1-2
Rated: M for Mature
The Understone Quest Pack for Fable III sounded promising when announced. A new area to explore, plus a few older areas getting a new use sounded like it should have offered some more replay ability for the game. However, with a price point of 400 Microsoft Points, does the pack offer enough to revisit the game?
The first thing that struck me as odd about the content was the size. It was the same download size as the free weapons pack, and downloaded instantly. My best guess is that this was supposed to be part of the free weapons pack, but wasn’t functioning correctly or even held back on purpose.
The quest based around the content’s title is The Voice, and has you investigating a voice coming from under a factory in Bowerstone Industrial. So, after accepting the quest and going through the cave under it for a bit, you’ll hear the voice of Montague Homes, the original builder of the Understone city. His voice is good, and I felt like it wasn’t utilized enough in the content.
Anyway, after advancing through the cave and a few fights, you find the city, where the citizens are scared of you because you came from the upper world. The best way to think of these people is like the people from the Vault in Fallout 3. They think the outside world has been destroyed, and have always been told going outside is dangerous and deadly.
To try and convince the people not to be scared of you, you go and try to talk to Homes. On the way, you’ll fight a few more of the new skeleton enemies in the content. Basically, they’re wolves and Hobbes in skeleton form. You’ll also fight a new machine boss called Colin, but it’s as easy to beat as the rest.
After getting to Homes’ mansion and watching a cutscene, you have a choice to either free the city or enslave it. Freeing it makes the citizens like you and turns the city into a tourist attraction, while enslaving it keeps them working below and getting you a profit.
Now, why did I basically tell you the entire quest? Because that’s the only new quest in this area. Sure, you can buy the few buildings here or befriend the residents, but nothing new ever opened up, even after killing hours just to see what would happen. I completed this quest in about an hour, and felt like the Driftwood quests were longer and the Chesty quest was a lot more fun.
The other two quests, Wheel of Misfortune and Mercenary Shooting Gallery, feel more like mini-games then actual quests. The Wheel has you going through five rounds of enemies trying to get the highest score possible, while the Shooting Galley has you trying to shoot targets for the highest score possible.
Both quests give you guns for clearing two levels of high scores. It’s easy to do, and you can get both guns on the first try in both quests. The quests also give reoccurring Guild Seals, just in case you need more seals for the Road to Rule.
The content gives a few other things as well. When you start it up, you’ll find a gift of two more guns. Plus, you’ll get Reaver’s Mansion, though it’s similar to the Sunset House in that you can’t rent it out or do anything with it. I honestly expected the Mercenary camp to put its houses up for sale too, with them being occupied, but I was never allowed to buy them.
All in all, the few quests here aren’t bad by any means, but just leave a lot to be desired. When I think back to Fable II’s DLC, I remember going through multiple missions and a lot of new area. I came into this content expecting just as much, but, apparently, my expectations may have been too high.
Pros
Unlocks new area to see and buy buildings at.
New guns are good to use, offer more power than most.
Wheel of Misfortune and Shooting Gallery offer reoccurring Guild Seals.
Cons
The pack only offers three quests, which seems like a letdown compared to the last game’s DLC.
After you complete the Understone quest, there’s no reason to go back to area.
Also really is no reason to do the other two quests once you get the guns.
The 411:
We had a free weapons pack, so I don’t know why they didn’t want to make this a free mission pack. All three quests can be completed within a few hours, and really don’t have any reason to be revisited. Diehard Fable fans may be tempted to give this a look, but it’d probably be a better choice to hold off and wait for a better content pack to come along.
Graphics
7.5
The new area looks good, but most of the assets have been used before, and nothing new is brought to the table.
Gameplay
6.0
The pack adds only three new quests, two of which seem like mini-games. It’s a disappointing use for a content pack.
Sound
7.5
I wish they had used Montague Homes a bit more, as he offered another good unique voice. Otherwise, you really won’t hear anything new.
Lasting Appeal
5.0
You’ll be done with this quest within a few hours, and, unless you want to keep playing the Wheel or Shooting Gallery, you’ll never revisit these areas.
Fun Factor
6.0
While the Understone quest was good, the pack just leaves you disappointed and wanting more after you beat the quests.
