Fable II

Publisher: Lionhead Studios
Developer: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Action
Release Date: October 20, 2008
Platform: Xbox 360
ESRB: M - Mature

Reviewer: Eric

The original Fable came out on the Xbox and it did not deliver like it was suppose to. The game felt unfinished and about the time the game was over it seemed like the adventure just started. Still the hype around Fable 2 was huge and it got the attention of everyone again. Is all of the buzz around the second Fable true or will games be disappointed again?

Fable 2 expands on the first games gameplay. The world in Fable 2 almost feels like an MMO. The games true story took longer than the first games story, lasting between 8 to 12 hours. If you were to do all of the side quests in the game then it will take you quite some time, mainly since you have to play the game a total of three times to get the entire story in the world of Fable.

The game starts off with you picking between a male and female character. You start off the game as a child and you have to make some pretty important choices. The good and evil paths start early off in the game and these choices will change the entire game so make sure you pick wisely.

Once you get older the game advances. The main story revolves around revenge. Along the way some other aspects are thrown into the game, making Fable 2 one of the best action role playing games on the Xbox 360 right now. Everything Fable should have been is now in Fable 2 and it is about time.

Throughout the game you can edit your character, from the cloths you wear to your hair. The choices in Fable 2 are endless; the game does not just revolve around the story. The way you look and dress in Fable 2 will also reflect the game. Dress good enough and you can find the woman of your dreams. Fable 2 has so many choices, some in which are just plain old wrong but funny/entertaining at the same time.

You can marry numerous women in Fable 2. Not only that you can pay for sex, causing your character to get an STD or two. Fable 2 is a great way to make to learn how life is. Your choices, even the smallest ones, reflect the entire game. Fable 2 feels like The Sims and World of Warcraft in one and there are no annoying people around to annoy you when you play.

That is a problem though, online play. Fable 2, as of now, is lacking any real online play. Sure you can meet up with a friend online and do all of the games quests, but what about you’re other friends that are playing? Whenever you do play online the characters won’t look like your character creation, you have to pick from a bunch of default creations. I don’t want to say that Fable 2 is the worst online experience; it just is a shame that you can’t do more when playing the game online.

In the first Fable it was way too easy to become good. In the second Fable the developers seemed to balance everything out. Townspeople will be happy if you buy up their towns are charge them rent, however if you raise the rent then they will get mad. Greed is a bad thing and farting is also bad. The game does offer a wide range of quests for both good and bad heroes. If you want to be bad to the bone then make sure you kill the slaves instead of saving them.

Another new aspect to the Fable series is your dog friend. Whichever path you pick your dog will change in color, which is pretty cool. It was extremely hard to find certain items in the first game, especially silver keys. Your dog in Fable 2 will find you treasures, either by running to there location or dig up a spot that you need to take your shovel too. It is real great to be able to find items this time around but I couldn’t help but think that Fable 2 was a little easy at times.

Combat in Fable 2 fixes all of the problems from the first game. The main difference this time around is the magic system. Instead of having a mana bar you can use magic non stop, causing early stages in the game to be way too easy. There is no slow down in the game this time around in the battle system. Some might think there is with the slow down effect for some special attacks. It can get a little crazy when you are attacking a lot of enemies at the same time and you keep doing hard strikes, then and only then will the game seem a little sluggish.

One thing that is slow in Fable 2 is the load times. Whenever the load screens pop up they seem to stay around for almost a minute. The long loading times seem to occur during big story events. That is at least good, right? Yes and no, there are times in the game where you will be so into it that the loading time will annoy you like no other. Online play is at least lag free.

Final Verdict
Fable 2 is a massive game. With so many great games coming out now it is hard to pick which one to buy. It is safe to say that Fable 2 is a must own for all Xbox 360 owners. Online play might not be as advance as some games, but the single player experience is amazing. Pick up Fable 2 now if you haven’t already.

Rating
9.50 out of 10


Fable 2 Trailer

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#151 jakebonz wrote:
I really think Fable II needed another 3 months worth of pollish for it to be a top-notch game. The "pauses" when navigating through the menus was annoying at best. Apparently, the New Xbox Experience will clear that up if you instal this game on the hard drive.

I just felt the battle system should have played at a Kingdom Hearts-type pace. Eric did mention that the game does seem to slow down during combat. I do totally expect a slight slowdown when casting a big area spell that affects a ton of enemies around me. My whole problem though was that there just seemed like a slight delay between the button press and action on the screen (and no, it wasn't my TV).

Was it a great game? Yes, I think it was. Am I happy I got the Collector's Edition? No, I'm not. I still want to play through this game again as totally evil.

#152 Amalgamut00 wrote:
If you play through the game as evil you will see a lot of differences early on in the game. I think this is a real cool aspect of the game and it also gives the game a lot of replay value.

I would agree with you about Fable 2 need some polishing up, but with so many other games being released too early Fable 2 looks like it was a complete game. Way too many companies are releasing games that need more time. Thanks to DLC they can cheat gamers and in the end we'll pay more for the game. Isn't $60 enough?

#153 jakebonz wrote:
At least Gran Turismo 5 Prolouge has the courtesy of only being $40. I also need to point out that there are some obvious glitches in the game, like the fact that it was impossible for me to buy furniture at one of the stores, which actually made it impossible for me to max out the value of the homes I was renting out.

I also feel that there could have been sooooo much more added to this game. I'm not saying it needs to be Disgaea big, but it seemed like there was almost too few choices in weaponry (and probably too many choices of what to eat). I also think they could have added more than essentially 3 towns for you to explore.

I'm starting to think that the game might have been better if it was broken up onto multiple DVDs

#154 CA_Jeff wrote:
GT5 Prologue was indeed $40 but the game was beyond bad. Sony wanted to make fans pay for each car that was to be released. It looks like those ideas were thrown out for now, mainly so Sony can empty our wallets with stupid LBP crap.

I don't even see how you could bring up Disgaea either. Just like Fable you can beat the game fast or take forever. Disgaea is only long if you put in the time. Compare Fable to something other than Disgaea, that was just stupid really.

Weapon choices are bad? Look at every RPG on the market. The weapon has a different name but most of the time it looks the same in battle. Fable had more than enough weapons to choose from.

Three towns that change on how you play the game. Try playing the game again and then talk. I went through the game twice so far and I had the towns act differently, almost making them seem new. If you want a lot for your money then play a damn MMO.

Finally you complained about the furniture in houses. The way you act in towns will reflect that. Befriend the shop owners, buy their business and just buy things you need in that town. I had this problem before and after buying food and potions for awhile I was set.

Fable II is not the best game but your problems with it are comparable to other big shot writers like GameSpot. Play the game for what it's worth, don't stop after one try and pretend you know everything about the game.

#155 jakebonz wrote:
You know, I do like Fable II. I'm just not blind to its faults.