Developed by Lionhead. Published by Microsoft.
Controller1.com presents a review of Fable II, the highly hyped sequel to one of the most hyped games ever to not suck.
Yes, Fable part 1 had a lot of hype, a lot of promises that didn’t make the final game and a lot of people annoyed at Peter Molyneux. Fable 1 (if you avoided the hyperbole before its release) was actually a pretty good game. My only criticism was that by the end you were overpowered by the time you reached the final battle. Fable II fixes a lot of minor irritations with the first game.
You start off as a young boy or a girl (you choose), who eventually grows up to be a hero in the world of Albion, the same world as the first game but hundreds of years later- a place where belief in magic has disappeared. Your family has been shattered by a villain up to no good for reasons best understood by himself and the people at Lionhead. So, just like any RPG, you play a character and level them up the Lionhead way. You have a main story whereby you become a hero and have to search for a number of other heroes to help you defeat the Big Bad at the heart of the main quest. Along the way you have many, many side quests and have all of the distractions Fable was so good at. I.e- trading, buying property and becoming a landlord, having relationships and families. Most of which doesn’t impact too much on the main quest. Its really a game where the Main Quest can be a very small part of your play experience. Just like going to school. You don’t have to study, you just get through it faster if you do.
There’s never any sense that you aren’t levelled up enough to face any challenge, though the more money you earn, the better weapons you will be able to afford. For an RPG, armour is strangely absent so you can have your character run around in their underwear and not incur any extra damage. You can hold a lot of stuff in your inventory but can only have one ranged and one melee weapon assigned at anyone time. Melee is on one button, ranged is on another, Magic (called Will) on another. So while you have flourishes and can charge up your Will attacks, its not overly complex. Its not bad, its just not that deep. Combat is button mashing but generally enjoyable because when you die you just get knocked out for a but and if you don’t have a revive potion, you just lose XP when you run out of health. You are instantly revived with a lower XP rating but otherwise you can just continue.
The main quest itself is interesting but what sets Fable apart from most RPG’s is the depth of is normally the other bullshit RPG makers throw in to make it longer. You can do odd jobs which are mostly repetitive timing-based minigames such as pulling pints or chopping wood, you can go looking for the various methods to opening demon doors, hunt gargoyles, go on bounty hunter missions, save slave, etc. Mostly for gold (and of course gathering XP along the way), but also for Reknown.
Reknown is Fable’s currency for making sure you do side missions before continuing on the main quest. Which means side quests are partly integrated into the main quest, which is nice. And of course, you have choices whether you behave or act like an asshole (as in Mass Effect and KotOR). Your character’s body will evolve as you play the game. If you get stronger, your character gets bigger. If you eat junk food and drink beer, your character gets fat. If you are pure and eat well, you can lose weight. I chose to eat celery and my character still ended yo looking like a candidate for the Biggest Loser.
You can make people like you by expressions that you find and earn throughout the game. You can scowl, fart, flirt, seduce, scare, offer gifts, dance etc in order to intimidate people, make them like you, etc. A far more evolved version of that in GTA IV, though really in the end they don’t influence the main quest all that much. I got married in Fable I just to see what it was like. I have since gotten married in real life so the attraction to do it in game just wasn’t there but I did manage to have lesbian sex with Carol the Whore and then when I wouldn’t marry her, she started shooting a gun at me and following me wherever I went. I killed her because she was annoying me and felt utterly horrible. So I reloaded my last save. She may have been a Whore (She was Carol the Whore), but she was a human whore.
And then there’s the dog. The Dog is your companion and you can have specific expressions for your dog such as heal, play with, punish, etc. Your dog will bark when treasure is nearby or growl when enemies are around. If you’re a cat person, then you’re shit out of luck.
So how about those more technical aspects of the game. There are some basic online co-op options but I didn’t test any of them since they didn’t add much. If any one from your friends list is playing the same location as you, you will see their avatar and you can join the other’s game (but not as your character). Overall, the game’s presentation is mostly good with a few rough edges at transitions (ie when you beat a mission and the next bit loads or saves, people you were talking with will suddenly disappear).
Graphics are nice and the game manages to keep a decent frame rate though particle effects tend to make the game chug somewhat. Sounds is vbery good and while many American players find the rural English accents forced, they are better than every village hag sounding like Dame Judi Wench. Sound Effects are nice, and musically the game hits the right notes.
Fable II is a very good game and its initial sales success are definitely well deserved. This is a good Zelda style adventure for those not into the grit of Oblivion, Fallout or Mass Effect (or MMO’s). Its got so much that if you didn’t want to play the main quest you’d easily get your money’s worth with the reast of the package. The story is definitely worth playing. It goes into some very dark places later in the game, much darker than the rest of the package and you have to do some heartbreaking things in order to progress.
Controller1.com rating 3/3. This game does so much right, and unique that you really should find the 15 or so hours you need to play through it. The only downside is I now have to go into Fallout 3 having just played a longish game.
November is more than pale guys trying to grow handlebar moustaches, its also the month in which publishers decide to release their big games. This November is a corker. Let’s go through the biggies.
Gears of War 2
Gears of War is Xbox 360′s trump card this year. Fable II was great and Banjo looks to be of similar quality, but neither has that holy-fucking-shitness that Gears 2 has. I liked Gears 1 but wasn’t in-love with it the same way I loved Halo 3 and CoD games, but I’m still highly hyped to be playing Gears 2.
Will multi be better than the first game? maybe. Will the single player be better? Looks to be the case. Can we get more hyperbolic? 1000 times yes!
Resistance 2
You can tell who was an early adopter of PS3. They have two easy to spot traits. They are still eating noodles after they knock off from their second job and they say Resistance was the best game ever. I played it as a long as I could. While it was decent enough, it felt like a PS2 game. It played like one.
Resistance 2 is supposed to be the second coming. I will play it, but I’m not going to rush in to play it.
Quantum of Solace
Decent reviews. But not great reviews. This means this game goes in the post Christmas cheapie pile. I would like to play it at some stage, but not today.
Banjo Kazooie
I am a bit of fan of the original game and its sequel so I’m hanging out for this. I don’t really car about the building aspect, I just want a Rare game I can recognise as a game.
Little Big Planet
No next gen platformers for ages and t hen two come along at once. Will be picking this one apart when I get a chance. It was an October game until it good pushed back to November.
Mirror’s Edge
The demo is downloading as I type. Its such a busy season I don’t really know how I’m possibly going to play this before Christmas
Left For Dead
More cool games? Jesus.
Guitar Hero World Tour
Oh for fucks sake, I just got married and you’re trying to get me to leave my wife for
more games so cool my ass has gotten frostbite
Call of Duty World at War
YOU BASTARDS!!!! DAMN YOU, YOU BASTARDS!!!!!!
As you can see, I have some work ahead of me. I suggest you do what I do. Buy them all straight away at full price and watch half of them hit the bargain bins before you get a chance to unwrap them.
Oh, the pain. The pain, the pain.
I still haven’t finished Fable II let alone started on Fallout 3 or Rock Band.
Its probably for the best that December is actually quite bare and there’s really not much scheduled for January worth bothering about at this stage…
So… playing Fable II.
I have a tendency not to read previews very often. For someone who loves games, it seems weird that i cut out 50% of the content on Game Websites and zines. But it also means I don’t always buy into the hype. I never thought about buying Bioshock until about a week before it came out. Same with the Xbox 360. And 4 years ago, I bought and played Fable on the Xbox and enjoyed it since I didn’t hang on every word coming uot of peter Molyneux’s mouth.
So when Fable II was approaching release, I was cognoscente of the fact the sequel to a game I quite enjoyed was due. Even though I was more pumped for Fallout 3, a game series I had never previously played from a developer whose only game I had played couldn’t hold me for more than 10 hours; and I really don’t like traditional medieval era, Tolkienesque RPG’s- I am so glad I got this. I might even put off playing Fallout 3 for a few months just so the Fable II experience I’m having has some room to breathe.
There will be a review on controller1.com in a week or two (probably two) but for now, suffice it to say, this game really builds upon the successes (rather than the perceived failures) of the first game.
Why you should go out and play this?
Its fun to play. Its funny. It looks pretty good. The story is usual ‘chosen one’ are but it is done very well. And the presentation and amount of stuff to do is phenomenal. Its like a single player MMO. Oblivion, but done better and less po faced without the crash zoom cutscenes.
Why might you want to skip this game?
You think Peter Molyneux is a hack who makes shitty games and steals cabs.
We recorded a focus test where this game has much manure heaped upon it, although it received an equal amount of sweet smelling praise. So if you own a 360 and have any inclination to play western style RPG’s, go and get this. Now.
You still here?
As soon as I finish writing this, I’m off to put Fable II in the 360. Last night I was at the shops on an errand unrelated to gaming and saw an Electronics Boutique. I rarely buy games from EB (Despite having bought my PS2 and my 360 from there over the years) mainly because the prices they charge are usually unspectacular aside form the moral reasons to avoid their preowned titles or trading games.
So Fable II was out and riddled with stickers (see picture) so rather than drive to somewhere with decent prices, I thought I’d try their price guarantee. They may have a higher price on the sticker, but if somewhere else advertises a lower price (and has it in stock), they will match the price. There was a @20 difference between JB Hifi’s price and EB’s so I asked if they might price match.
The store was utterly empty and I was alone apart from the sales clerk. It was certainly uncontaminated by customers. She said, sure but I’ll have to ring a store to see if they have it in stock. The way it works is I have to say which store I would have bought it from and they ring the exact store to see what price and if its in stock. If it was in stock, I’d get it for the cheaper price and save myself a 10 minute trip in the car.
A few years ago, a small electrical retailer got so sick of large chain stores like Big W, Target and K Mart undercutting them with loss leaders that they decided to teach the big boys a lesson. The retailer advertised Playstation 2′s for far less than the then current price. They only had one in stock and sold it quickly. After that, all customers were directed to K mart and informed about K mart’s pricing guarantee to not only match a competitor’s offer but beat by an extra 10%. K Mart was soon swamped with potential PS2 customers demanding to price match the small retailer’s offer, despite assertions they would be selling at a massive loss. Irate customers unable to access the below cost price soon bombarded the local current affairs programs with complaints. Since then, price matching offers had a rather large list of qualifications to make it more or less useless nine times out of ten.
I was in luck, Fable II was in-stock at the other store and so I would be able to walk out with the game paying 80% of the store advertised price. The only previous time I had tried this was when GTA IV came out and an even worse retailer, would not price match since the competitor had sold out in the one store he rang.
If stores near you have a “We will not be beaten on price” promotion, would you pricematch?
Well the storm begins this week with Little Big Planet and Fable II and next week, Fallout 3. Its not possible to play all of the big games coming out at once. So far this month I have already cut out of my ‘To Do’ list, the following big titles: Dead Space, Far Cry 2, Mercenaries 2, Fracture, Wii Music and Saint’s Row 2.
Why?
Dead Space: Because its a horror game and I can live without horror. Yes I’m a big scaredy cat.
Far Cry 2: I played a bit of the PC original and about 99.9% of Far Cry Instincts on the original Xbox. I though the PC one played a bit ‘meh’ but the console version (a completely different game) was really quite nice. Apart from that cheating bitch of a final boss who never ever died. I liked the game a lot and all I can remember is trying to beat that final boss over and over until he got stuck in the mesh and I stopped caring.
Mercenaries 2: More sandbox and no compelling reason to play. The demo promised much and delivered little. I wasn’t a huge fan of the original.
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway: I did beat the first game in the series but never played the second, despite my professed love of WWII shooters. Its not really a shooter and its not Full Spectrum Warrior either. I played the demo and was unimpressed. I was unmoved.
Fracture: Another demo that showed off all you need to know in 5 minutes. Generic story and gameplay built around an overused gimmick.
Wii Music: If I wanted to play a music game where all the songs sounded like a Casiotone, I would have bought Casiotone Hero.
Saint’s Row 2: I played the first one even though I wasn’t impressed by that demo. I think I’m just not that keen on sandbox games per se and having played GTA IV, I think I’m done with the genre. SR1 did do some stuff that GTA IV either stole (or should have stolen) but it’s not so great and I’m not that keen to pop caps in people’s asses anymore. I was keen once, but they say you can never go back.
So what do I want to play?
Little Big Planet. One of its major selling points is completely lost on me. I was quite happy to leave all of my spore creations untextured. I do not wish to gain employment as a level designer. I do not wish to make maps for TF2. I just want a platformer. And really, there’s this and Banjo and that’s really it for this year.
Fable II. I must one of the few people who doesn’t hang on Peter Molyneaux’s every word. And hence I wasn’t disappointed in Fable- I was able to ignore the hyperbole and just enjoy what was a very finely crafted game. I only had two minor complaints against Fable 1- you could beat enemies by running circles around them, and you were likley overpowered by the time you reached the final boss. The rest of that game was so much fun I am very much looking forward to number II.
Fallout 3. I have never, ever played a Fallout game. Somehow, this looks like I might enjoy it.
So I’ll get it.
So it looks life Fable II and Fallout 3 on Xbox 360, and Little Big Planet for PS3. Wii and PC go home empty handed.
