Fable 2 Review

BY Rabie Hassoun and Tarell Salem | POSTED: 24 October 2008

Second time's the charm for Peter Molyneux and co.



Fable, the first game in the series released on Xbox and PC, was mostly considered a success. But at the same time it was critically panned for not living up to all the hype and promised ideas its famed game designer Peter Molyneux bestowed upon it. Nevertheless it became a marquee IP for Microsoft, probably being a large reason they decided to buy Lionhead Studios earlier this year. This time around the developers came back with the same original formula whilst adding a great deal of fresh and stimulating features, a lot of which were originally promised by Molyneux himself for the first game. In Fable 2 you’ll be making many critical decisions, and not just in the games well done albeit to brief main quest. Everything you do in this game, good or bad, will affect you in the different regions making up the game world the people within them people. The game was created with the gamer and his choices fully in mind. You want to be evil? Go ahead; the game is actually a whole lot easier playing like a badass. You want to be Mr. Nice guy? Sure you can have a family, serve the community and be the selfless hero if you want. This is what Fable 2 is all about, freedom and the choices said freedom provides.

The first choice you will take in the game is to be a boy or a girl. Pretty straight forward we believe (although we’re aware for some it might not be). After starting the game, the main story will get things rolling pretty quickly. If you wish to just follow the main quest, the game will take roughly 10-12 hours for you to complete. Which is kind of short in reality, but this is not the reason why we love Fable 2 so much. Sure the main story is very solid itself if not a little clichéd, but the side quests and near endless amount of things for your character to do is what this game is all about. While going through the story missions, you can take a detour and save a kid from a dungeon, even court a young lady (or man) and start a family if you’re so inclined (and don’t use a condom). Without spoiling anything having a family affects the main story as well later on. Of course you need cash for gear and supporting your spouse. Earning money can be as easy as stealing or begging if you wish to be lazy. But those that choose to do things honestly can work for the money doing a job (blacksmithing, bartending etc) and then investing what you earn in a shop or house to rent out. As an example of the games depth, buy a shop or two in one town. How much profit you gain from these assets will depend on the town’s economy, which in turn is directly affected by your own spending and actions. Also by making sure bandits aren’t kidnapping people and townsfolk aren’t being slaughtered in their homes, by your greedy hands. The game even makes sure the shops and real estate you rent out give you cash while your Xbox is turned off.

As we said before the story in Fable 2 is exciting but just a little bit shorter than we expected. The main purpose here is saving Albion from the games antagonist with a band of fellow heroes and getting revenge as usual. There are things that differentiate it from this well travelled storyline road however. They come in the form of certain choices you’ll be forced to make during the course of your playthrough, mostly having to do with your morality or lack thereof. Even at the end of the main quest you’ll have to make a choice which will affect your ending and the world you play in after the credits roll. So far we have spent more time playing with the game after beating the story than we did getting through it, so what you choose here is very important and can’t be altered. Each NPC in this game also has its own ideas and feelings about you. Some will love you for being evil; others will be scared and run. Some people will be nice to you if you are good, while others will be cautious. However you’ll be able to adjust how people perceive you by using a set of expressions you have and will gain/find throughout the game. Which means our hero here will not be doing any talking. While the expressions may seem simplistic at times, they are pretty enjoyable and get the job done since your character lacks a voice. These expressions range from dancing, flicking other people off, even propositioning them for some sweet lovin back at your place.

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