Fable 2 (Xbox 360) Review

Posted by Ty Huston on 11.17.2008

You've read the features, now read the review. Does Peter Molyneaux's vision finally translate onto a Fable game? Read on to find out.




Title: Fable 2
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Genre: Adventure, RPG
Players: 1-2


As I’ve chronicled over the past few weeks, tracing my steps through the world of Albion and my impressions, I have to admit that I really enjoyed this game. In each of my feature articles, provided a primer as to whom created the game, his history in the field of gaming and his trials and tribulations related to the over enthusiasm he exasperated during the development of the original Fable. That man is Peter Molyneux. Fable was his child. Like all children, they don’t exactly do what you expect them to do and are not capable of doing everything you intend for them. You even sometimes brag to your friends about what your children are capable of and will at times be let down when they fail to live up to the hype you’ve created. Fable was the infant and toddler for this man. Fable 2, is a more developed and educated child who has lived up to his father’s dreams. It’s like that child grew into a teenager, carries good grades in school and prepares for college. Not without his flaws, that child has matured from the little tyke he once was and is something to be proud of.



Play time is over.


Gameplay & Story

Fable 2 is an easy to handle, simple to pick up game that has an incredibly engaging feel to it. The simple use of the one button system for melee, magic and ranged attacks make this game a piece of cake for anyone to play, really.

The game provides a leveling up system that entails earning experience points and then spending them to advance the three core hero elements – strength, skill and will. The further you advance them, the more damage you can do and the better your attacks can be. Spending these experience points on strength, for example, will add to your health, or increase your melee damage or even unlock different fighting techniques that will improve your options in combat.

I like how the game has changed from the original in the fact that you gain scars in a different way. The original Fable had you getting scarred up simply for taking damage whereas with the sequel, you must first be knocked unconscious to get scarred. That too, is a nice new feature of Fable 2 – the lack of dying. You never die in the game, only knocked unconscious. It definitely makes the game more user-friendly and while it doesn’t add to the depth of the game, sometimes making things more simple is a good thing.

One thing I must make note of is that instead of advancing the artificial intelligence for the game to scale with the increasing skills of the player, it seems as though the more difficult missions simply add more bad guys to increase the difficulty factor.

A few of the great things about this game include the ability to have a wife and children and the dog. The dog becomes incredibly useful, as well as providing a strange companionship factor to the game. It is really strange, how they’ve taken an artificial pet and given him the characteristics which make you feel as though he is part of the team. It is almost like playing with a second player.

The game’s multiplayer mode is not what most wanted out of the game, but it is indeed true to what Peter Molyneux discussed. While not being the center of attention in another person’s version of Albion, you can still be a handy second man who can combine their attacks with their friend to create even better attacks. Mixing that with the ability to trade items with other people only increases the longevity of the game and hopefully future DLC for this game will include quests that really should require two players to keep the fun going.

As I told spoilers of the game’s story with my features, I will refrain from detailing the entire thing here. However, I will make note of the ending. With my feature articles, I intended to entice people to play the game and not ruin for them. However, this being the review, I will delve into and spoil the ending for those who read it.

The final battle between me and Lucien was a one-shot kill. Drained from the music box, I shot him with The Enforcer once and he fell off the platform to his (supposed) death. Now, I can buy that I suppose, however it simply screams that they’ll release downloadable content with the “real” ending in the near future, which is likely what the reported “big news” that Lionhead will be announcing soon. While I don’t have an issue with that, as downloadable content is a great thing to have, I also feel as though the ending was quite cheap and that the people who paid $60 for this title deserved a real ending with maybe a twist in the form of DLC.

For all that the game has going that makes it great, it is not without some issues. While they changed the landscape from the original Fable to increase the land area that the player can explore, there are some very glitch-filled moments where you can be trapped behind some bushes or – like I mentioned in my features – your wife can simply vanish. Fortunately, I was able to overcome all of those minor technical issues, but the game lacks that last little bit of polish that should have been done.



Touché.


Graphics

The art work in this game is simply amazing. My wife, a non-gamer who generally leaves the room when I play games to go do something else, would sit for hours and watch me play this game. It’s beautiful. Along with other neat quirks from the game such as the dog and the family aspect, she was drawn in to the fantastic visuals that are presented in this game. It really brings you in.


Sound

Funny lines from commoners and quality dialogue fill this game, which breathes life into it. The music, while not overbearing, provides a nice back drop to the game and helps engross the player. Of course, sound effects and such are quite good as well and I even like how the different legendary weapons each have their own attack sound. It simply adds to the feel of importance for the weapon.



No Caption Necessary.


Lasting Appeal

The main game is rather short, but if you take your time and try to do as many side quests and the like as possible, you can have a good, long run playing Fable 2. Add in the multiplayer to that, and I can see people still playing this game for months to come. The enticement of downloadable content on the horizon also extends the life of this game.


Fun Factor

Fable 2 is a very enjoyable game that lives up to the carefully chosen words of Peter Molyneux. I applaud the effort put into the game, making it a simply yet deep and fun title to add to my collection.




Obviously, there is a smart-mouthed gargoyle around here somewhere.


The 411

If you enjoyed the original Fable, you’ll love Fable 2. The game’s visuals, gameplay mechanics, story and multiplayer combine to make a game that I really liked and will keep in my personal collection. After I finished the game, my wife told me she was bummed out that I wouldn’t be playing again. I told her that is not the case, because as with the original – while the main game’s story may be over, the story of your hero is not.

Graphics	10.0	I honestly don't know what more they could have done to make this game look any better. Amazing.
Gameplay	8.5	The ease of the controls is smart and simple, but the bugs I encountered cannot be overlooked. Another month of testing and these may not have been present in the game.
Sound	9.0	The voice acting is good, sound effects are great and the musical score is nice. Unfortunately, the villagers voices can repeat themselves to death which can be rather annoying.
Lasting Appeal	8.0	The main story is too short in my opinion, but the multiplayer and anticpated announcement of DLC may extend the life of the game for quite some time.
Fun Factor	10.0	It can't be denied that Fable 2 is an absolute joy to play. It's easy, it's fun and with all the ability to customize your hero to be however you like, how can anyone not enjoy this game?
Overall	9.1   [  Amazing ]

Screenshots
All 17 Fable 2 Screenshots