Game – Fable II
Platforms – Xbox 360
Developer – Lionhead Studios
Publisher – Microsoft Game Studios
Genre – Role Playing Game
WiFi? – Co-Op
Fable II is the sequel to the critically acclaimed original Xbox RPG ‘Fable’, with its tongue-in-cheek humour and compelling storyline, this is one RPG you don’t want to miss out on, read on to find out why.
Battling a Troll
Gameplay
Fable II starts with you (The Hero), living as an orphan in the slums of the now radically expanded city of Bowerstone which serves as your main hub throughout the game, as a child you will have to gather gold pieces for a fateful purpose, I won’t ruin it for you but it sets up basis for your quest through Albion. Revenge. The main storyline does not have to be completed straight off the bat in Fable II, after your 15-20 minute tutorial as to how the game works, you could complete many of the side missions if you so wish, or find a job and earn gold to start your real estate empire, maybe starting a family and raising a child is more to your taste? It’s entirely up to you. Choose your path, to being Pure or Corrupt, Good or Evil, Giving or Greedy. A lot of the gameplay however does revolve around you killing the various creatures and villains (or villagers) to gain experience and makes yourself stronger in the ways of Magic, Skills, and Strength, the more powerful you become the more carnage you can cause. You will also not be alone in Albion, you have a faithful dog who will follow you around and can be very helpful in finding treasure and things buried underground.
The game will also make you laugh at some points with its brilliant humour, read some of the items you will find in the tutorial to find out what I mean. Where other RPG’s like Fallout 3 try to be serious, Fable II tries to be silly and funny which makes the experience all the more enjoyable.
My main criticism is the co-op aspect of the game, you are forced to share the same screen as the other player you are playing locally or over the internet with, rather frustrating if your friend needs to go away for a minute and you can’t do anything, also the person joining your game does not have the option to use their own Fable 2 character, instead they must choose a pre-set underpowered character to use.
The loading times are no good thing either, it can take up to a minute to load one area after you leave another, and if you all of a sudden remember there was something you forgot to do from where you came from, its about another minutes waiting going back.
Using Inferno spell
Graphics
The game has some very lush graphics, the lighting is great and the environments are visually different when looking at them at morning or night. Your character can sport a variety of different looks (dreadlocks, a moustache and mutton-chops anyone?), for example the more magic you use, your character will obtain many glowing lines over their skin. And when you are knocked out (You do not die in game) you will receive a scar that will NOT go away. Upon using magic your environments will sometimes bask in the glow of them, for example conjuring fire makes you environment a sunset orange, or using lightning make it sky blue. Upon using these spells they will most of the time travel along the ground around you towards your enemies.
Sunset
Music
The music is outstanding, whilst roaming through a marketplace you will here lovely cheery music, on the other hand when confronted by enemies the music will take a more sinister turn and drums will start beating and a choir starts to sing. On the loading screens you are treated to a ghostly choir singing in the background to occupy you whilst you load the next area, the music takes many dramatic and unexpected turns throughout the game and to experience them is brilliant.
Female character using Shock
Replay Value
Throughout the course of the game you have to find and destroy 50 obnoxious little sods called gargoyles, these stony nuisances will shout annoyingly at you whenever they spot you, you must find all 50 and take them out to be awarded with something special, there are also a bounty of side quests that will keep you occupied for hours, there are also 2 DLC packs out for Fable II, Knothole Island takes you to a completely new place to explore and adds new items, quests and clothing, See The Future adds more quests to the mix and allows you to obtain potions to change the breed of your dog, and enter an arena called the colloseum.
Conclusion
Overall, Fable II is a must own RPG if you own an Xbox 360, with a compelling story, lots of side quests to complete, high scores to top in arenas, gargoyle hunting, customization of your character and many moral decisions to make, its a classic in its own respect. However it is let down by slow load times and a horrible co-op mode, but don’t let those out you off and enjoy your journey through Albion.
Gameplay – 8.5/10
Graphics – 8.5/10
Music – 9/10
Replay Value – 9.5/10
Final Score
9/10
