Hands On With Fable II
After interviewing Sir Peter Molyneux last week, I was treated to a full two and a half hours of play time with Fable II. I had seen it at E3 but my time was limited and I only really got to see the multiplayer aspect. This time around I got to start at the beginning and play until they pried the controller out of my hands and fairly ejected me from the room to make places for the next group coming in.
In Fable II, you start out as a child and have the choice of whether to play male or female. You are dropped into the town of Bowerstone, 200 years after the end of the original Fable. 200 years has done a lot for Bowerstone and it is no longer a quaint country village, but a thriving town with many citizens, each with their own personalities. You are teamed up with your sister and the two of you go through the city performing simple tasks for the citizens that serve as the game's training level. Right off the bat you are faced with moral choices like whether to give the arrest warrants you found to the local police or sell them to the nasty man who threatens your life. I don't want to ruin the storyline for you so I will refrain from telling you how this beginning level resolves, but suffice it to say it is a great launching point for your grand adventure.
Soon you reach your teenage years and you can expand your horizons past your simple home town. In the time I played I was able to complete a few small quests and get started on the beginnings of the main quest. It's interesting to think that in the 2 1/2 hours I spent with Fable II I could tell that I had barely scraped the surface of what this incredibly deep game has to offer. I was able to explore the dog mechanic which was fun, and you really get to love the little guy (or girl if you so choose). He/she is quite the loyal pet and is great for helping you find hidden and buried treasure. I was also able to chat up some of the locals, but time prevented me from courting any of the local lads.
The battle system has received an overhaul and is much easier to navigate than the original and yet still retains a similar feel. This could really be said for the entire game which shows many improvements over the first Fable. It seems much more in depth in terms of storyline and interactions with NPCs. One of the things that annoyed some folks about the original was the extremely long training portion at the beginning. Fable II has a much shorter tutorial section and it is more integrated into the story rather than being a literal training level.
The graphic style is unmistakably Lionhead Studios and the leap to next gen consoles has made everything much smoother and prettier. The environments are detailed and quite stunning and the character models are equally pretty. Running through virtual fields hasn't been this satisfying since Oblivion. Everything has that Lionhead slightly cartoony look and yet it is completely engrossing and immersive. You buy into it the same way you buy into the world of Tim Burton film.
With just over a month to go until its release, Fable II is set to be one of the blockbuster titles of this holiday season. Fans of the original will go nuts over the many improvements while newcomers will wonder why they missed out on the original. And speaking of the original, I happened to find a treasure chest in one portion of the game that wouldn't open. A dialogue box popped up that said "Find out how to access the gold and treasure of your ancestors" and pointed me to a URL. Does this mean you will be able to use your original Fable game save to get extra treasure (provided that saved game is actually on your 360)? We will see when Fable II launches exclusively on the Xbox 360 on October 21.
Fruit Brute
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 15 September 2008
· Comments (11)
Other stuff like this: fable II, lionhead studios, peter molyneux, xbox 360
So it's good? Hurrah!
One question, whilst walking through the towns and thigns how many times did you hear the same repeated lines of dialogue?
Enough tempting me!
I'm in for one confirmed pre-order as a birthday gift for the bf.
Great early hands on impressions!
"I dialogue box popped up that said "Find out how to access the gold and treasure of your ancestors" and pointed me to a URL. Does this mean you will be able to use your original Fable game save to get extra treasure (provided that saved game is actually on your 360)?"
I hope not, I hate missing out on the whole experience.
Sounds to me like the gold and treasure of your ancestors could be the stuff you get from the pub games DLC. Though I don't know why they'd give an URL for that.
That screenshot totally reminds me of the first time I saw oblivion
The gold and treasure must be from Pub Games DLC, i dont think it's possible to use Fable 1 data and it would be unfair
to those who have not played the original or most likely those who didnt play it on the 360, also which version would it be?
There are technically 3 different version you could play on the 360, Disc Fable for the original xbox, Lost Chapters (original Xbox),
and the DLC Fable avalible on XBL Marketplace. It would be too much hassle i think to use Fable1 save data like that.
i love how gay this site is especially the gay guy holding that joystick very funny ROFL
mhhh bad article...the game plays 500 years after the original Fable I.
If u go to this site http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/splash/f/fable2/ there are flash games u earn items from and the little puppet theater story u do to win items talks about the character putting his stuff in a cave so his ancestors can find it at the end. havent played it to confirm it but pretty sure this is what it is.
How do you merge your Pub Games winnings with your Fable 2 character?
to merge your accounts, just go to a game master in any pub, accept his offer to play a game, cash out, either after you play or just dotn play at all, then you get an option to merge your character.