Great Video Games

Fable II is the highly anticipated sequel to the wildly successful original that sold more than three million copies, offering even more choices and building on the core gameplay theme of Fable, where your every decision continually defines who you become.

User Reviews about Fable 2 Platinum Hits

Definitely a step up from the first game, not to say I didn't thoroughly enjoy it. The choice of pursuing a life of good or evil, and the development of different powers and abilities makes each playthrough unique. Very excited for Fable III, Fable II is worth the buy. -- A very enjoyable RPG

The mechanics of Fable II are a very similar blend of the simplistic few-button moves that worked well in the original Fable. There are the same three tracks: Magic, Strength and Will, and the same sort of leveling, though streamlined a bit. I found this game entertaining, engaging and interesting, with the exception of the ending. The story line starts really well, and essentially loses all good aspects to it by the end. There are a lot of really bad Deus Ex Machina's at the end, and really one of the least satisfying endings I've ever seen. Of course it leaves with a sequel in site. -- Terribly entertaining with the worst ending ever.

I never played the original Fable, but after hearing friends rave about it for years, I decided to try Fable 2 when I got my X-box 360.

The game is awesome. It starts out seeming almost like a kid's game, but it turns out to be fun for folks from their teenage years and up, but perhaps isn't great for most younger teens with the serious amount of sexual content, prostitution and violence. Hence, the "rated M for Mature."

Don't judge the game by the first 20 minutes of play (hour if you're really slow.) After the scenes in childhood, the game starts to get more and more interesting and you can really make something out of your hero. You can choose the Good path and grow a halo and looking more and more handsome/beautiful or the path of vengeance and evil, growing horns and having your appearance grow hideous.

Being called Sparrow gets irritating, but you can change the name as early in the game as you want if you have the gold, or earn titles.

The knothole island and see the future quests really add a lot to the story, especially the latter. However, to explain how would be to include spoilers. Even if you already own Fable 2 without the additions, it's cheaper to buy this edition with the add-ons than to buy the add-ons separately on dvd or through X-box Live. I highly recommend re-playing the game with the additional quests.

-- Fun game

Pros: To start with the game is beutiful. the style is the closest you will get to playing a charles dickens novel. and except for the abrupt ending the game has a pretty great story that manages to hook you in the beginning take into account your actions through the game. the way your characters appearance changes based on how you fight, moral choices, the type of food you eat is pretty awsome.

Cons: secrets tend to hide worthless items. Money is so easy to come by that you won't struggle buying anything, and vendor equipment is typically better than the legendary equipment you find out in the world. bassically the game gives you all kinds of optional puzzles to solve, but all they give you for finding and completing them is a Pie or a gold necklace. The game is short for an RPG. -- so close yet so far away

Here's my major gripe with Fable 2 that struck me the very instant I depressed the Xbox guide button on my controller and began playing.

"I've played this before. Surely it's been a few years but this is Fable, possibly as an expansion or updated version but undoubtedly the idea and mechanics are all the same"

What really grinds my gears about that sentence is typically sequels are just rehashes with pretty new coats of paints and gimmicky gameplay add-ons to attract the mass market (See Call of Duty, Guitar hero, Rock Band, Halo, etc etc).

So what makes this any different? Well for starters, Fable one was not a very good game. It was like a solid cast iron pipe. Strong enough to hold the water but weak enough that if bumped just right... Bam! You've got a flood on your hands now.

Certainly there have been games with weak beginnings that inherently get better with each iteration though right? Assassin Creed 2 ring a bell Mr. smug reviewer?

Again this is another fatal flaw. Most sequels intend to carry on a story or alternate stories to enhance a character's legend or gameplay innovations. The Fable series does not have an actual story (Ironic being called Fable though. Two thumbs up there Peter!).

Are you kidding me? It has a storyline you arrogant jerk! Stop spreading the lies!

Enough of that. Welcome to my new formatted reviewing system where we'll investigate all these persnickety claims that decry foul whenever I open my mouth. Follow me down my rabbit hole and be prepared to understand (mostly) everything you'll ever need to make YOUR INFORMED DECISION based on MY OPINION.

GRAPHICS:

Or otherwise known as the simplest code to decipher (and by that I mean review). All games of all genres value this area differently and thus I always found a single isolated review dictated solely for it to be rather disillusioning or better yet, annoying.

Eg. Call of Duty relies heavily on immersion and intensity and while great narrative or gameplay can edge you closer to that aforementioned goal, you'll also rely heavily on how powerful the engine block can kick. If it's a little squib kick you may laugh or cry depending on mood or environment. If it's a thrust directly to your bottom you'll shoot up instantly understanding the true magnitude involved.

My point is this here ain't that type of game. It's a somewhere in the middle of the road - do I wanna be taken serious or do I want to party all night long - type of game. The visuals on display here are no doubt beautiful and impact gameplay but they're also simple and cartoonish.


And then to make things more confusing, computer generated cut scenes invade the screen at (story line) specific times with extreme realism that will surely make your family ask what Pixar (or equivalent) movie you're currently watching. Certainly the game draws it's many shades of fun from it's never ending disparity and unquestionably dragged the artist team down this long spiraling hole too.

But in all seriousness, the game does deliver in this department even if at times the child like appearances makes you question if the dark overtones are really best suited here. I do think that the fairy tale like facade suits the game snug without constraining it to common misconceptions. It also properly flashes it's prowess with the many grassy meadows or with an ominous moon shadowing a foggy hilltop.

The presentation here dances the thin line between what was necessary and full blown immersion. Everything does a nice job grabbing you but never enthralls your mind. And remember; for every tale told, a backdrop of equal measure is required.

Summary: Relevant graphics guide you on your quest for revenge. While impartial to realism these storybook like colors and schemes portray a somewhat unique world to the player that is as easy going as it is easy on the eyes. Beautiful or wicked at times but never demanding or overbearing.


Story:

Your quest starts out much like Fable one and your life did; as a whiny booger eating kid. Quickly you'll be thrust into a scenario full of whimsical delight with a merchant full of hot air and enough brain cells to push a cart down the hill. He'll sell you a "magical" music box for a mere 5 gold coins. Your sister will question the logic and an old blind lady will smack her silly for being so untrusting of grievers.

Silliness aside and long story short (MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

Your sister ends up on the wrong side of a discharged firearm and you end up falling out the window (but not before catching some lead too! Remember kids, equality is number one in our books!). Why this man chose to kill your only living family and attempt to murder you is based around a legend or old wives tale or some cockamamie predicament where four heroes will attempt to halt his future intentions of taking over the world or destroying the world or.... Who really cares. The story here is better then Fable one but that's not saying much. If you play this for narrative please just go outside and bounce the ball around. I'll wait.

Are you gone? No? OK then let's continue. This whole idea about global domination in RPG's always range from asinine to flat out ridiculous. Personally I'll just explain it as a revenge tale. You want to kill the man who murdered your sister. There now let's just tie a bow around it and forget it ever existed. Oh and don't even ask for a summary for this.


Gameplay:

Where to start where to start. Easiest spot is where I originally began. What makes Fable, fable? In the first game we had three techniques or character branches. They were Strength, Skill and Will. Here we have Strength, Skill and Will. In Fable one we had a single button relegated to one of these branches. Fable two continues that tradition in which (X) commences the hacky slashy component. (Y) Equals the festival of bullets/arrows and (B) sends lightning, fire or some other weird anomalies to fly out from your fingertips. Combat in both are simple clicks of the corresponding key and well that's it. The depth here really starts and stops at the use of three different play styles.

Certainly the added bonus or things like Flurry (for melee to break blocks and inflict heavy damage) help but still it's pretty much smashy smashy for melee. Range combat is a little trickier at first but ends up being extremely powerful especially given the right weapons. The major difference here is you'll always try to enter the aim sight mode where you can manually control the shots to not only impose major chaos and pain but to reload and shoot faster. It plays sort of like a stationary third person shooter with large doses of auto aim.

And finally Will (magic) attempts to break those molds with interesting spells for your destructive and viewing pleasure. Unfortunately most of this here isn't top notch material or even as useful as the other two branches especially as you get nearer to the end because someone at lion head studios decided we didn't require a constrictive mana bar. I won't get too far into it, I'll just say this. Magic here is either decided by use of or need of area of effect spells (Damage in a large circle depending on level spell) or not. It's almost always just easier to bash someone's head in with a hammer and even a lot simpler to snipe them then it is to use magic efficiently in this game or even exclusively.

Which brings me to my closing point on the subject of combat. Diversity is the game's true calling. Strict Role players need not apply. If you can stomach a wizard decked out in full getup (robe/hat) wielding a giant hammer then you'll be alright. If not then find one of the many other games that restrict you into form fitting molds.

Other types of gameplay consists of the typical quests (main, side and super side like hidden packages kind only instead of pigeons you'll be shooting talking gargoyles!) exploring the mostly sandbox like game world I spoke of earlier, living out your fictional life with all the bells of whistles of real life nuisances like getting a job, getting married, having whiny children (we went over this), possibly stress induced murdering of said family...

I mean err, the variations here are varied. There's a lot to tackle for such a simple and somewhat shallow game. One major downer is the loot which consistently sucks throughout. Another possible flaw is difficulty which again was extremely weak. I'll even go as far as to say that you can't die in this game and when you actually do achieve that feat the only hardship you'll have to endure is watching any orbs on screen disappear, lose a tiny minuscule amount of exp, and have to wait a full five seconds before you can continue on your way.

If that wasn't bad enough then just grab a life siphoning gem and place it on a gun/sword and watch as you NEVER DIE AGAIN.

Summary: The game is simple, pretty easy, somewhat shallow with adequate but not very deep combat and quests or other oddities that at times stretch your patience rather then your fun. There's also a wannabe artificial life simulator here if you're lonely and demand virtual minions to comfort your pathetic real life. Or just take satisfaction in slaughtering millions upon millions of human constructed AIs.


Overall Grade:

My original review slapped on an 80/100 on this bad boy and that still applies. Fable 2 is a consistently solid game with interesting locales, simple but good enough combat system and sub par story. There are also other factors I've omitted here such as the moral dilemmas and property purchasing monopolies. This is not a game to overlook simply because of it's design or graphics because as a whole; the game is a fun diversion from the typical point; shoot; repeat; fest. I recommend only purchasing the Platinum hits version where you'll receive two more quest lines unless you have some perverse reaction to getting more for your money.
-- For better or for worse: Fable 1.5