Fable II

Peter Molyneux is going to wake up tarred and feathered one of these days. The creator of Populus, Black and White and of course, Fable, has a reputation of promising great features but failing to deliver. So when Fable II was announced to the world, some were wary to jump on the band-wagon. They had been burned by Fable I and Black and White II, so could they really trust Molyneux this time?

In terms of what Fable II is, the game is a resounding success. Albion is larger, the graphics are crisp, and the morale based gameplay is just as fun as the firsts. The story is typical, avenge a friend's death while becoming the hero of the land, and the game's length is leaves much to be desired.

Fable does have a unique world to explore and make your mark in. You can buy all the property in the world and hike up the rates, or you can help the lands flourish with good deeds. The good vs. evil angle is well executed and there is nothing better than seeing horns slowly grow out of your temple as you slaughter a village. Despite the short length and stale story, the overall experience is enjoyable, that is if you are willing to ignore Molyneux's promises.

In terms of what Molyneux promised for Fable II, the game is a failure. Molyneux promised a myriad of new ideas most of them surrouding your characters everyday life. At times you wonder if the game he really wanted to design was Fable: The Sims, as he jabbered on about house ownership, family and yes the dog. What we were promised was in-depth social interaction with the community around you, but what we got is just a mere mini-game with no real purpose.

Let's take the wife and sex in to account for example. Molyneux jabbered on about how you could contract STD's, or become a polygamist and many other social featuers. The problem is that none of these features add anything to the overall experience. Your wife just sits at home and serves as a nag, your children (not killable) never amount to much and despite how evil you are, people will fall in love with you. You'd think that with all the time spent talking about such great features as marraige, they would result in more than just an achievement to earn for your gamerscore.

The dog is a nice addition and while his companionship is entertaining his a.i. is isn't. You will be attacked by hordes of monsters while rover tries to lead you to buried treasure. You teach him tricks, but in the end they serve no real purpose. You can play fetch, but I've yet to see any negative effect if you were to simply ignore the dog and never play with him. Unlike marriage, the dog does have a purpose and while he may not be the world's best companion, he is atleast helping you. There is an unexplainable amount of joy to be had when your dog digs up some weapon with great stats.

Another strange addition to the game was the job system. Questing doesn't pay well in Albion so in order to support yourself (or your useless family) you will need to take a job. You can be a blacksmith, farmer, bartender and several other jobs but you will be required to partake in a boring mini-game in order to make some money. Yahtzee said it best. Remember in the Sims when you went to work and filed papers for six hours? No! Because that is a terrible idea and Molyneux seems to disagree. You could skip the whole job route and just cheat in the pub-game or scavanger for items, but otherwise you may be handcuffed to a career.

Perhaps what is most dissapointing in Fable II is that while Molyneux spent so much time on social interactions and trying to create a world to shape, he forgot to refine the combat. The game is relatively easy if you're just spamming the X button, but a long range fighter might find the gun aiming a bit cumbersome. If you're not in the mood for dealing with the whole sword and sheild bit, just learn an area-of-effect magic and max it's level early. Spam it and voila! The original Fable's combat was just as simple but those were simpler times and while it might be a bit much to ask for a deeper combat system, Fable II's is so broken the game loses it's challenge.

Fable II is not the best game ever made, but it's far from the worst. While it shouldn't be on any game-of-the-year shortlists it should please anyone who wants to enjoy a morality based RPG. Just don't read in to the hype.