Fable II Pub Games

For years now fans of Peter Molyneux's original Fable have been anxiously awaiting the release of his next gen sequel to the 2004 sword-and-sorcery RPG. It's fair to say that Molyneux has been known in some circles for his exaggerated claims and broad visions more than for his games themselves, some of which have been lackluster (a popular example being 2001's Black and White, which I actually enjoyed, but nevermind). Molyneux seems to have an obsession with giving gamers choice between playing a noble, upright citizen or a foul, Machiavellian tyrant, and Fable 2 appears to be no exception. While previews have been limited to showing combat, the AI companion dog you get, and basic NPC interaction, Molyneux recently released Fable 2 Pub Games which allows players to dive into the gambling mini-games that will be featured in the full version, and wrack up bonus items, wealth, or massive debt before Fable 2 is released in October. The concept is simple: Players participate in three different gambling games and various tournaments to build their stake in the world of Fable 2. Upon release, players will be able to transfer their wealth, or lack thereof, to their character in the game world.

The first game, Fortune's Tower, is a card game where the player antes an initial bid, and one card is dealt face down, and two face up. The player can either take the value of the face cards in gold, or opt to see the next row of cards. In that case, three cards are dealt below the two face cards, and it continues on like this, with the tower of cards expanding in a pyramid shape. The rub is that if a face card on a new row touches a card above it with the same value, the tower collapses and the player loses his ante. There are a few outs, though. When two cards of the same value come in contact, the face-down tower card is revealed and replaces the threatening face card that was just revealed. There are also four "hero" cards in each deck, and each hero card will protect the row it's on from any offending cards that may jeopardize the tower's integrity. It's the most fun game of the three, requiring strategic thought, card counting, and risk mitigation.

The second game, Keystone, is a combination of craps and roulette. The board is a semi-circle shape, with four "keystones" - two at the top of the arch, and two at the base. Bets are placed along the arches, inner arches, and on specific bets, such as rolling doubles, triples, black, red, an oval or diamond, etc. There are a lot of different options at play when it comes to risking your hard earned gold, and to someone who's never played roulette before it can be a little overwhelming. Thankfully the process is streamlined with the ability to check the odds of any given bet with a pull of the left trigger, and for those that like to place a lot of bets on each roll, you can bet on the exact same sections of the board as your last roll with a click of the right button, which mercifully speeds the pre-rolling process up. Once the bets are placed, the dice are thrown, and gradually the pieces of the arch fall away, one piece per number rolled. If the top two keystones are removed, or one of the bottom keystones, the arch collapses and the board is set up again. This is a more passive game, which requires a knowledge of odds, and a hefty bank account to do well at. I've found myself mostly just betting on longshots and triples, and hoping I get lucky.

The third game, Spinner Box, is essentially Fable 2's version of a slot machine. There are different kinds of boxes, some with three slots, some with more, and the game becomes an exercise in spamming the A button and hoping you get lucky. Some boxes have different tricks to them, though. On some, you have a chance of getting free spins, while on others you can build a multiplier to your next spin. While pretty to look at, it's by far the most passive game of the three. As you gamble, you'll begin to raise in rank as a gambler, up to a five star rating. With each rank you unlock new game variants, and also gain access to tournaments where you can win prizes, ranging from a rather "blah" haircut on the one hand, to a magical sword on the other. The trick is to try and increase your rank without going too deep into debt. It's quite possible to rack up a seemingly insurmountable amount of debt in Pub Games, which will transfer over to your main character if you choose to, bringing with it repercussions in the game world.

But is it fun? Aesthetically, Pub Games is beautiful to look at, with fantastic presentation values and a whimsical soundtrack that will be instantly familiar to anyone who's played the original Fable. As to the games themselves, Fortunes Tower is by far the most addictive, requiring the most strategy. It has the capacity to keep you up into the wee hours playing "just one more hand," and is a pretty fast, and more importantly fun, way of leveling up your gambler, especially at higher stakes tables. Keystone is pleasant on the eyes, and hitting it big on triples always provides you with a big endorphin rush, but it requires less strategy than Fortune's Tower, and you can burn through a lot of your gold quickly if you hit a bad streak. Spinner Box is, well, boring. You still get that one-arm bandit rush on a high payout, but you also might get carpel tunnel syndrome by the sheer speed that you spam the A button with. If you're just looking to level your gambler rating up quickly, regardless of debt, it's the best way, though.

Overall Pub Games is a fun, addictive package, with some parts shining more than others, but if you have no interest in Fable 2 it's probably not worth your time. It can be purchased on XBLA for 800 Microsoft Points, but if you're planning on playing Fable 2 anyway there are a lot of retailers that are doing pre-order promotions that include a free copy of Pub Games, and I'd recommend going that route. Pub Games is fun, but probably not $10 fun.