Fable 2 is a game that the housemate and I have been looking forward to since it was in development. We both loved the original and a sequel would be even more awesome, right?
So this time around, Fable 2 is set 500 years after the original game and any sign of heroes/heroettes have been seemingly forgotten about. After selecting your hero’s gender and a gorgeous opening sequence (complete with a highly detailed render of falling bird poop), the game sets you out to play as a young boy or girl named Sparrow who -with your sister Rose, run around old Bowerstone collecting enough money to buy a seemingly magic music box.
After a tragic turn of events, you fast-forward to your hero’s adulthood and thus, the main meaty bits of the storyline begin.
The first change players will notice is the setting. Fable 2 is now set in a stylized Renaissance/highwayman era, complete with such technological advances of the time such as flintlock guns. A lot of the places in Albion have changed considerably, with whole areas being completely renamed in places.
This time around, Lionhead has fiddled and built upon the original’s interface quite a bit. Things now seem a tad more intuitive as the game now gives you a glowing “breadcrumb trail” that shows you where you need to go. Quest NPC’s also now adopt a World of Warcraft-style exclamation mark above their heads to grab your attention. Your alignment also gets a good beating with the overhaul stick, and allows you to fine-tune how your character acts as opposed to just good or evil. For example, you can be a halo-wearing angel of a person, yet still be corrupt and selfish. You’ll also notice a few of the creatures you’ll face have been changed around for better or worse (Unfortunately, Rock Trolls are still the annoyingest thing this side of Albion).
Controls have also been modified, you now have full control over the camera and combat has been redone to adopt a “one button does everything” layout, which is both a blessing and a curse. While the new system benefits basic hack and slash combat, trying to do flourishes or other special abilities you can attain becomes a bit of a hassle, especially in the midst of combat. Another change is that -unlike the original, you can’t assign shortcuts to the D-pad. Shortcuts now appear when needed, and change depending on the situation.
A new addition to the game is your hero’s faithful dog, who primarily acts as a furry treasure detector, though he also has a few other tricks up his sleeve as well. Another addition to the game is multiplayer
Graphics in Fable 2 are top notch, with the cinematics stealing the show. Character models are well designed and rendered, and the environments look fantastic. Everything looks like it came straight out of a steampunk/fantasy novel and I’ve yet to see any issues pop up.
Sound and music -just as the first, is brilliant. While NPC’s once again suffer from sounding all the same, there’s enough variety in the voices for it not to be annoying.
Speaking of voices, Lionhead pulled out all the stops this time and got some pretty well-known actors to do voices for the main characters, including Ron Glass, Stephen Fry, Julia Swahlia and Helena Bonham-Carter.
Music is typical Fable fare (which isn’t a bad thing in the slightest), with quite a few of the tracks from the previous game remixed and updated for the new game.
Sadly, the game isn’t without its flaws. One of the major ones is that the game’s a little on the bug-ridden side, which will hopefully be fixed in a later update. While it’s nothing that particularly bricks the game, they are noticeable.
Overall, Fable 2 is an excellent sequel to an already great game. It has its flaws, but I still can highly recommend it to both newcomers to the series and diehard fans.
