Fable 2 Review

Off Topic Video Games
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Fable 2 Review.

So Fable 2 is the newest endeavour by Lionshead Studios. They are responsible for Black and White 1 &2 and also the original Fable. The main emphasis on Lionshead games tend to be consequence. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So far in there games it has been a let down, being a great idea but never quit delivering on being enjoyable. Is Fable 2 any different? Well I will answer that later, now let me tell you about the game.

In a medium dominated my American and Japanese companies it’s a breath of fresh air to have a different environment. Fable 2 delivers, it is set in a imaginary kingdom modelled on Britain during the industrial revolution. Infact the settings and characters are nearly cloned from a Charles Dickens novel. The landscapes are breathtakingly beautiful and the characters are loveable with there hilarious cockney accents.

You start off as a child, either male or female, they have both, in a slum in the big city. You and your sister are orphans who live on the streets. As you progress through the story you age, but its not gradual, one minute you’re a kid, you finish that story arc then you’re a teen, then you finish that story arc and you’re a adult. It feels very rushed. One thing that does not age in the game is your dog. This story is set over a much longer period then a dog could last. And as we are talking about the dog, it feels like a waste of programming. The dog has one use, and that is sniffing out treasure, which he rarely does. He never once helped me in combat.

Now onto the quest. Its fun to play but its really short. One thing it really misses is Dialogue from your character. Sure you can emote things but you cant speak to people which is a huge let down. The game is also very small, there is not much you need to explore. And when you travel from are to area it loads up a part of the journey. For instance if your going from the wealthy part of the city to the poor part of the city the game loads once you cross the border, and it says the journey is about a kilometre, but instead of letting you walk that it jumps you to the rich part of the city.

So is it any different then another Lionshead game? Well no it is not. It has a great idea but fails to deliver. Personally I put Oblivion as the benchmark to RPG’s and this is well below par. I give this game a 5 out of 10

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Fable 2 Review

I have to disagree. Oblivion was by far the most terrible game I’ve ever played. The NPC dialog was quite repetitive and juvenile sounding, not to mention in a game that craves diversity through endless appearance options it kind of sucks to hear that All imperial males have the exact same voice actor, all male Orcs AND Nords have the same male voice actor, and most say the exact same fucking thing about the dark brotherhood visiting you in your sleep if you murder someone. It just got annoying. Bethesda concentrated too much on the size and graphical scope of the world (to which the graphics didn’t deliver either, not one bit of cyrodiil was different and every NPC and Creature render looked like a Claymation model) and not enough on plot, options, and so forth.

But anyways, this is about Fable 2 and Molyneux the king douche. I played Fable 1: TLC, and it pissed me off. There were what? 20 or 30 spells total? And that’s in a guild that is known to have an insanely diverse number and quality of people both good and evil. I don’t care if it seems repetitive, a lightning bolt and a chain lightning bolt (a bolt that jumps through multiple targets) should be TWO different spells, not just a leveled up continuous increase of the first spell.

Furthermore, you lose the game when you fail a quest. What the fuck was that about? And I don’t mean just the main quests where you fight monsters and they kill you, you lost a quest when you don’t kill more goblins than your rival. You killed plenty and were quite healthy with no scars in the end, but you still lost the entire game and had to reload to a previous save because you didn’t beat your friend in this fucking SIDE-quest. That is not consequence, that is retarded. Yes, it makes perfect sense that if your quest is to rescue a boy and he dies on your watch, you get scolded and lose reputation, even if it honestly wasn’t your fault. Hell it even makes perfect sense for the biased guards to arrest you claiming that “You let him die on purpose and could have saved him easily,” but the game ending and requiring you to go back to an earlier save is ridiculous.

As for Fable 2, it seems to be the exact same game, but with a couple of small problems. One, it features a pet that’s main function is to warn you of enemies and find treasure for you, kiddyfying the game and making it even dumber than the compass in Oblivion. Two, there are LESS spells. In Fable 1, there were 20 or 30. Not a lot, but whatever. In Fable 2, there are 8. 8 Fucking spells in the entirety of the fable universe. Good god even Terry Pratchette came up with more spells in his first book and the first edition of DND had more spells.

Finally, and this is a Major MAJOR problem of Lionhead studios more than it is fable, and that is Peter Molyneux. He has quite literally whined and groaned at the shitty reviews he’s been given, by calling up the reviewer and asking them to take a second look. He doesn’t ask the reviewer to change their opinion, but that reviewer knows Molyneux won’t stop pestering him/her if he/she doesn’t coddle Molyneux. Good job Molyneux, wanna fuckin cookie?

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Fable 2 Review

Heh, Fable 2 wasn’t that bad, as far as I’m concerned, it was everything Fable 1 was SUPPOSED to be. Co-Op is more or less shit though. You can choose to rid yourself of the dog via the storyline if you want. Also, Jaks, may I ask what RPG sets the standard for you?

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Fable 2 Review

Planescape: Torment and Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall are by far the best RPG’s, and any game that comes halfway towards their greatness is a good game in my eyes, to which neither Fable nor Elder Scrolls 4 has done.

As far as Fable 2 being everything that Fable 1 was…it has less weapons, less spells, less character customization, less emotions, less augments, less length to the storyline, so….how is it Fable 1 and then some?