I am not quite sure on the formatting for reviews so as of right now I am just going to wing it. At the same time I will attempt to only review games after I have completed them, although exceptions can be made for MMO’s and certain games. Enjoy.
Gameplay
I don’t understand why they didn’t leave the combat system from the first game alone, I do understand the need for improvements and evolution, but the combat in Fable 2 feels nothing like the first. The term that comes to mind for Fable 2 combat is mindless repetition.
The removal of a mana bar from combat removes a certain amount of tactics from fighting. There is no longer a need to manage how often you can cast spells; I was easily able to defeat enemies spamming nothing but Inferno and Time Control. The melee combat suffers from a lack of depth, at the start of the game you can only attempt a basic slash, more attacks and blocks only come with purchasing upgrades. The melee is skin deep and the need to upgrade in order to get what little depth is offered is not worth the time you would need to put into the game. The ranged combat has been slightly improved in Fable 2, allowing for better aiming at individual body parts while in zoomed, but the improvement of one third of combat at the expense of two thirds does not make the lack of intriguing combat acceptable.
Also removed from the game is armor, now you wear regular clothing instead of armor. Your character no longer gets defense bonuses from clothing, the only thing that clothing now does is modify different social aspects of your character. I consider this to be a nice change of pace. My character no longer has to wear the same clothing as everyone else’s character because it’s the best armor in the game. If I want my character to run around in shorts and no shirt I can, although the town’s folk may make fun of me for it, and I will not lose defense while in combat.
A HUD has been removed and replaced by golden breadcrumbs and a dog. The breadcrumbs are amazing, allowing a character to go anywhere they want in the world and still know the proper way to the next part of the current quest. The dog on the other hand is a mixed bag, the game attempts to get you to care for this dog, but in the end the connection is week at best. Although the dog does come in handy when there is treasure in the area, as he will bark and lead you to the treasure, I feel as though more could have been done with the animal.
In the game, money allows you to purchase weapons, clothing, food, potions, and real estate. The way to make money in the game, outside of real estate, is mini games. That’s right folks, enemies no longer drop money, and you instead have to take time out of your adventure to do jobs. These jobs include: cutting wood, pouring beer, smelting metal, and being a henchmen. All but the henchmen job are skin deep, just simple time button pushing games, where you hit the A button at the proper time. These take a lot of time in order to accrue a lot of money and definitely break the pace of the adventure.
A very positive aspect of this game is the ability to buy real estate, and I’m not talking about a house in each town, Fable 2 gives you the ability to buy every building in every city and town. This ranges from the houses, to the stores, to the roadside venders, even a castle. Purchasing real estate allows you to either move into homes, with your wife and kids, or renting them out allowing you to receive rent every 5 real time minutes.
The final aspect of this game I would like to touch on is the movement of your character. The way that your character moves with a term I would like to call “ice physics”. Ice physics the way that your character walks and runs in the game world. There seems to be a millisecond delay between the analog stick movement and your characters. This is a horrible way to do movement within a game; it removes the player from the action.
I did not do any online multiplayer, so that will not be covered in this review.
Story
The story of Fable 2 takes place about half a millennium after the events of the original Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters. Without giving away major plot points: the world of Albion is not the peaceful place it was when we last left it. The Heroes Guild has been destroyed by non-heroes centuries ago because of fear and the heroes who dwelled within the Guild have all died. Although the heroes are gone their power is not, legend tells of four heroes that will come together to defeat an evil that threatens Albion. It is this legend that starts the story of Fable 2.
Graphics
This game is beautiful, the game moves the Fable storyline forward give or take 500 years into the future since the first game, moving the setting from a fantasy setting to a more colonial look. This change in time allowed Lionhead Studio to create some beautiful vistas throughout the game. From the cities, to towns, to ruins, to character clothing, the looks of all of these have a well rounded look while retaining the cartoonish look of the first game.
This game does not break any ground when graphics, it does nothing new, but that is not a bad thing. Lions Head went for a certain look and was able to succeed without needing to traverse new territory. My only grip with the graphics is that some models, namely weapons and to an extent character models, do not look as good as other items in the world.
Sound
The sound in this game, as with the graphics, breaks no ground. The one thing that stuck out during the first play through where the demon doors. The voice of the demon doors is easily the best fitting of any voice in the game. Outside of voices the other sounds of the game fit in nicely, fight sounds are fine with swords swinging and clashing, at times the enemies will even taunt you during combat. The ambient sound is standard, with unfortunately nothing really sticking out.
Overall
Fable 2 is a game that attempts to take all aspects of its predecessor improve upon them, the problem is that it falls short in nearly every aspect. The combat is now repetitive button mashing and the game play outside of combat is also just button mashing. To me it seems that Peter Molyneux and company copy need to go back to basic for the inevitable Fable 3, in order to bring the quality and fun factor back to the Fable universe. This game is a game to rent, save your money for Fallout 3 or Gears of War.
Presentation: 8.3
Game Play: 6.1
Graphics: 8.3
Sound: 8.3
Lasting Appeal: 7.0
Score (not an average): 7.3
