First Impressions: Fable II

By the time I played the original Fable, it was old enough that the platinum Lost Chapters edition was in the cheap bin. I make note of this because what it means is that, prior to this event, I'd never heard of Fable, and so had no pre-play taint from the controversy/general disappointment surrounding how it fell very short of what creator/lead designer Peter Molyneux had trumpeted it to be. Granted, it didn't take very long to discover on my own that was an excercise in unfulfilled potential of epic proportions; however, it also didn't take very long to discover that it was lots and lots of fun. Come to think of it, it may have been the first game I played on Xbox, and what set me on the path of the serious gamer. Fluffy, very simple to play, and having a gorgeous soundtrack, we certainly own games better than Fable, but I don't believe we own one that's more entertaining.

So, the big question was, would Fable II deliver on the promises its predecessor welched on? The answer is...not too much. The big deal (both intended and actual) with Fable was the "your choices affect the world" idea taken to heights that surpassed mere main quest save-the-world stuff - ie., villagers would flock to you or run in fear, shop prices would reflect your renown and good/evilness, your appearance would alter depending on your morality, etc. Fable II increases this, with clothing and hairstyles affecting your attractiveness, scariness, and purity, and by allowing you to do things like purchase any home or shop in the game and either jack up or reduce prices. They've also added things like the options for casual in-game sex, which can earn you an STD if you're not careful (I know this from the manual, not personal experience), and you can also produce children. The most entertaining new "slice of life" aspect are the jobs - you can get work as a smith, woodcutter, or bartender, and the minigames get pretty tough as your level of work increases, but it's still a great way to make easy money during the nights, and oddly addictive in a pleasant way.

As far as the gameplay... Well, I've always seen the Fable series as a bridge between casual and serious gamers. The combat is incredibly easy, as are the puzzles, and of course there's the whole The Sims thing going on, but it's still an RPG, and hey, maybe if you liked Fable, you'll like, I don't know, Knights of the Old Republic, and see that serious games are fun after all? Unfortunately, Fable II seems a bit too tailored to casual gamers, because that's the only rationale I can think of for the unusual, illogical, and downright bizarre button assignments. Things like, you press different buttons to take out and put away your weapons, and - most awful and irritating - 'B' is not your menu. 'B' activates your magic, and if you happen to have an aggressive spell selected and are in the middle of town and don't want a reputation for scaring and killing villagers, well, let's just say there's lots of reloading involved. This is, for Corey and I, the single difficult thing about Fable II: training ourselves that 'B' is Not. The. Menu. Speaking of reloading, another bizarre and irritating decision is that you cannot load a game from the Save Menu - you need to quit the game to the main menu in order to load or reload. It almost seems like the game was developed by, instead of hiring gamers as testers and sounding board, Lionhead Studios went looking for people whose game experience consists of WiiFit and Brain Academy and asked them, which buttons make the most sense to you? And this is what they said. As well, you don't appear to be able to choose your hotkeys - at least, we haven't figured it out yet, and the manual is silent on the matter. Then there are the baffling story-related decisions, like revealing the identity of your mysterious mentor from the very beginning of the game - your first quest objective post-childhood is "Follow Theresa". Okay, if you haven't played Fable, this won't mean very much, but if you have, it's a bit disappointing.

Still, Fable II is even more entertaining than its predecessor. A word of warning, though: although it's quite humorous, it's not always lighthearted. The Fable series is a British production - I know, how often do you play an RPG that isn't American, Canadian, or Japanese? - and as such is infused with a very British sense of humour. This means that the jokes are ridiculous, dry, morbid, rude, cruel, raunchy, depressing, or any combination of the above. That's raunchy in the original sense, not in the weird habit that's popped up in suburbia these last few years of kids saying "raunchy" in place of "gross". If your only British media experience is Monty Python's Flying Circus, this is a pretty good gauge of Fable's style of humour. And if you don't care for that show, this game will probably be little more than childish, nonsensical, and irritating.

All this is also not to say that Fable II isn't worth playing. It's certainly not worth the current new copy rate of $59.99 (Can.), but it's a good borrow or cheap bin purchase. It's great fun having an invincible doggie companion who sniffs out treasure and dig spots (and goes for the throat of any enemies you knock down without killing), the addition of rifles and pistols is highly entertaining, and there's nothing wrong with spending an hour dyeing and trying on your outfits (nothing). I also get a lot of private enjoyment over the fact that your character is raised by gypsies, and any time I go home to visit I hear the Italian Wolfram & Hart lady from Angel Season 5 shouting, "Feelthy gypsies! (Spit) We shall speak of them nomore!!!" Set several centuries after the events of Fable, you also get some interesting tidbits during the load screens, like the fate of Lady Grey. It's fluff, it's fun, it's easy, it's a great way to relax. It's also not for the faint of heart, or game snobs. Me, I'm having a good time, and plan to continue doing so. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go dye my shirt and play fetch with my dog.