There is a short downside when it comes to Fable 2, but it can and will be easily overlooked. The central storyline is on the shorter side of the spectrum, but Fable 2 makes it up through side quests, jobs, marriages, real-estate purchasing, treasuring hunting, pub games, and much more. Oddly enough, I’ve had more fun with the jobs and finding other side-missions then I have with the central storyline (which is based around a generic revenge plotline). That’s not to say the storyline is a chore to play through because it’s not, it’s just only one of many things to spend your time on in Fable 2.
The most hyped feature of Fable 2 is obviously the cooperative play. Players have been foaming at the mouth for the chance to play co-op, changing the face of RPGs forever, though the online portion hasn’t been implemented into the retail game (we did get to experience it in the debug build) as of yet. In both cases, one player will play as the hero while the other is a henchman tagging along for the journey. The henchmen come with their own restrictions such as not being able to interact with merchant, buying houses, and a few others. Before the session begins, the hero will allocate how much gold and XP the henchman will receive throughout the session while the player controlling the henchman will select their gender, weapons and alignment. It’s not all for naught for the henchman though; they’ll be able to transfer all the XP and gold they earn from the cooperative play to their own Hero that’s attached to a gamer profile.
Looking at the graphics, players should be enthralled with the game world that Lionhead Studios, especially Peter Molyneux, has created. The world is a living and breathing renaissance of architecture and landscaping. When you walk through towns, there are hundreds of NPCs to interact with, buildings to visit and beautiful sceneries to take awe at. If there’s one thing that other developers can take away from what Lionhead Studios has done with Fable 2, it would have to be the charm and essence they’ve created staying true to its fantasy roots. The only real issue players should encounter is frame-rate issues that pop up from time to time, especially when you start out as a child.
Beyond that, the audio is at an even higher level in quality. The voice-acting provided is thrilling and the soundtrack is hands-down some of the best work from 2008. Sticking with the British accents and tone, the voice-acting often feels like it was ripped straight from the animated series, Wallace and Gromit. The dialogue is humorous and hits the mark the majority of the time. As for the soundtrack, Lionhead brought back Russell Shaw from Fable 1 and he’s done an excellent job in capturing the fantasy setting of Albion.
The only real issues with Fable 2 that I’ve encountered are the aforementioned framerate problems and, at times, the camera becoming wonky. When I first began as a child in the game, there were times when the camera was too loose for my liking. Lionhead Studios did implement the ability to zoom in on real-time cut-scenes, but it isn’t anything that stands out. When I advanced to my adulthood, the camera issues weren’t as heavily noticeable and Fable 2 became much more enjoyable after that.
Players should expect a very rousing time through their questing in Fable 2. It’s a much more satisfying experience than Fable 1 and has a little of everything for all types of gamers. If you’re into mini-games and buying every item in the game, Fable 2 has that for you through jobs, pub games and the ability to buy almost every house and store in the game. If you’re into quests and combat, Fable 2 employs some of the finest and freshest missions (main and side stories) I’ve played through in a long time. Fable 2 also introduces unique, original cooperative play, which will hold your attention until at least the end of the year. Regarding games released up until this point in 2008, it’s easy to label Fable 2 as the best title of the year for the Xbox 360 – no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
