Fable II
Fable 2 is the anticipated sequel to the popular original that sold more than 3 million copies. Created by famed game designer Peter Molyneux, Fable 2 for Xbox 360 features an epic story that picks up 500 years after the first game. It offers an open world environment giving players a massive amount of freedom to explore and play as they please, with every decision made contributing to the game itself.  | Fable 2
Players:
Offline: 1-2
Online: 2
Gameplay Modes:
Single player, offline cooperative multiplayer, online cooperative multiplayer. |  |
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The new combat system lets you master different fighting styles. View larger. | 
You are free to roam the world of Albion any way you like. View larger. |
Every Choice Has Its Consequences
Fable 2 provides players with a truly immersive experience where a virtually limitless number of choices can be made, all of which have their own consequences, making each game unique. When you start the game, you choose either to play the role of a boy or girl, and depending on your choices, the hero will grow up to be tall or short, good or evil. Players can get married and have children; female player characters will become pregnant, which will then be reflected by their physical appearance. Early in the game, players are presented with a stray dog for a best friend, who will need to be fed and loved, and will accompany the player throughout his or her life. Depending on the player, the dog will change appearance and assist him or her in various ways, such as alerting of impending dangers and attacking enemies. Players inhabit the world of Albion and are free to roam the land to as they please. Players can use different expressions to communicate with others, such as taunting and laughing, and even belching or farting. As the players grow, so does Albion, reflecting the choices that were made earlier in the game. Every house, hut, castle, and dungeon can be purchased if the player wishes. Players can buy up all the land in a town and can become mayor, king, and even emperor of the entire land. Fable 2 presents a dynamic and free-roaming world that doesn't demand a player to take any one set path. At the same time, players seeking a plot line will find an epic story and quest that they can follow if they wish, along with many side adventures. Fight Using Different Weapons and Magic
Fable 2 introduces a new combat system that allows for mastery of hand weapons, such as swords, long range weapons such as cross-bows and guns, and, of course, magic. Players improve at each discipline with time, and can combine different combat styles when they fight. Other advanced design features include tactical positional advantages that can bring new strategic elements into combat. Bring Other Players into Your World
Fable 2 has a multiplayer mode that allows you to bring other players into your own world. Consistent with the rest of the game, the actions of these other players can be permanent and affect your world. You can explore and fight together with these other players, share treasures, and even fight each other. Note: Fable 2 will not ship with Online Co-op mode. An update with this functionality is rumored to be released shortly after the launch of the game. Xbox LIVE Arcade Mini-Games
Gamers can play minigames through Xbox LIVE Arcade and earn currency that can be used in Fable 2 to purchase weapons, armor, and other items for the hero. Fable 2 is rated M for having mature content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older.
  
Depending on your choices, the protagonist can turn out wildly different -- male, female, good, evil, and more.
Fable II Accessories
Fable II Reviews
I would've rated this a 3.5, but since you can't I rounded down.
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
What I liked:
- Less scarring. In the original it was much too easy to get scarred up early on
- Buying real estate (and not having to keep running back to collect your profit)
- The option to be a woman
- Having kids (although I could've lived without seeing them pick their noses and rear ends)
- More expressions
- Naming my family... too bad they were just "nicknames"
- Everyone having names and their own likes/dislikes. Made it more personal
- No more aging when leveling up (Not enjoyable to have to decide to be old and strong or young and wimpy)
- The "loose" citizens. Yes, my character was a ho
- Graphics
- The slo-mo shots in battle
- Gargoyle hunting
- Ties to the past/original
- Dying clothes/hair
- The jobs and sidequests
- Missions involved more work, often sending you to several different places
- Experience potions
- The women's voices didn't sound like old hags when they asked for wedding rings, ala Fable
- More variety in people. Although most of them weren't exactly lookers
- Stealing. My favorite hobby
- The dog. I had more of an attachment to my dog than to my family
What I did *not* like:
- The aiming system with guns/bows sucks. In Fable 1 it was so easy, just double click to zoom in and decapitate bandits. Another favorite hobby, and missed it here
- I much preferred the medieval setting in the original
- Playing as a woman was fun...until you leveled up and she became a hideous Amazonian she-beast. I ended up concentrating on Will so as not to look so much like a transvestite. But then the glowing Will lines all over weren't pretty either
- Stolen items were mostly junk, and you didn't know what it was until you took it. There was no way to drop something worthless. Who wants a rotten apple?
- Missed the old lightning spell where you could zap several enemies at once
- Inability to hurt or kill Reaver. I so wanted to
- Kicking animals is not funny
- You never got to see Rose again
- Your kids constantly on your a** so you can't get a moment alone with your spouse
- Trying to gain the affection of just one person draws a crowd, and they're all affected by your actions
- And the absolute **WORST** thing in the entire game: you're followed EVERYWHERE. I cannot say enough how much I **HATED** that. It actually took a lot of enjoyment out of the game for me. When you're well-known you have mobs following you down the street, all asking to marry you. Sometimes the crowd is so thick you can't get through and they repeat the same things in unison until you want to rip your hair out. They even follow you into your house like they own the place. Out on the streets is bad enough, but in your BEDROOM? Ridiculous. I wanted some quiet time with my family; next thing I know there are strange kids dancing around the room along with a few adults chatting me up. Wtf, go away! There's no way to get rid of them. Trying to scare them also scares your family. They really need to let you shut your front door to keep these idiots out
..Okay, rant over
By the way, what does it say about a game that, while playing it, you yearn for the original?
All in all though, this game has its problems but is still worth a playthrough if you liked Fable.
I first read about Fable II in a Nintendo Power article a while back. It seemed AWESOME with how you could marry anybody, have children, fully customize your character, interact with anyone, work in towns, own real estate, and so on. I bought the game a couple days after it came out. I had no idea about what a bad decision that was. I put it into my Xbox that I had owned for 2 years and had absolutely no problems with EVER, and the first thing I noticed was how loud the Xbox was running. It sounded like it was working very hard to play this game. Everything went fine for about 2 days. I left it on for less than 10 minutes to go take a shower, and it worked fine when I came back to play. However, the next time I tried to play the menus weren't working right. The game kept shuffling madly through the menus and I couldn't just press a button to go to the town I wanted to go to. After reloading the game a couple of times, I tried to manipulate the joysticks around for a bit until I could stop the shuffling long enough to load the game. Once I was in the game I attempted to fight in that underground competition with all those random foes, but after a few minutes the game froze, and it did it again, and again... and again... AND AGAIN. I finally gave up and took the game out. The next day my brother started to notice that none of the game were working properly on the Xbox, and it had to be sent out to Microsoft for repairs. I didn't get RROD unlike some unlucky people who purchased this game, but it still rendered my Xbox as unusable. I returned the game and got my $60 back. If anyone's still trying to defend this game, go to any local store that sells Fable 2. They're either all used or cost $20-$30 due to the amount of returns and unsatisfied customers. The patch that was supposed to clean out these crippling bugs only solves minor problems, but there are still tons of people who can't play this would-be-fun game thanks to major, MAJOR bugs.
All I can say is, do NOT buy this game. Try and hold out for Fable 3, and do your research before buying it. I know I am. I'll never make the mistake of buying a game so soon after it comes out again. I hope that Lionhead can actually iron out all the bugs in the game before shipping it out this time. My theory is that they were really trying to get the game out by a certain deadline and shipped it out with tons of bugs. Fable 3 will supposedly come out at the end of this year, and I really hope that they'll push it back if it's just not ready to be sent out yet. I don't think anyone would be too mad if they admitted it had to be reworked because of major bugs. ESPECIALLY not after everyone's experiences with Fable 2.
I credit Fable II with getting my wife into gaming. It provided many nights of fun for us both, sharing the controller, making decisions about the character "Sparrow" would be, and praising our canine sidekick "Sniffy". The graphics are excellent, the combat/story/levelling up mix works, and the plot narrative, characters and locations in the fictional world of Albion kept us coming back for more.
I got Fable 2 at a discounted rate because obviously its not new and must say...this has to be one of these most fun games I have ever played.
For an RPG game, it has such simple controls but the capability of doing so much. If you get tired of doing the quests, there are side projects and achievements you can do. I love how your characters appearance can change by doing virtually anything, including eating. I think any person who likes RPGs can appreciate Fable 2. I cant wait til the 3rd game comes outs!
I don't play many video games but every once in a while I'll find one that really catches my fancy. Fable II is one of them. First of all, it puts me into a fantasy world of magic & sword fighting, which is right up my ally. The storyline is fairly interesting. The graphics are good & fun to watch & the scenery is beautiful, at times.
You can chose whether to play as a male or female. You start out as a child, then the story skips ahead about 10 years to adulthood, when you start your quest. One fun aspect is that you have a pet dog that travels with you on your journeys. He finds treasures for you, warns you of danger, & even finishes off your enemies. I'm sure some players will find him annoying but I liked it.
Your character is somewhat customizable. You can change your hairstyle, hair color, & wardrobe & add facial hair or makeup. You can have two weapons equipped at a time, a melee weapon (cutlass, katana, longsword, axe, cleaver, hammer, or mace) & a ranged weapon (light crossbow, heavy crossbow, repeater crossbow, clockwork rifle/pistol, blunderbuss, turret rifle, flintlock pistol, etc).
In the game, magic is referred to as "Will." There are 8 spells you can learn. As you gain experience, your spells become more powerful. After playing it through once, I decided I really only needed one spell. It gets a little confusing during a battle when you have multiple spells. So, the next time I played it through, I only learned the Inferno (fireball) spell.
There are a series of expressions for you to learn with which you interact with the villagers. Some expressions include laughing, dancing, growling, & seducing (I was a little surpised when I discovered condoms in the game). If you get villagers to like you enough, they will give you gifts & even fall in love with you.
You can get married & have a family or, if you find a willing villager, just have a one night stand (but make sure to use a condom if you don't want a STD or babies).
You can purchase almost any house or store in the game & chose to rent them out for profit or live there. Buying better furniture will improve the property's value. You can make a fortune in rent if you have enough property. There are also jobs (woodcutter, bartender, blacksmith, bounty hunter) that help you earn gold. As you improve, the jobs become more difficult but you also earn more gold.
You can play with two players but the second player cannot play with their own character (unless you're playing online). I had a free trial for Xbox Live, so I was able to play online, which isn't much different. Other players are represented by a floating orb with their gamertag & avatar picture. I'm sure it's probably more fun if you have friends that are playing but I didn't, so it was mostly annoying. People trying to sell/buy weapons or beg money from you. Sometimes they are helpful, or trying to be helpful.
Overall, it's a pretty fun game but not necessarily for kids.
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