Fable II Xbox 360

Released on 24/10/2008

• Fable II Review

  Your health is low... again.

  Great gaming releases, it seems, are like buses; they invariably come in twos. Take The Force Unleashed – arriving a few weeks after similar story-driven scrolling brawler Too Human. Pretty soon DIY platformers LittleBigPlanet and Banjo Kazooie will be slugging it out for the User Generated Content crown, too. And don't even get us started on FIFA and Pro Evo...

  Fable II, meanwhile, will be going head-to-head with Fallout 3 in the big battle of the year's best open-world role-players. There's enough content in both to keep you playing for months – so why should you pick Lionhead's latest?

  Everday brilliance

  Fable II is not your typical Action RPG. Compared to Fallout, the main quest is short; there's no real dialogue choices a la Mass Effect; ammunition and magic power are infinite; combat is simple hack-and-slash stuff; and you can't actually die in Fable II – if you do, you'll surge back to life, losing some experience, and sporting some permanent scars for your troubles.

  So, Fable II doesn't impose limitations, complexity or story. Instead, it's a sense of spectacle, personality and self-importance that makes Fable II compelling.

  It's a sense of spectacle, personality and self-importance that makes Fable II compelling.

  Fable II fashions a gameworld of breathtaking scope, full of roving green plains, dense forests, stormy clifftops, cobblestone walls, wooden shacks, enormous Camelot-esque castles and gloriously radiant bloom-lit vistas. And within this staggering fantasy, it strives to make the mundane important.

  It's a triumphant juxtaposition, offsetting the melodrama of a hero's quest with a more run-of-the-mill routine. Want to upgrade your fighting, improve your shooting skills, learn new magic powers, slay monsters, bring bandits to justice, and ultimately hunt down the evil Lord Lucien? It's all in there. But, if you want to style your character, purchase property, play landlord (or landlady), buy a business, get wed and start a family… well, you can do that, too. Whatever your objective, a golden dust trail lights the way, letting you tangent and never feel lost.
  

  Beyond good and evil

  Like the first game, Fable II places morality at the heart of the experience. Give the warrants to the authorities; take the bandit-bashing quests; pose, smile, flirt and generally be sociable with the locals and you'll be loved across the lands, with your character developing a heroic glow. Give the warrants to the gangs; help bandits terrorise towns; steal riches, and attack passers by, and you'll end up looking devilishly evil.

  There's a second axis, too; aggressively hyke up rent or product prices and you can collapse entire economies, ensuring you end up Corrupt. But lower your rates and earn extra gold instead by trading and playing the minigame jobs (woodcutter, blacksmith, bartender, etc), and you'll become Pure. It's far easier to profit in Fable II from the first approach, but you'll feel the shame as you see the world warp around you. Few games play on your emotions like Fable II.

  Fable II is a welcoming, colourful, tongue-in-cheek fairytale for everyone to enjoy.

  Fable II's main story is a simple, 12 hour affair, but to its credit it's a thoroughly enjoyable, well-told swashbuckling adventure, boasting a host of top voice talent, all with distinctly British accents, and an irreverent sense of humour to match.

  Easily the biggest star, however, never says a word. Your dog follows you everywhere; helping in combat, altering appearance with your alignment, and enhancing the exploration by dashing off to sniff out treasure or highlight dig spots. With Fable II's inhabitants more malleable playthings than fully-fledged characters, your pet pooch proves an invaluable, endearing emotional anchor.

  A promise fulfilled

  And in that respect, Fable II is the polar opposite of Fallout. They're both about choice, but here the consequences are less grandiose and more personal. Rarely in Fable II will you feel an entire world hangs in the balance – but the appearance and reputation of your character are ever-shifting, and each decision you make has an emphatic effect on Albion's incidental goings-on. Where Fallout is a harsh, serious and unfathomably complex post-apocalyptic epic pitched at hardcore gamers, Fable II is a welcoming, colourful, tongue-in-cheek fairytale for everyone to enjoy.

  There are some bugs – not least with the online co-op, which could really do with letting each player control their own camera. And ever so often a character will glitch through a wall or won't respond when they should. But for such an ambitious undertaking, Fable II is a huge success. Streamlined but sprawling, intimate but epic, it's the RPG Peter Molyneux always promised, and proof indeed that good things come in II's.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Albion is enormous, gorgeous, charming and an utter joy to explore.
  • Economy, morality and character customisation are fantastically interwoven. And the dog! Awww...
  • Tons of sidequests, collectibles and the urge to buy every single piece of property will keep you playing long after the main quest ends.

  

  • A few bugs, with characters occasionally glitching through walls or not responding when they should.
  • The main storyline is a somewhat short 12 hours long.
  • Why can't player two control their own camera in online co-op?!

  Review by: Mark 'Shadowfiend' Scott
  Version Tested: Xbox 360
  Review Published: 29.10.08

  Published: 29/10/2008

• Fable II Preview

  Let me tell you a story...

  Four long years ago, Xbox gamers were whipped into a frenzy by the fast-turning PR machine of Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios. The man behind Populous and Black & White promised an RPG to kick the genre up the backside, with features that sounded so good, you couldn't help but want to 'em to be true.

  Sadly, Fable fell short. We expected the world to react organically to our actions, letting us start a family, buy a house, raise kids, go on quests, womanise, flaunt and fight across Albion as a husband, father, hero, villain, warrior and part-time lothario.

  Exploring Albion anew

  Instead, we got a decent enough medieval romp with handy hack-and-slash combat, basic good or evil decisions, and a few novel sidequests. It was less of a kick, and more of a joypad rumble.

  You'll turn into a halo-wearing bastion of light or spiky-headed half-demon, depending on your choices.

  But, backed by the power of Xbox 360, Molyneux may yet make good on his word. Fable II sincerely looks like being the title we were promised, with its creator this time largely keeping shtum to let the HD scenery, expansive gameworld and Fable II's full list of features speak for themselves.

  Starting as a small boy (or this time, girl), Fable II is still about one hero's journey from childhood, through adolescence, to adulthood fame or infamy. Its set 500 years on from the first game, however, meaning Fable II's rendition of Albion will feel fresh and dazzlingly in-depth enough for even to long-term fans to enjoy exploring anew.

  At the heart of Fable II will still be Molyneux's moral compass, this time far more fun than before. Decisions will again affect the look of your character – turning you into a halo-wearing bastion of light or spiky-headed half-demon, depending on your choices – but this time will also affect the look of your pet dog, who will be with you throughout Fable II.

  Dragon's Del

  Decisions in Fable II should have more far-reaching consequences, too. As a whippersnapper you're asked to track down five warrants. Go the goody two-shoes route and give them to the authorities, and your village will become a cornerstone of trade. Hand them to bandits and by adulthood, Bowerstone will be a thrivingly putrid outpost for crims, cowards and dodgy dealings.

  Moral choices, then, will intrinsically affect your earning power in Fable II – and that's bound to have a huge influence on the way you play. In Fable II you're able to buy just about everything (apart from love – GTA this is not!). The minute you hit adulthood you can do a Del Boy and eek out profit by renting out your caravan for five gold pieces per day, and that's just the first rung of the Fable II property ladder, with huts, caves and castles all available in your bid to become the Highwayman-era Theo Paphitis.

  Inviting a friend to drop in and play at any time could make this a real winner.

  As if that wasn't enough, there's also Molyneux's promises made good; marriage, kids and all manner of sidequests await you on your adventures, with a golden dust trail putting you back on track should you ever feel lost.

  There's a distinct showoff streak in Fable II then, which might perfectly compliment the new online play (which should be available to download around a week after launch). In a world where everything you do has an effect, every character you interact with forms an opinion of you and your avatar themself can be customised, decorated and adorned with all manner of clothes, weapons and titles, inviting a friend to drop in and play at any time could make this a real winner.

  Happily ever after?

  Our one big worry for Fable II was the fighting. Talk of 'one-button combat' sounded as deep as your average Big Brother contestant, so we were relieved to discover there will actually be a button each for Fable II's melee, ranged and magic attacks, and context-sensitive actions letting you vault around the environment like a medieval Chuck Norris. With horns.

  Four years on, then, and hopes are high for Lionhead's latest. This may finally be the Fable to finish happily ever after.

  Preview by: Mark 'Storyteller' Scott
  Preview Published: 26.09.08

  Published: 26/09/2008

• Peter Molyneux awarded the BAFTA Fellowship

  Peter Molyneux awarded the BAFTA Fellowship

  
  

  It was announced this morning that popular British game designer Peter Molyneux is to receive the BAFTA Fellowship.

  
  

  He is the third figure from the video game industry to be inducted into the illustrious list of fellows, joining Will Wright, Nolan Bushnell and, most recently, Shigeru Miyamoto. He becomes the second recipient of the honour this year, after it was bestowed upon Christopher Lee at this year's British Academy Film and Television Awards ceremony.

  
  

  Molyneux is perhaps best known these days as creator of the Fable series, though arguably his most successful creative period came as head of Bullfrog Productions in the mid-Nineties, with a string of innovative and critically-acclaimed releases like Populous, Syndicate, Theme Park and Dungeon Keeper.

  
  

  After founding Lionhead Studios, Molyneux designed the Fable and Black & White series, as well as being heavily involved in the development of PC title The Movies.

  
  

  Molyneux said it was "humbling" to "be in the company of some of the greatest talents the entertainment industry has ever seen".

  
  

  "I remember back in 1967 watching the first BAFTA awards on television with my family and seeing them being so excited about those accolades," he added. "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think it would be possible for me to accept one of the greatest honours the entertainment industry has to offer."

  
  

  Following the success of Fable III, there's no word yet on what Molyneux is currently working on, but given the designer's fondness for discussing his projects - often before he's supposed to - details of his future plans surely can't be too far away.

• Peter Molyneux receives BAFTA Fellowship

  The real star of yesterday's BAFTA show was undoubtedly Peter Molyneux. The legendary designer, who's currently the boss of Lionhead, and who can count the likes of Populous, Syndicate, Black & White, Dungeon Keeper and Fable amongst the games he's helped shape, was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship - a prize that sees him joining Nintendo superstar Shigeru Miyamoto, and SimCity designer Will Wright.

  "Every day I wake up and thank the stars that I'm still here now," said Molyneux in an emotional speech. "I love my job so much and I really feel like going home and working harder than I've ever done to prove that I deserve this award."

  He also had a few words for the videogaming press, too. "I'd like to thank the press, by the way, for listening to my stuff,he laughed. orry - I've slightly over-promised on things on occasion. I could name at least 10 features in games that I've made up to stop journalists going to sleep and I really apologise to the team for that."

  We'll forgive you for over-promising, Mister Molyneux - but we couldn't forgive you if you didn't get to work on Fable IIII straight away.

• Fable HD remake coming to Xbox 360

  Lionhead Studios has released a teaser trailer for a remake of the original Fable, set for release on Xbox 360.

  The Guildford-based dev promised "a sneak peek at a little something we've been working on", though the trailer wasn't nearly as cryptic.

  It begins with someone typing a tweet addressed to Lionhead, stating simply "I hope someday there's an HD remake of Fable 1". This is followed by several further windows popping up with similar messages, like "Remake Fable1!!!" and "Will the original Fable ever get remade?" As the orchestral score swells, we see the appearance of a familiar face. "I have returned after an eternity away from you all" hisses a sinister voice, as Jack of Blades - the original Fable's antagonist - confirms he's back.

  No date has been announced as yet. It's nine years since Fable launched on the original Xbox, so it's possible Microsoft could wait until next year, but with Xbox One on the horizon and the timing of the trailer, it should be here a little sooner than that.

  Among the mass of tweets in the trailer is a hint that the content from add-on The Lost Chapters will also be included in the remake. Beyond that, Lionhead is keeping its lips sealed, though Twitter users may want to keep an eye on the #HideTheChickens hashtag.

  This could, of course, be the "big surprise" Microsoft was teasing for Xbox 360 owners ahead of E3. Once again, the LA showcase should reveal when we can expect the game, so stay tuned for more.

  Published: 04/06/2013

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