Review: Fable 2

[Caliostro]

The game looks absolutley amazing!
I remember playing Fable on my old Xbox and kicking chickens all day long x)

The chicken kicking is still fantastic.

Can they still defy gravity and simple laws of physics by being punted something like 200 yards by steel boots and land like nothing happened?

Good'ol memories of playing "chicken golf-ball" around towns.

 

[Lord Krunk]

So, If I absolutely loved the original (mainly due to me being unaware of Molyneux's existence beforehand), how am I going to feel with this game?

Because this review seems to be coming from people who deem the prequel mediocre.

Actually, I loved the first one. I completely ignored all the pre-release info about it, and as a result, wasn't the least bit disappointed by it. If you enjoyed the first one, trust me, you will be thrilled with Fable 2.

Great to know. Now all I have to do is wait for the Australia release.

 

[babyblues]

Love this game.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I like.
Everything besides the fact it's not yet on PC, that is.

Ditto here.

I'd want a cat rather than a dog though, but the idea of getting lucratively wealthy from my own acquired shops and still being able to "AHM A CHARGIN' MAH FIREBALL" makes me think I shall be getting it ASAP.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

The game looks absolutley amazing!
I remember playing Fable on my old Xbox and kicking chickens all day long x)

The chicken kicking is still fantastic.

You're both horrible, horrible people. Poor little chickens.

Maybe they're just fowl people. Or it's a poultry manner?

The chickens do seem to get a bad time overall though...Zelda/Diablo/Dungeon Keeper...

 

[Susan Arendt]

Dear Christ. Am I the only one who thought that watching this review was pure torture? It was slow, uninteresting, and I felt like I was watching someone else play a one player video game after they invited me over. Umm... this was all you wanted to do?

Also, this wasn't a REVIEW! It was more like a tutorial. The thing about tutorials is... the usually COME WITH THE GAME! You didn't say what you liked or disliked about it. All you told us was the dog isn't as annoying as other video game sidekicks, and the game didn't suck as much as you thought it was going to.

Also, the fact that you thought this game was going to suck in the first place is more evidence to the fact that you lack any knowledge of what you're talking about.

Epic Fail...

The video isn't a review, it's a supplement to the written review, which addresses everything I did and didn't like about the game. And if you could point out where I said I thought the game would suck, please do. I believe what I actually said is that after playing it at E3, I thought it was just more Fable.

 

[Aries_Split]

Dear Christ. Am I the only one who thought that watching this review was pure torture? It was slow, uninteresting, and I felt like I was watching someone else play a one player video game after they invited me over. Umm... this was all you wanted to do?

Also, this wasn't a REVIEW! It was more like a tutorial. The thing about tutorials is... the usually COME WITH THE GAME! You didn't say what you liked or disliked about it. All you told us was the dog isn't as annoying as other video game sidekicks, and the game didn't suck as much as you thought it was going to.

Also, the fact that you thought this game was going to suck in the first place is more evidence to the fact that you lack any knowledge of what you're talking about.

Epic Fail...

The video isn't a review, it's a supplement to the written review, which addresses everything I did and didn't like about the game. And if you could point out where I said I thought the game would suck, please do. I believe what I actually said is that after playing it at E3, I thought it was just more Fable.

He obviously isn't worth your time Susan. Let him go back to gamespot so he can be drip fed more video reviews. God forbid someone tells him what THEIR opinion is, he wants to know what HIS opinion is.

 

[Fire Daemon]

So thats how you pronounce your last name. I always thought it sounded more like something from DnD.

I don't think I will be getting Fable 2. Don't get me wrong, I loved Fable 1 so much that I went out and bought the Lost Chapters only so that I could have a few more hours of Gameplay and some cool new swords. I really loved that game. But this year there is to many games coming out that demand my attention, Fallout 3 being one of the main ones. I'll probably end up borrowing Fable II from a friend when he gets preoccupied with The Wrath of the Lich King.

 

[Susan Arendt]

My most sincere apologies. When I clicked on a video link that said "Review: Fable 2" I thought I was going to watch the review! Little did I know that I actually had to hit a number of different links to actually get to what was advertised.

Your "written" review was worded much more like a real review, but it doesn't clear up the reason for the video. A "supplement" shouldn't be needed for a review. If you were to just make a video review or a written review it would save every person here 10 minutes of their life and many hours of work for you.

I don't mean to be unjustly harsh

Too late for that. I really have no idea why you felt the need to communicate your point by being quite so snarky and negative, but I'm happy to answer the question. Why do a video to supplement the review? Simple answer: because it's fun. People like seeing the game in action,especially if they themselves can't pick the game up just yet. It's even more enjoyable when it's not the same old clips you've been seeing for weeks. You are, however, absolutely right on the point that having it labeled as a "review" created confusion and gave the wrong impression, which is why in future these segments will be called and labeled as "video supplements."

As for your point about my narration, while I understand where you're coming from, I obviously disagree. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it more.

 

[Eye_of_set]

Wow i just can't relate to the review at all. To me the game was incredibly underwhelming in almost all aspects. I was expecting more of what we got in fable 1 and i don't think this game delivered. To begin with it's impossible to die. Even if you do, somehow, manage to get your health drained all the way to the bottom the only penalty you get is a small loss of experience points that you will soon get back after slaughtering a few enemies or drinking one of the potions that magically grant you huge amounts of said points.

I find ever element of the game to be broken in one way or another. EXP and money just rains down from the sky, you won't ever need to change your equipment after like the first two hours of becoming an adult, ever villager is more eager to sleep with you than the prostitutes in bloodstone and the combat basically consists of taping down the attack button on your turbo controller, then going off to do something else. Also the dog is just annoying. I spot enemies before he does, i don't give a flying f***k about the buried treasure, because it's just veritable trash compared to the rest of your inventory anyways, and he constantly gets in my way and require healing.

Oh why i forgot the most important thing though, didn't i? The story. The main quest is way too short and incredibly predictable and boring. The characters are so lacking in charisma and quirks to make them interesting that i was just glad i didn't have to look at them anymore once the main quest was over. I over all find the original Fable to be a more satisfying experience than this to be honest. I would say I'm disappointed but really I'm more so baffled by how Lionhead managed to spend several years developing this and produce a game with less appeal than the first.

Ooh, first post by the way ♫

 

[Jagyr Ebonwood]

Wow i just can't relate to the review at all. To me the game was incredibly underwhelming in almost all aspects. I was expecting more of what we got in fable 1 and i don't think this game delivered.

If it'll ease your bruised expectations, feel free to send me your copy of the game.

 

[OMally]

I had expected it to be pretty bad, I was still excited though. I was a little shocked when I had a lot of fun playing the game. Co-op was frustrating because being on the same screen you can't move very far apart, but we worked it out pretty quick. The best part was our dog that we nicknamed McGruff, I thought I would hate the dog but he was actually really helpful during gameplay. It's a good game for anyone that likes RPGs

 

[Wardrobechaos]

Hi,

first of all I have to say that I hold the escapistmagazine in high regard and because of that I am very disappointed with this review of fable 2...

It makes me wonder how long the person who wrote this review can have possibly played it - my guess would be around 3-5 hours - and of course how many lionhead bribes went to the author considering this review...also it makes me wonder wether the author has ever actually played a video game...since the video supplement really screams what "zero punctuation" only spelled out "look there is a doggy in this game!!!" so that really leaves that "wow they sure can make that dog look good" feeling of a person who has no expectations whatsoever and as long as everything is colorful it has to be good right?....NO...it is WRONG...anyway...because up to that point (playing time 3-5 hours)I would have agreed with everything that is said in this review...and I have discovered that I would have agreed was solely based on the assumption that I have seen just a tiny tiny bit of albion...but after those 5 hours were I liked everything, the graphical style, the controls, the combat, the dog, the quests I thought for the first time...hmmm.......somehow everything feels really small in albion...it was a fear that made me exploit every single sidequest just to stretch the game so it is not over very very very quickly...but it is...I realized that I had already seen EVERTHING after 3 or so hours of play...a lot of extremely simplistic features stringed together in a world that does not even feel like one...

my main disappointments were:

- The story is so bad, simple, short and boring that it actually feels like a bad joke that lionhead even dare to put it into a game like fable2...
- quest are often repetitive (bounty hunting, archeology, free slaves...)
- jobs are boooring and way too simple
- the world is extremly small for my taste
- this game is so easy I cannot remember another game I played that was like it...fable 1 of course...
- why is there no decent map??? the regions are completely secluded...it does not feel like a real world....I never even had a sense for where I am in relation to other places...
- choices...I expected A LOT of tiny and A LOT of major choices to make...you cannot make the player chooes between the GOOD townguard and the BAD robber...why aren't there 3,4 or even 5 possibilites...and also the consequences are mind numbingly straight - forward...you do something good...everybody has sunshine comming out of their ass...you do something bad...and everything goes to hell...I would have expected a much more detailed, subtler level on which to experience the consequences of your choices...how can they be even proud of this and actually tell you this stuff in every advertisement...
- silver keys...theres 50...but only a few chests...and just one above 20???!?!?!! this looks like the 16 year old guys internship ended 2 weeks too early and he could not finish his task of filling the world with chests and actually valuable items...and the kicker is that the last chest contains 50.000 stinking gold...by the time you could open this shit you will probably suffocate in gold anyway...since basically you can just turn off your console after the 5th repetitive quest - go on vacation - come back two weeks later and afford everything because the stupid game pays you for not playing it...is this the dumbest idea ever or am I just not getting it...?
- extended edition - they actually make you pay more money for a stinking sword that is so bad that when you get it it makes absolutely NO sense to use it - that, in my opinion, applies TO ALL the "epic" swords or whatever you can find...where is the reward people???? needless to say that the additional dungeon, like all the others too, looks exactly like the first cave you get to see...
- the dog, is fine...I like the idea I guess...although he is completely useless in this game...
- the trail is also fine...it COULD help you to explore - if the world wasn't so small that there actually is NO exploration at all...the normal plot questing will get you everywhere anyway...
- I thought there would be like HUNDREDS of pieces of cloth to style your character, now I found that there is more moustaches in the game than actual fucking jacketts...so the CHOICES you have is to look like a robber / a magician or a noble ass...great stuff...this is so ridiculous...that really feels like a demo part of the game...
- the "boss fight" / story ending...if there was a "make the player regret he bought your game" - award then lionhead would be the winner in this category for sure...it is simply brilliant how they can deliver various feelings like "oh my god it can't be over?", "who the hell is this guy anyway?" and "why oh lord why have I played this crap?"
- character models - if there is more than 3 in the whole game i would be really surprised...if you marry someone who will meet him/her in every town like 20 times...that sucks...

needless to say I am disappointed with almost every aspect of this game...I would even say that the first fable was BY FAR the better game...my hopes were really very very high...and now I guess it turns out that the more I play fable 2 the more boring and disappointing it is...there is no challenge since everything is soooo easy...I belive the problem of fable 2 is that it tries hard to cover different aspects of a gaming world...it tries to be complex and epic...but this is not achieved by stuffing a VERY SMALL "world" with tons of extremely repetitive and simplistic stuff....

my verdict: do NOT buy it and for CHRIST'S SAKE...do not buy the "special" edition which is an insult to special editions...also do not expect too much...for me it is the disappointment of the year...I liked fable 2 for a couple of hours but then it went downhill....very fast...but if you mainly stick to the plot quests by the time you start to belive that this game should deliver more it will be probably over anyway...

 

[chase211]

Game is just Fable 1.5. The ending is the same good or evil and causes you to make one of 3 stupid choices that change 2 lines of dialogue. The combat is mediocre with certain combos being unbeatable instant win buttons and adding the life drain augment to any weapon makes you literally invincible. There are only 4 enemy models in the game. The game is easy mode with no death or way to loose. It feels like fable if it were redesigned for an infant, all this is forgivable for fable though, its major failing is an amazingly lackluster story (makes fable 1 look amazing), short play time and extreamly linear gameplay that makes almost any other RPG look like an epic open world. I wish a phone call to me would make me go all weak need and sing the party line, but sadly, I actualy played the game unlike some who never quite passed the first couple hours.

also I would like to add that I enjoyed the first game alot, however after playing it I made it a deliberate point to not watch or read anything realating to fable 2 as hype can kill a game for you as easy as content so I had no expectations beyond the first game, and still I was unimaginably dissapointed.

I hate to be rude but you did not address the story or the ending 'choices' at all in your review and in all honesty I don't think you played it all the way through from what I read, I was of about the same mindset as you after 6 or so hours of gameplay.

 

[beddo]

Fable 2 has so many flaws. The fact that to climb a ladder it has to go to a black screen, then load then show you at the top of the ladder is ridiculous. That's worse than what I expect from the N64.