Fable II

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Fable II
Developer(s)Lionhead Studios
Publisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)Peter Molyneux
Composer(s)Russell Shaw
EngineProprietary (graphics)[3]
Havok (physics)[3]
Kynapse (pathfinding)[3]
Alienbrain 8 (asset tracking) [3]
Platform(s)Xbox 360
Release


Genre(s)Action RPG, Sandbox
Mode(s)Single player, Cooperative gameplay, Xbox Live

Fable II is an action role-playing game developed by Lionhead, published by Microsoft Game Studios. The sequel to Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters, it was originally announced in 2006 and released in October 2008.

The game takes place in the fictional world of Albion, five hundred years after Fable's original setting, in a colonial era resembling the time of highwaymen or the Enlightenment; guns are still primitive, and large castles and cities have developed in the place of towns.[4] Unlike the original, the player may choose to be either male or female.

Creative Director Peter Molyneux has played a major role in presenting this game to the public, as he did in the lead up to the release of the original Fable.

Gameplay

There are both interactive and non-interactive cutscenes in the game.[5] According to Lionhead, the non-interactive cutscenes consume less than five minutes of game time.

In the fully interactive cutscenes a player can use their expressions during the dialogue or even run away from the scene, thus skipping it; afterwards the player can return to the cutscene location to start it again. If the player runs away from a cutscene which contained important information, the character will await the player's return.

The player's companion is a dog that they befriend as a child. This dog follows the player a majority of the time during the game. The dog can learn tricks, fight enemies and find treasure, and lead the way to quest objectives (when required). It can also aid as best it can in combat situations. The appearance of your dog will also mirror the player's choices and changes color depending on the player's alignments; if you are neutral it will remain grey, being good will turn your dog's coat to golden and bad will turn it to black.

Family and relationships

In Fable II, it is possible for the player's character to get married (including same-sex marriage) and have children, and to engage in adultery, group sex, bigamy, and polygamy. Divorce with the player's spouse can occur, and can be initiated by either the spouse or the player themselves. As with a real family, time spent around and interacting with them will keep the bond between them strong and reduce the chance of them leaving. It is also possible to become widowed through the death of a partner.

The relationships, as in the original Fable, are initiated by flirting, gift-giving, and the common expression. By performing a potential mate's favourite expressions, or giving them their preferred gifts, they will become infatuated more easily. Beyond a certain level of interest (or payment, in the case of prostitute characters), a character may proposition the player for sex. Unprotected sex may lead to child birth, but can also lead to sexually transmitted diseases. If the player has purchased or found a condom, they will have the option of protected sex.

Character morphing

Fable II enhances the system of morphing one's character based on their actions as introduced in Fable. Character morphing revolves around two major alignment scales: Good and Evil, Purity and Corruption.

Good players will find a pleasant look on their hero, with tanned skin and light hair, while evil players will have a scarier look, with pale skin and black hair. Pure players will find that their hero will have a clear complexion and a halo, while corrupt players will find their hero with an ugly complexion with red veins running over their entire body, horns, and their Will lines will turn a dark purple or black. These scales do not go hand in hand though. It is possible to be good and corrupt or evil yet pure.

Also related to character morphing is the character's slimness or fatness, determined by what foods the player eats; fruits and vegetables (mainly celery), make the player thinner, while alcohol, meat and pies make the hero fatter. In addition, fruits and vegetables give the player purity points (because no animals are harmed in their creation/consumption), whilst meats and alcohol give the player corruption points (because animals were harmed in their creation/consumption and that they can cause drunkenness, respectively).

Leveling up stats also will alter the player's character's appearance. Increasing the Physique level will make them more muscular, increasing the Skill stat will make them taller, and a high level of will power and spells creates glowing blue veins, called Will lines, all over the body.

Jobs

Unlike Fable, the player not only acquires money through doing quests, but also by doing jobs around Albion.[6] These are Blacksmith, Woodcutter, Bartender, Assassin, Civilian Displacement (Slaving) and Bounty Hunting . The first three involve correctly pressing the A button during certain times, and the next three are combat related. The jobs become available depending on how much renown you have and how far into the story you are, and the trade skills can be leveled up to level five via promotions, allowing for more money to be made. A further less obvious 'Job' is as a trader in goods. During the game, stores run out of stock, and you can use this to your advantage as the items sell for more.Though over time through out the game you make enough money to do what ever you please and you also get the option at the end of the storyline to accept one million gold.

Recreation

Exploration plays a primary role in the game. Like the original Fable, game play is non-linear; main story-advancing missions may be performed whenever the player chooses and there are additional missions that do not affect the storyline. The player may also choose to perform any of the many different jobs, explore dungeons, tombs, and caves, or roam the country side. The player may even choose to kill innocents in town. All of these optional diversions can result in rewards for the player in the form of additional wealth, items, experience points, or character altering attributes. Exploration is essential to discovering much of the games hidden content, in the form of 50 silver keys, special treasure chests, and 50 gargoyles that must be destroyed.

Co-operative play

The mode of co-op is somewhat similar to that of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game; in that players are able to drop in and out of other player's games at will. The host player can set certain rules; eg. how loot gained is split between the players and if friendly fire is active. The joining player cannot load their custom hero; they must select a premade male or female character. This "henchman" cannot buy property or gamble in their friend's world, nor can he/she accept quests. Co-op can be achieved through Xbox Live, System Link, and by playing on a single console.

Through a loop-hole, players are able to gain infinite experience with Co-op by having a second player "jump in" without selecting a save and unlearning all of his/her abilities and then exiting, transferring all the resulting experience to the main Hero.

Fable II did not ship with online co-op, but a free Xbox Live downloadable patch has been available since the European/American release date which adds this functionality. Without the patch, players cannot play online due to being disconnected from Xbox Live.

On July 14, 2008 at E3 2008 lead designer Peter Molyneux demonstrated 'Albion Orbs'.[7] These orbs show where other players are in their worlds and allow you to, at the press of a button, bring them into your world to co-op with.

While on the same console, a second player with their own account can drop in and out as a "henchman" to the first player. If the second player on the same console does not have an account of their own, the henchman is made in a brief character-creation screen that pauses the game. Henchmen created this way are not saved into the main player's game. The first player also decides how much bounty the henchman will obtain, e.g. gold and experience. The second player will also be able to port any experience, renown and gold to their own Fable II Hero via a memory card if they have imported their character and not created the henchman from scratch.[8] Also, it is possible to use a profile on the Xbox 360 itself to create a henchman, the earned gold and experience being transferred there.

Synopsis

Setting

Like the first game, Fable II takes place in the world of Albion, albeit 500 years later in a setting resembling the early modern period. The Heroes Guild no longer exists; after the defeat of Jack of Blades, Albion entered a period of relative safety and stability during which the increasingly corrupt Heroes were no longer needed. Ultimately the people of Albion revolted against the Guild and destroyed it. Firearms of exotic design now dominate the art of war. Cities such as Bowerstone have now greatly expanded, and the old ideas and religions of medieval Albion have since been ousted by modern ideals of science and philosophy.

Though there are fewer locations than in the first game, they have been expanded upon greatly. The islands of Witchwood and Hook Coast, as well as the Northern Waste have been rendered inaccessible. There are also many references to the land of Samarkand in the game, though the player never travels there. The locations where a character can travel are described below.

  • Bowerstone: Includes four sections, which are the Market, Fairfax Gardens, where Fairfax Castle is located, the Bowerstone Cemetery, a very large graveyard, and the Old Town, which is where the player grows up, though it changes drastically depending upon the player's actions. If the child takes a good role, the town is peaceful and prosperous, while if the child takes a bad one, it is a slum full of criminals.
  • Bloodstone: Located where Twinblade's Camp had been 500 years before, this seaside town is filled to the brim with criminals, thugs, and prostitutes. Due to being bordered on three sides by the Wraithmarsh, the ocean is the only sensible way to get there.
  • Brightwood Forest: Known as Greatwood in the first game, two locations are in the district of Brightwood, Bower Lake and Brightwood itself. Bower Lake is where the Heroes Guild was located in the first game, and features a large lake. Brightwood is the home of the Brightwood Tower, Giles' Farm, and many bandits.
  • Knothole Island: A remote island off the coast of mainland Albion, it will be available to explore as downloadable content in late January. Originally founded by the settlers of Knothole Glade, it is plagued by a deadly snowstorm which threatens to take life off the island. It is rumored that an ancient civilization created and hid ancient magical artifacts that could control the island's weather.
  • Oakfield: A verdant region, this place houses the Temple of Light, whose Monks care for the Golden Oak, which many owe the fertility of the region to. It is a small rural community, where the predominant trade is farming, though small trading stalls can be found.
  • Rookridge: A seaside road that connects Oakfield to the rest of the world, it contains the Temple of Shadows, the Rookridge Inn, the Hobbe Cave, and numerous amounts of bandits.
  • The Tattered Spire: A great fortress first raised in the Old Kingdom, it has the power to gather massive amounts of will energy, granting the user untold power. Though having been destroyed for millennia, it is being raised again by Lucien. The Spire is shown to have the power to grant wishes at the conclusion of the main storyline.
  • Westcliff: Includes two regions, the town of Westcliff and the Bandit Coast. The town is a rough place full of Thugs and bandits, and houses the famed Crucible, a gladiator themed arena. The Bandit Coast is a byway between Westcliff and Brightwood, and many bandits live there. Westcliff can be transformed into an area much like Bowerstone Market through the player's actions.
  • Wraithmarsh: A sinister region, which is the expanded and transformed Darkwood and a decrepit Oakvale, destroyed by an arrogant wish. (Learned after buying his house, to have been made by Reaver) Now home to banshees and hollow men, the marsh has engulfed the full of the town. It borders Bloodstone on three sides, making land travel there very difficult, if not impossible.

The world in Fable II is fully dynamic, interactive and free roaming with no set quest path to take. Since the game takes place over a hero's lifetime, many things can change; Molyneux gave an example of a trade camp that the player could either help or destroy. Trading in such camps would increase their profit, resulting in a small town growing around them.

Additionally, every accessible property (properties that can be entered by the player) in the world is ownable, and ownership often unlocks further quests. In addition to purchasing and renting homes, businesses and stalls are now available for purchase. These businesses produce income for the player every 5 minutes, depending on the quality of the business, the economy level of the town, and the opinion of the shop owner for the player (A shopkeeper with a high opinion will work harder); this happens even while the Xbox 360 is turned off. Rent is also accumulated every 5 minutes. Also, if the player frequents his own shops, the quality of their goods will improve, and improve the quality of the store. Players are able to furnish the houses with furniture and other items available for sale. In addition, titles will be awarded for buying property; if one were to buy every building and piece of land in a town he/she may become the mayor of that town; owning more land leads to higher titles such as king/queen, and eventually Emperor of the entire land of Albion.

The environment in Fable II features trees with branches and leaves that are individually animated according to their own physics, each tree having roughly 120,000 leaves. There are also around 15 million poppies in Albion.[9]

The game also features a "bread crumb" trail, a feature that shows glowing sparkles in a line in front of the players to guide them back to the current quest. This feature can be turned off at any time, and the player can venture on their own path to that quest, or just completely ignore the quest and explore more of Albion.

In Fable II Pub Games, an unlockable concept art shows a map of a coastline unlike the one from the original game. Whether this was a new area or a revamp of the original is still unknown.

The world of Albion is fully accessible - in the original Fable the player was restricted by fences, this restriction has now been removed. Peter Molyneux has stated that "if it looks like you can go there, you can go there."

Characters

Fable II includes various characters both new and old to the series. These include;

  • Hero: The game's protagonist who is destined to bring together the Heroes of Strength, Will and Skill to stop Lucien from using the Spire. At the start of the game, the hero is known as Little Sparrow (Sparrow when the Hero reaches adulthood). Early in the adventure, the hero meets a dog, which will remain loyal for years. It is implied that he/she is a descendant of the Hero of Oakvale, the protagonist from the original Fable and the younger brother of Theresa.
  • Theresa (Zoë Wanamaker): A blind Seeress who the player first meets in Old Town in their youth, she encourages Rose to buy the magic box. She is the same Theresa from the previous game due to her knowledge of the past of Albion, including the Old Kingdom, her abilities acquired through the Will, her blindness, her casual mention of Oakvale being "Different than when she'd last seen it" when it had been destroyed several hundred years prior to the beginning of the game, and her knowledge of the Oakvale hero. In the game guide, Art Director John McCormack reveals that it is the same Theresa in both games: "We used a few hooks and links to the original Fable in the sequel. One of the main ones was the use of Theresa, who was the Hero's blind sister in Fable 1. She is now a strange, ageless, wandering fortune teller in Albion who acts as the player's guide throughout the game... but there's more to her than a simple tutorial, quest giving device... she has secrets and her motives aren't particularly clear."[10]
  • Rose (Gemma Boyle): An orphan and older sister of the Hero. Barely surviving on the streets of Bowerstone, she holds little faith in anything, and vehemently believes there to be no such thing as magic. However, this changes when Theresa tells her that a musical box may indeed be magic. She is shot and killed by Lord Lucien at the end of the childhood section of the game, and though she had heroic blood, like the player's character, she is not one of the three, although the hero is the Fourth. In one of the 3 endings, she may have come back to life.
  • Lord Lucien (Oliver Cotton): The main villain of the story and Lord of Bowerstone. Lucien's wife and daughter died some years prior to the beginning of the game, filling him with fear. His quest to control the Spire is believed by some to be motivated by the desire to resurrect his family. Although he has a huge effect on the plot he is only seen four times in the game. At the end he is killed by either Reaver or the Hero before he can activate the Spire. His madness seems to have been known about by others than the four heroes and Theresa, as there has been a controversial book written about his state of mind, though it is very rare.
  • Sister "Hammer" Hannah (Julia Sawalha): The Hero of Strength, she is the daughter of the Abbot at the Temple of Light in Oakfield. Despite being known for her incredible strength, she starts the game as a pacifist, as per the beliefs of her religious order. However, she soon changes when she joins the Hero's quest to stop Lucien after one of his men assassinates her father. Although she is always ready to fight she eventually realizes that it is causing violence which makes her sick. At the end of the game she chooses to leave Albion to go study with the Warrior Monks in the north. She always has the best intentions, and wishes peace for the world.
  • Garth (Ron Glass): The Hero of Will, he was previously associated with Lucien, but after learning of Lucien's malicious intentions, violently leaves him to reside in Brightwood. An incredibly powerful will user, he is a scholar in the Old Kingdom, delving into the history and learning much of the will. At the end of the game he returns to Samarkand, an unseen land and his home country.
  • Reaver (Stephen Fry): The Hero of Skill and the mayor of Bloodstone; he is vain, selfish, bi-sexual and arrogant, and is only concerned with himself. Having worked his way up the ranks of Bloodstone as a pirate, his excellent skill with a pistol has served him well. He often tricks or coerces others to do his bidding, and has very little patience. In his youth he was tricked into selling the population of Oakvale to the Shadow Court for eternal youth, being over two-hundred years old by the time the story begins. At the end of the game he goes to Samarkand with Garth, though Garth warns him to keep his distance.

Plot

The game begins in the city of Bowerstone, where a young child known as Sparrow and his/her older sister, Rose, dream about living in Castle Fairfax, the home of Lord Lucien. Their fantasies are cut short when they hear a commotion down at the market. A man who goes by the name of Mystical Murgo is selling "magical" wares, such as a mirror that makes one beautiful (though only in complete darkness) and a magic box that grants a wish. Rose at first scoffs at the idea, but after a conversation with a mysterious woman named Theresa, she begins to consider otherwise.

Rose and Sparrow (the player) decide to collect the five coins required to buy the box by doing odd jobs, such as collecting warrants and posing for a photograph. During this time they come across a dog being abused by a bully, and save it. When they finally collect the money needed, they buy the box and it is implied that Rose wishes to live in Castle Fairfax. The box plays strange music and then disappears in a flash of light, apparently not working. Dismayed, Rose and Sparrow return to their hovel and discover the dog waiting for them (It may seem like Sparrow wished to have the dog)

In the middle of the night, they are woken by a guard, who escorts them to Castle Fairfax on Lord Lucien's order. After meeting Lord Lucien and telling him of the box, he asks them to step in a circle on the floor. A blue light emits from the edge of the circle, and to Lucien's anger turns red upon his touch. Muttering that they are not any of "the three", and one of them is "the fourth", he shoots Rose dead, and afterwards shoots the player's character out of the window.

Upon waking up, Sparrow learns that (s)he survived the fall because of their heroic bloodline, and was rescued by Theresa and the dog. Theresa takes Sparrow in and raises him until she feels that he is ready to embark upon his quest of vengeance.

Ten years pass. Lucien has been rebuilding the Tattered Spire, an Old Kingdom structure which grants the user enormous power - the ability to use all of the Will (magic) of Albion, and manipulate reality itself. The player is told by Theresa that they are the descendant of a great hero, and destined to bring Lucien's downfall. This is why he killed Rose and attempted to kill the player.

With this in mind, the player sets out on a quest to find three other heroes of the prophecy; Hammer, the Hero of Strength, from the Temple of Light in Oakfield; Reaver, the Hero of Skill from Bloodstone; and the Hero of Will, a former servant of Lucien's named Garth. Hammer is the first to be found; the Hero travels with her to collect water for the monks from a cave filled with Hollowmen. At first, she is a pacifist, but later avenges her father's death. Garth is located when he is sent straight into the Spire as a prisoner. The Hero travels there himself as an undercover guard. He is dragged around and beaten by the Commandant there, but finally kills him as Garth breaks out. They return home after ten years of being in the Spire, and therefore only Reaver remained. Reaver was a thief and a pirate, being known for his massive Will skills at accuracy, skills which helped him conquer many opposing ships in his career. The three set out to find him, but only the Hero makes it. Theresa tells him the other two didn't make it through the portal. He ends up in Wraithmarsh (Oakvale from Fable) and fights his way past Banshees and Hollowmen to Bloodstone, where he finds Reaver. All four Heroes meet at a beach near his port, and escape after dealing with countless foes.

Upon finding them all, the player goes to the circle of heroes to perform the ritual that would provide them with the means to destroy Lucien, who by this time has completed building the Spire and is almost upon the peak of his might. The ritual goes awry, however, when Lucien himself arrives and kidnaps the three other heroes, intending to use himself as the 'fourth' (the player) to acquire the ultimate power to destroy what he believes to be a corrupt and evil world, and replace it with a new kingdom, ruled by himself. He announces that he has killed the player's family (assuming the player has gotten a family) personally, to completely destroy their bloodline and prevent the mistake he made when he didn't check on the player's body that night he had thrown them out of the window. After this, he shoots the player's dog, and then the player.

After the player's death, they wake up in an idyllic "perfect" world where Rose and their parents are still alive and they are children again. After doing a few activities, the player goes to bed that night, but is awoken before morning by the sound of the music box that granted one wish. Despite Rose's protests, the player runs out to investigate. The world quickly turns sinister, with burning bodies and raining blood, but as the player presses on towards the end they find the music box. Upon taking it, the player remembers everything and is promptly told by the voice of Rose that they have passed the test, and so have been provided with the means and opportunity to destroy their enemy.

The player then appears in the Spire as an adult again, and presses forward to find Lucien taking the power from the three heroes. Using the music box, the player saps the power away from Lucien. Lucien, left alone, tries to talk his way free but is killed by either the player or Reaver. Upon the death of Lucien, Theresa appears and provides the player with a choice of one of three wishes that will affect Albion forever. The Sacrifice, representing the Needs of the Many, will resurrect everyone who died in the Spire, except the player's family and dog. Love, representing the Needs of the Few, will resurrect the player's family and dog, and possibly his/her sister because you get a letter from her saying she is in a strange place and is with a skinny man who wears a hood (possibly Jack of Blades, the main antagonist from Fable 1 although it is more widly accepted she is with scythe as he is both immortal and wears a blue hood). Finally, Wealth, representing the Needs of the One, will provide the player with one million gold (game currency) at the cost of the player's family and dog, and whoever else died in the making of the Spire. The choice is up to the player. Either way, upon making their wish, they and the other heroes are sent from the Spire by Theresa, who, in a mysterious fashion, claims ownership of the dark structure instead of destroying it; this leaves open the question of Theresa's true intentions throughout the story.

Marketing

Tales of Albion

Lionhead Studios released a section on their website entitled "Tales of Albion",[11] which provides a back-story to Fable, Fable: The Lost Chapters, and Fable II. In "Fragments of the Old Kingdom", it details how the Archon came to power in Albion, and how the Heroes' Guild was founded. "Tales" also chronicles the end of the Heroes and ruin of their Guild in "Fall of the Heroes", and "Travels in Today's Albion" (which has been completed since its release) describes where some places are and has a little description of each notable area/artifact.

Online competitions

Just as Lionhead has done with The Movies, online competitions were made available through Lionhead's forums. One such competition was naming a title to be used in the game, similar to the first game wherein a character was addressed by various titles that the character purchased from a "Title Vendor" Lionhead has stated these titles will be bought but they have to be earned first. They are bought from a town crier in Fable II; the winning title was Lionheart. An "insult the hero" competition is also taking place and the winner is yet to be announced.[citation needed] On May 30, Lionhead held a competition for artwork that would be used in the game; there has been no winner announced to date.

Video diaries

  • On May 24, 2007, episode one of The Lionhead Diaries, examining the love and emotion aspect of Fable II was released.[12]
  • On July 30, 2007, episode two was released, highlighting the one-button combat system, and featured the Lionhead staff playing a game of football against fellow Microsoft satellite Rare and winning. It also included a professional combat specialist instructing the animation staff.[12]
  • On October 8, 2007, episode three was released, going in depth about the Central Technology Group, and featured Lionhead's 10 year Anniversary.[12]
  • On January 11, 2008, episode four was released, focusing on how the graphics department made the world of Albion.[12]
  • On March 19, 2008, episode five was released, looking at magic, GDC 2008 and co-op.[12]
  • On June 24, 2008, episode six "Art and the Hero" was released, looking at the artwork of the Hero, Albion, and many different characters in Fable II.[12]
  • On October 2, 2008, episode seven "Music and Audio" was released, showing how and where the main scores were made, where the voice overs were recorded [1] and taking a brief glimpse at the various voice talents for the game.[12]
  • On January 8, 2009, episode eight "Finishing Fable II & Creating Knothole Island" was released, detailing the Lionhead Team's euphoria over having finally completed Fable II, and giving a brief look at how Knothole Island was made, and why it didn't ship out in December 2008.[12]

Fable II Pub Games

Main article: Fable II Pub Games

In August 2008 Lionhead Studios released Fable II Pub Games. This includes three of the games that can be played in pubs through out Albion; Fortune's Tower, Keystone and Spinner Box. For 800 Microsoft Points all three games can be downloaded on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Alternatively, some video game retailers offered a product code when a pre-order for Fable II was made.

After release, a glitch was found which allowed players to make limitless amount of cash, it is unknown if this affects the in-game character. (Some user reports have said that a certain amount of corruption points will be added into the hero's stats after the pub games have been added over. These numbers are unverified but are said to increase with the amount of money gained from this "corrupt" method)

Web games

On the Fable II page of the Xbox website there are two games to play that, when completed, reward you with a prize that can be transferred to your Xbox Live account. These games are 'Chicken Kickin', a game where the player kicks a chicken for a chance to win Fable II gold and 'A Hero's Tale' which is an interactive story in which the player chooses the destiny of the child for the chance to win 1 of 5 unique items.You may try them up to 5 times. It should also be noted that 'Chicken Kickin' was broken for a short period of time, added again, and then taken offline, however the URL still works

The items from the game 'A Hero's Tale' include: A book with the Feign Attack expression, a vial of pink dye, a 3 piece chicken suit, 2 Lionhead tattoos (one for face and one for body), and one Hero Doll.[13]

Launch trailer

On October 17, 2008 Microsoft Game Studios and Lionhead Studios released the launch trailer for Fable II on the Xbox Live Marketplace, Xbox.com, and Lionhead.com - taking a look at the different locations, characters and unique variations in your own hero. The trailer asks 'Who will you become?', while showing the double nature of the world of Albion (a dark and light side, serious and funny, good and evil).

Downloadable content

Lionhead has officially confirmed that Fable II will have downloadable content. The first downloadable content to be released was the Knothole Island Pack for 800 (Microsoft Points) which was released on January 13, 2009 [14]. In addition to the DLC, a free update has been released that allows users to play with those who have the download content, also including extra items, leaderboards, and clothing. The DLC has received average reviews by critics, who praised the overall quality of the new items, and the production values of the Island itself, but have criticized the shortness of the quest. Knothole island is available for free or the premium package for 800 Microsoft Points.

Limited Edition

A Limited Edition was available on release date with the following extra features:

  • 1 token card for in-game content (downloadable over Xbox Live)
  • Bonus disc containing the "Making of Fable II"

An Xbox Live account is required for the following items:

  • "The Wreckager" Legendary Cutlass Weapon
  • "The Hall of the Dead" Dungeon
  • "Otherworldly Bonus" - Two items, "Hal's Outfit" and "Hal's Sword", and a purchasable "Master Chief" Hero title. The items are an outfit closely resembling Master Chief's armor[15] and a sword similar in appearance to a Covenant Energy Sword; both of these items are a reference to Halo.

There was a supply chain issue that meant some North American Limited Edition games did not have all the intended content. Microsoft emailed activation codes to any who requested it on a form on the Xbox.com website, without checking whether they owned the limited edition or not.

Technical Issues

A number of users, writing on the Fable II message board, have experienced technical issues with the game. The most notable were the freezing[16], progression bugs[17], and savegame corruption [18]. Many users also experience spouses disappearing, rendering a final quest in the game uncompletable. A complete list of game-breaking problems and other bugs can be found on the Lionhead message board. According to digitalbattle.com, Lionhead is reported to have issued a statement about the bugs, "Some things slip through the net during development, especially when a game is the size and scope of Fable II. Again, we can only apologize for this issue, but we are doing our best."[19] These issues have not been explicitly mentioned in the Title Update 2 patch notes.

Several users have reported an issue where leaving a conversation prematurely will cause an endless "slow-walk", often crippling the game and preventing further progress[20]. This bug was reported as being fixed with an update in January 2009 that included the new Knothole Island content.

Reception

Reception for the game has been positive. Reviews cited its adherence to the original's recipe, while praising the changes that redefined the game system. Though some reviews claim that there are "minor issues with popping". As of Thursday November 6, 2008, Fable II has garnered an overall score of 89/100 (89%) on review aggregate website Metacritic[33], along with 88.7% on another popular review aggregate website, Game Rankings.[34]

The "bread crumb" trail feature in the game was welcomed by Eurogamer "as leads you ever onwards to your next objective, but even though you can't get lost it still allows for deep exploration."[35] OXM lauded the game as a being "probably the most consistent sequel ever made." Combat was cited as being "great when you're winning and nothing but irritating when you're losing" in addition to other flaws.[31] The game also won X-play's Game of the Year award but has received some criticism from viewers and Kevin Pereira, host of G4's Attack of the Show, who said that either Fallout 3, LittleBIGPlanet, or Left 4 Dead deserved the award more.

PETA praised Fable II for its animal-friendly nature, giving it the Proggy Award for being the most animal-friendly game of 2008, saying that they enjoyed that the game was pro-vegetarianism, giving the player purity points for eating non-meat products and corruption points for eating meat; although there are achievements to encourage players to hurt particular animals.[36]

Some gamers have criticized Fable II for one of its achievements ("The Completionist",) as it violates Microsoft's achievement policy. The policy states that the gamer must have 1,000 gamer points accessible to them without needing to purchase additional content. Part of the gamerscore may come from DLC, but said DLC must be free. The achievement in question requires the purchase of the separate Fable II Pub Games to complete, as it is the only way to learn the "hat, headband, moustache" expression and teach the "backflip" trick to your dog.

Awards

Sequels

Peter Molyneux stated, "We've got plans for Fable 3, 4 and 5 actually," he also said. "It's a big story arc and if you play Fable II you'll recognize things from Fable 1." No official dates have been announced. [37][38]

Following the BAFTA games awards in March 2009, British presenter Jonathan Ross revealed on his Twitter page that he had been offered a voice part in Fable 3.[39] He also went on to say that comedian Charlie Brooker was to lend his voice to the game as well.[39] There are also rumors about the possibility of another Fable 2 DLC, and as such Ross could be misunderstanding his role as a character of the possible new DLC.

References

  1. ^ a b Molyneux: Three more Fables on the way Cite error: The named reference "gsuk" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ Game Australia
  3. ^ a b c d Technology – Loinhead - the No.1 Lionhead news source : Fable 2 Technology
  4. ^ "IGN: Fable II Trailer, Videos and Movies". Media.xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  5. ^ "Xbox.com | E3 2007 - Welcome to the Xbox.com E3 Blog". Xbox.com. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  6. ^ "Learn how to get rich from a video game". Monevator. 2008-11-28. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  7. ^ "E3 2008 Live Wire Demo".
  8. ^ Create-a-Henchman in Fable 2
  9. ^ "Fable II Feature List". Community.lionhead.com. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  10. ^ Fable II Limited Edition Guide (1st ed.). Brady Games. 2008-10-14. p. 10. ISBN 0744010500. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
  11. ^ Lionhead Studios "Tales of Albion"
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Lionhead Studios Video Diaries
  13. ^ Fable 2 website
  14. ^ "Release Date of Knothole Island". Fable II Dev Blog. 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
  15. ^ "Master Chief crash lands into Fable 2". Joystiq. 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  16. ^ "Fable 2 Players Experiencing Freezing Issues". 1Up. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  17. ^ "Game-Breaking Fable 2 Bug Reported". 1Up. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  18. ^ "Brightwood Crash". Lionhead Forum. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  19. ^ "Game-Breaking Fable 2 Bug Reported". digitalebattle. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  20. ^ http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=927246&topic=46131084&page=16
  21. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=263778&page=2
  22. ^ http://www.gametrailers.com/game/2669.html
  23. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/search.html?tag=search%3Bbutton&om_act=convert&om_clk=search&qs=fable+2
  24. ^ http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/fable-ii/review/fable-ii/a-2008101714187490010/g-20061010115312575037/p-2
  25. ^ http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/207545/review-fable-ii-360/
  26. ^ http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/921/921508p1.html
  27. ^ http://gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200812/R08.1022.1327.58783.htm
  28. ^ http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200812/R08.1022.1327.58783.htm
  29. ^ http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/fable_2/review.html
  30. ^ http://www.oxmonline.com/article/reviews/xbox-360/a-f/fable-ii?page=0%2C1
  31. ^ a b http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=6641
  32. ^ http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1850/Fable_II.html
  33. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/fable2
  34. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/927246.asp
  35. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=263778
  36. ^ "PETA Loves Fable II". Kotaku.com. 2009-1-6. Retrieved 2009-1-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  37. ^ "E3 2008: Peter Molyneux Interview". Game Trailers. 2008-6-25. Retrieved 2009-2-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  38. ^ Bramwell, Tom (2008-07-29). "Lionhead has three more Fables planned". EuroGamer. Retrieved 2008-11-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  39. ^ a b "Fable III revealed by... Jonathan Ross". CVG. 2009-03-11. {{cite web}}: Text "2009-03-11" ignored (help); Text "accessdate" ignored (help)

External links

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