I suppose my main point of contention is that Fable II really isn’t very much of an upgrade on the first game. Actually, I don’t know if it is an upgrade at all, or necessarily even an evolutionary step up from the original. All of the flaws I recall from before – the superficial sense of choice and consequence to your actions, throw-away narrative and lacking replay value being my big three criticisms – are still in Fable II, unfixed. Worse yet, the game is wildly unpolished, littered with long load times, a spotty frame rate, AI path-finding bugs, sloppy character animations and various other imperfections that while never glaring on their own are collectively unforgivable, especially for a production of this magnitude. The interface is awfully cumbersome as well. I literally found myself dreading having to open up the quest log, inventory or emote selection because of how slow-moving and downright unintuitive the menu navigation was.

The leading disappointment continues to be the lack of consequence to your actions. Rather than focus on a strong narrative storyline (there is a main story, but it’s short and uninteresting), Fable II basically wants you to make the game what you want it to be. The idea, like the original, is ambitious, but once again Peter Molyneux and his Lionhead team have come up short delivering on its potential. You have the freedom to perform a wide range of good or evil deeds, and depending on your chosen path the surrounding world perceives you accordingly and your hero’s physical appearance changes with age to reflect his/her alignment.

But sadly – again like the original – this system of character evolution is nothing more than a facade. None of your actions lead to truly meaningful moral consequences. If you follow the path of good, citizens will cheer you as you pass by and gather around as you flaunt what a hero you are. But if you go down the path of evil, villagers will shun you and children will run away in fear. And, well… that’s about it. The results of your deeds are often hilarious, but there’s no sense that your actions are ever really impacting the game world.

Something else I found myself disappointed by was the game’s nonexistent level of difficulty. Simply put, you can’t die. When your health bar runs out you respawn right where you were with no significant penalty. Your hero gains a battle scare and you lose some experience points, that’s it. This lack of challenge directly impacts the rest of the game too. The character progression system – which is the same color-coded orb system from the original that sees you using colored orbs gathered from defeated enemies to build up your character’s strength, will and speed paths – and all the options to outfit and customize your character verge on pointless. With no fear of death, there’s no point sinking extensive time into growing your hero’s abilities.

I don’t want to sound TOO down on Fable II though, because as I said earlier it’s an incredibly fun game despite its many faults. The combat – although exceedingly simple with one button for melee attacks, one button for ranged attacks and one button for magic – has a smooth and fluid feel to it that is gratifying and often downright addictive. The addition of the AI dog companion also turned out to be a grander innovation than I thought it would be. Maybe it’s just because I’m a pet lover, but having a furry canine friend running alongside on my adventures added this subtle emotional link to the game world that I wasn’t expecting. He sniffs out treasure, barks and growls when enemies are near, and is always up for a good game of fetch. And when he runs off your heart jumps into your throat and a sense of panic takes hold as you wonder where he’s gone.

While graphically dated from a technical standpoint, Fable II pulls off an attractive look thanks to its enchanting storybook art direction and charming cartoony vibe. Fable II’s presentation of Albion is also vastly improved over the original in terms of scope and scale with a far more open-ended structure that’s less impeded by frequent loading screens (the fewer loads that do exist are still noticeably long though). Audio was a strong component to the first game, and so is it with Fable II as well, particularly the majestic soundtrack.

Peter Molyneux promised the world with the original Fable, and by most accounts the game was ultimately a disappointment. A solid action-RPG, yes, but still a disappointment compared to what it was supposed to be. And alas, the same pattern of disappointment has befallen Fable II. I won’t deny that Fable II is a fun experience — and that’s what matters most — but I also can’t and won’t sit here and forgive the numerous design flaws, polish issues and general lack of lasting appeal that sap the game’s grand ambitions.

Pros:
+ Satisfying combat system
+ Charming art style
+ Dog companion adds unique emotional attachment
+ Excellent soundtrack
+ Some fun mini-games

Cons:
– Weak, short-lived storyline
– Impact on game world is still superficial
– Ridiculously unpolished
– Way too easy
– Slow, clunky interface

Game Info:
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Release Date: 10/21/08
Genre: Action-RPG
ESRB Rating: Mature
Players: 1-2

I’ve only recently been able to begin playing the game myself and so far I’m pretty disappointed with it — certainly don’t see how it’s getting more than a few Game of the Year nods amongst the press. It’s a solid game I’m just not seeing that any significant improvements have been made over the original. It’s not very polished either, but I’m still very early on in the game so I’ll reserve final judgment until I finish it up.

Finally some good pre-release Fable II news. Looks like the online co-op functionality that wasn’t finished in time to make it onto the retail game disc will be ready to go for a day one patch come game launch on October 21st (Oct. 24th in Europe, Dec. 18th in Japan), that’s according to a new post on Lionhead’s dev blog this afternoon. The patch still has to go through the certification process so there is still the slim possibility another delay could occur, but either way it should be ready in time for launch.

Looks like Day One Patch [Fable 2 Dev Blog]

Shhh! Listen closely for a sec. Hear that? That’s the sound of enraged gamers around the world heaving a huge sigh of disappointment and angrily canceling their pre-orders for the Fable II Collector’s Edition.

Why’s that? Simple, really. As announced last night on the Lionhead dev blog, Microsoft has had to readjust the Collector’s Edition due to “supply chain issues.” That readjustment is actually more like a gutting, though. The premium box, fate art cards, and Hobbe figurine — you know, the main items that made the Collector’s Edition a Collector’s Edition — have all been axed. All’s that’s left now is the “Making of…” disc and bonus DLC including the extra dungeon, weapon and Master Chief costume. The price on the CE has subsequently been cut by $10, but $70 for additional content many other games offer as pre-order freebies is hardly worth it. This package certainly isn’t deserving of being called a Collector’s Edition any more.

In an effort to make amends, Microsoft and Lionhead are going to be making available downloadable PDF versions of the Fate Cards for users to print themselves and a free mini-album of music from both Fable and Fable II (downloadable via sumthingdigital.com beginning Oct. 6th). The free music is great, but is anyone really going to print the cards from their home PC?

Microsoft Adjusts Contents & Pricing for Fable II Collector’s Edition [Fable II Dev Blog]

Uh oh, could this be the first sign that Fable II is on the road to under-delivering like its predecessor?

Microsoft has announced over on the Gamerscore Blog that Fable II will not ship with the much-hyped feature of online co-op. Don’t get too crazy, though, as local co-op will be in there and you’ll still see and be able to trade and chat with your friends as orbs floating around the game world. But online co-op, it still needs extra tweaking and therefore won’t be available right out of the box when the game ships October 21st. Lionhead and MGS are aiming to get a patch released within the first week of game launch to add the online functionality, however, so good news is the wait shouldn’t be long.

The delay itself isn’t a huge problem as long as it makes it out in short order, but given Molyneux’s track record of promising more than can be delivered, particularly with the original Fable, this is somewhat of a troubling development. Remember back to E3? First thing Molyneux said upon taking the stage during Microsoft’s press conference was that Fable II was finished. Ummm… guess not.

Fable II – Almost There [Gamerscore Blog]

Time for a fresh look at Fable II, what with the game a mere month away from making what is hopefully a lives-up-to-the-hype-this-time debut. I’m certainly optimistic.

During E3, Peter Molyneux announced that Fable II was finished and ready to ship out in October, but left it at that. Today, however, Microsoft has elaborated on the Fable II release schedule, confirming that the Xbox 360 RPG will become available at US retailers on October 21st (October 24th in Europe and in the months thereafter for the rest of the world). Further details and a pic of the Collector’s Edition that was announced last month have also been released. At $20 more than the standard edition, the CE will contain a bonus DVD, exclusive in-game content in the form of a new dungeon and weapon, a cute Hobbe figure, a collection of five Fate cards, and a useless 48-hour Xbox Live Gold trial card.

You’ve Been Waiting! Fable II at U.S. Retailers October 21, 2008 [Gamerscore Blog]

For an Xbox 360 exclusive as hyped as Fable II, I sorta expected it to look better than it does. Sure, it has a unique artistic charm about it that makes it stand out against other fantasy RPGs, but still, I’m not seeing that it’s actually improved all that much over the first game from a visual standpoint. Or maybe this is just a bad batch of screenshots, I don’t know. The concept art sure is fantastic, though!