when my Xbox 360 broke back in Feburary, I was lost in a sea of dread and despair. then I got a PS3, which qualifes as a YAY, but then I found out about fable II, a game that allows you to be super spectacular and full of sparkly things; when I got a Xbox 360 and got fable 2 on Christmas, I mark down another YAY. but then a week later...I am almost to a NAY.
Fable II is about a big eared boy(or a tubby girl if you like that sort of thing) Who lives in the Medival/Victorian/WTF town of Bowerstone; (S)he lives with her/his sister on the streets, which only proves my point that Video game hero's should really stop killing their parents before the Title screen begins.
Anyway, you find this magical box after doing a few errands, and managed to get into that huge castle that lord Lucian lives in; Where, you are thrown out of the window by a gunshot to the chest after your sister is killed. Soon the creepy old women from Star wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Comes in and saves him from a hilarious fall down to the ground, nursed back to health by a trusty dog.
The plot is simple and short, it is kind enough to step out of the way when we don't want it, and it allowed me to fully appreciate it. It is a nice and simple story, the only thing I regret is that it should have been a little longer and more involved with the rest of the world.
One of the most impressive things about Fable II I have seen is the animation of the Dog; I have never seen a dog so closely resembled to look and act like a dog. Oh wait, did I forget to mention the dog? Well, the Dog is your trusty friend and companion; he can spot treasure you have already seen, and can dig for things you don't really care about. But he often a delight to be around with, and you can name him, so Mr. Snuffles and I are just fine.
Another thing is the almost simlike approach to the game; you can buy a store and receive gold, you can raise a family and put them in a house next to the store; then you can fall in love with the gay clerk IN the store, which you both run off together for that nice little farmhouse in Oakfield. You can craft a bit of drama in your imagination, so long as you are willing to put yourself in the shoes of your hero.
The Combat is the thing that impresses me the most; the often complicated RPG elements I often find in other games is simplified here. There are only three buttons to use; One for stabbing, one for shooting, and the other to cast pretty little spells. the overall feeling of combat is incredibly smooth, and there is seriously nothing like the sound of a hammer being slammed upon a bandit; MAN, I LOVE IT!
A quick note is that the game is smaller then the similar Oblivion, it is much more satisfying to explore, as the designers obviously learned that Gamers are not impressed by empty Islands or forests with wolves as your friends; gamers want a place to explore, a place where they want to be challenged constantly and not reach for the fast travel button the instant they get a new quest.
However, I must stop my fanboy gushing of the game to RIP IT A NEW ONE!!!
Remember how I said you can raise a family? Well, your family is mainly comprised of people who first met you when you were impressing the villagers by farting.
Yes. Farting.
The game lets you interact with the villagers, providing you with information about them and gift ideas and places they like, Etc. Now, toss out what I just said before, as you are not going to need ANY of it. All I needed to do to impress was to simply fart or to show my muscles and they will fall in love with me and forget that I just led their child to be sacrificed, apparently more forgiving then me.
In fact, why do I want to marry the villagers?! They are not that attractive, they provide no noticable bonus, and having a family usually follows this routine:
- Go Home, do a follow gesture to the wife or husband
-go upstairs to have sex, and it doesn't matter if it is protected or not
-spend a few seconds eating goldfish crackers while ignoring the incredibly dull cimematic of you having a child
-Go out again, but raise the budget for the family about 20 gold, kay?
Another thing is the food intake of our hero. He seems to have some sort of issue, as simply eating a piece of pie will turn him into a bloated pig and eating a piece of celery will instantly thin you up; Ignoring the fact that I had just defeated a thousand dead skeletons, probably burning all the weight and more off a normal human being!
And one of the things that impresses me the most is probably a big issue when it comes to simple usefulness. Often the enemies prefer to just charge you head on, and if you want to stay alive, I suggest you learn about strength and forget about skill and will; forgoing the lore of shooting a enemy off a pedestal and rather waiting for him to jump off and hit you repeatedly with a stick.
The morality of the whole thing is probably my biggest problem with Fable II.
Often I feel like a ass whenever I play good. The villagers are apparently short on gold whenever I go and save their asses, and often thank me by saying 'Hey, I reconize you' and then walking away like some sort of bizzare beggar who says he was your roommate in college and then going away when he realizes what a ass he is.
And playing evil is the same, but more difficult route. You don't get money, you have to do less exciting work, and you usually come out of it with horns and saying ' that's it?'.
This game is sure to make you spend a week or two exploring Albion, looking for gargoyles and the likes to shoot at, but you will soon realize that deep down, it's nothing but a reminder of what will come soon: Fable III.
Fable II is about a big eared boy(or a tubby girl if you like that sort of thing) Who lives in the Medival/Victorian/WTF town of Bowerstone; (S)he lives with her/his sister on the streets, which only proves my point that Video game hero's should really stop killing their parents before the Title screen begins.
Anyway, you find this magical box after doing a few errands, and managed to get into that huge castle that lord Lucian lives in; Where, you are thrown out of the window by a gunshot to the chest after your sister is killed. Soon the creepy old women from Star wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Comes in and saves him from a hilarious fall down to the ground, nursed back to health by a trusty dog.
The plot is simple and short, it is kind enough to step out of the way when we don't want it, and it allowed me to fully appreciate it. It is a nice and simple story, the only thing I regret is that it should have been a little longer and more involved with the rest of the world.
One of the most impressive things about Fable II I have seen is the animation of the Dog; I have never seen a dog so closely resembled to look and act like a dog. Oh wait, did I forget to mention the dog? Well, the Dog is your trusty friend and companion; he can spot treasure you have already seen, and can dig for things you don't really care about. But he often a delight to be around with, and you can name him, so Mr. Snuffles and I are just fine.
Another thing is the almost simlike approach to the game; you can buy a store and receive gold, you can raise a family and put them in a house next to the store; then you can fall in love with the gay clerk IN the store, which you both run off together for that nice little farmhouse in Oakfield. You can craft a bit of drama in your imagination, so long as you are willing to put yourself in the shoes of your hero.
The Combat is the thing that impresses me the most; the often complicated RPG elements I often find in other games is simplified here. There are only three buttons to use; One for stabbing, one for shooting, and the other to cast pretty little spells. the overall feeling of combat is incredibly smooth, and there is seriously nothing like the sound of a hammer being slammed upon a bandit; MAN, I LOVE IT!
A quick note is that the game is smaller then the similar Oblivion, it is much more satisfying to explore, as the designers obviously learned that Gamers are not impressed by empty Islands or forests with wolves as your friends; gamers want a place to explore, a place where they want to be challenged constantly and not reach for the fast travel button the instant they get a new quest.
However, I must stop my fanboy gushing of the game to RIP IT A NEW ONE!!!
Remember how I said you can raise a family? Well, your family is mainly comprised of people who first met you when you were impressing the villagers by farting.
Yes. Farting.
The game lets you interact with the villagers, providing you with information about them and gift ideas and places they like, Etc. Now, toss out what I just said before, as you are not going to need ANY of it. All I needed to do to impress was to simply fart or to show my muscles and they will fall in love with me and forget that I just led their child to be sacrificed, apparently more forgiving then me.
In fact, why do I want to marry the villagers?! They are not that attractive, they provide no noticable bonus, and having a family usually follows this routine:
- Go Home, do a follow gesture to the wife or husband
-go upstairs to have sex, and it doesn't matter if it is protected or not
-spend a few seconds eating goldfish crackers while ignoring the incredibly dull cimematic of you having a child
-Go out again, but raise the budget for the family about 20 gold, kay?
Another thing is the food intake of our hero. He seems to have some sort of issue, as simply eating a piece of pie will turn him into a bloated pig and eating a piece of celery will instantly thin you up; Ignoring the fact that I had just defeated a thousand dead skeletons, probably burning all the weight and more off a normal human being!
And one of the things that impresses me the most is probably a big issue when it comes to simple usefulness. Often the enemies prefer to just charge you head on, and if you want to stay alive, I suggest you learn about strength and forget about skill and will; forgoing the lore of shooting a enemy off a pedestal and rather waiting for him to jump off and hit you repeatedly with a stick.
The morality of the whole thing is probably my biggest problem with Fable II.
Often I feel like a ass whenever I play good. The villagers are apparently short on gold whenever I go and save their asses, and often thank me by saying 'Hey, I reconize you' and then walking away like some sort of bizzare beggar who says he was your roommate in college and then going away when he realizes what a ass he is.
And playing evil is the same, but more difficult route. You don't get money, you have to do less exciting work, and you usually come out of it with horns and saying ' that's it?'.
This game is sure to make you spend a week or two exploring Albion, looking for gargoyles and the likes to shoot at, but you will soon realize that deep down, it's nothing but a reminder of what will come soon: Fable III.
