Fable 2

[DocHolliday]

Re: Fable 2

Game sounds SICK

[in mid air]

Re: Fable 2

Kotaku: Hands-On With Fable 2

Getting a proper impression of a game like Fable II, one that spans the lives of multiple generations, is almost impossible at an event like E3. And if Fable II lead Peter Molyneaux is being accurate when he calls the game "The biggest, most complete story of any game I've ever created," we haven't seen, well, anything yet.

That's why it's helpful that something like Fable II can be broken down into digestible, feature-focusing chunks. The game's dog, for example, with its ability to help out in battle, its nose for hidden treasure, we know is going to be A Big Deal. We won't be surprised if Man's Best Friend plays a more important role than Molyneux led us to believe in our sit down preview of his Xbox 360 game.
We just know he's going to emotionally manipulate us with that lovable digital mutt.

We were about two hours into Fable II's storyline, Molyneux says, when we got our first hands-on experience with combat and dog-play. Combat has been a big focus in the Fable sequel, and while it may not have Ninja Gaiden caliber aspirations (or animations), it works. It's fun, especially when the dog comes to your aid, gnawing on the limb of some recently dispatched foe.

The hero in Fable II had access to limited combat options at this point. He was just getting his hands on some rifles and a little bit of magic. Sadly, we didn't get to take on that lovely looking Treant beast, just some rank and file pirates, but left the combat experience feeling more than satisfied.

If there's one thing that Fable II looks to achieve, it's painless action RPG combat. It may not have the cinematic flair of Nintendo's 3D Legend of Zelda games, but Lionhead Studios title has so much more depth, we can forgive a few rough edges.

And being the graphics snob I am, those rough edges come across in some occasionally homely character models. The hero's wife in Fable II may be a busty beauty, but the game may get some flack for its sometimes ho-hum visuals.

That will most likely be forgiven with the impressive amount of depth the game appears to have. The ability to upgrade your career skills via mini-game diversions looks better than grinding and cold, hard stats arrangement.

When we got into town, we met Fable II's bard, the singer-songwriter who will belt out tales of your heroism. He'll also sing songs of your cowardice, adding comic relief and occasional annoyance to your journey through the game.

Molyneux showed off some of the game's Expressions, the silly jigs and smooth moves that let you woo ladies and forge new friendships, prior to our hands-on. You'll pick them from a radial menu when you want to take a wife or receive a gift. They were fairly limited in our demo of the game, but look to provide some welcome options for adding variety to the game world. You'll see non-playable characters throughout town that you can interact with using Expressions, each with icons over their heads indicating their disposition. Wow them with your moves and you'll reap the rewards.

It's difficult to tell if Fable II, with its pub games, combat system, intelligent canine partner and career skills, will be more than the sum of its parts. We'll know when the game ships this October, as we start focusing less on the features and more on the game itself.

[in mid air]

Re: Fable 2

PAL Gaming Network: Fable 2 Preview

RPG-starved Xbox fans were salivating over the thought of Fable, which was released on the console in 2004. Unfortunately, despite being a top notch game, the hype - most of it created by the game's overly ambitious and rather talkative designer Peter Molyneux - was too much to overcome, with the game receiving a somewhat disappointing reception. With Fable II, due for release on the Xbox 360 in October, Molyneux has done his best to keep his mouth shut about some of the cool – albeit not particularly useful – features in the game in order to avoid massive disappointment on release day.

”I think I've been more guilty perhaps than anyone in the industry of making games with mechanics in them which don't mean anything,” said a remorseful Molyneux in a recent interview with Eurogamer. “They're very nice, they sound good, but when you come to play them, there's a kind of feeling of what should have been. It's far better to cut it down and have a smaller number of things, polished.”

Still, Molyneux has managed to say an awful lot about the some of the ‘polished’ elements in Fable II, giving us a rather good idea of what to expect from the game. Set 500 years after the first game, Fable II puts players in control of a young boy or girl in the world of Albion, guiding and shaping them as they blossom into adulthood. Most of the time spent in the game will be as an adult, with the period spent as a child being rather short lived. Like the first game, Fable II forces players to choose between good and evil, with the world around them adjusting and reacting to their choices and actions accordingly.

As you would expect, Fable II is trying to greatly expand on this element of the first game, placing more emphasis on how the towns and people inside them will react to the player. It won’t just be a few useless villagers applauding the presence of a hero, or running in terror at the sight of a villain. The towns – more populated than they were before – will all have their own unique reactions to the player, be it admiration, fear, hatred, or indifference. It’s even possible to come so viciously hated that a town will permanently outlaw you from its district for the rest of the game.

Combat in the game has somewhat changed, but is still recognisable, with melee combat on the X button and the ranged combat accessed through Y. The most noticeable change is in the magic system, where now each magical ability will have five different levels of strength. Holding down the B button will determine how powerful the magic outburst will be. Best of all, not aiming at an enemy will result in an attack that will encircle the player, fending off enemies on all sides. Handy.

This time around, the on-screen character won’t be the only thing that is unique after playing through the game. As well as the player’s character becoming scarred and taking a shape all of their own, the world around them will also change as it is shaped by their actions. For instance, a player can plant a tree, which would be seen to grow throughout the course of the game. So, in theory, no two games of Fable II should produce the same world.
Co-operative play was something Molyneux wanted to implement in the first Fable, but ultimately did not happen. This has been rectified for Fable II, where players can grab a second controller and join in the action. The second player will act as a henchmen of sorts for the main player, providing them assistance when required - most obviously in a combat situation.

Moving things online, players can invite others into their own unique version of Albion through any one of numerous purple orbs scattered around the place, where upon they can embark on all sorts of hijinks. Helping others out as a henchman is a handy way to make some gold, which will be harder to obtain this time around. To get it players will be required to fulfill quests and, less glamorously, actually work – as a bartender, blacksmith, and so on. Property can be bought and rented out to locals, if the player is wealthy enough. If you want to get a head start your in-game finances, the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade Fable II mini-games allow players to earn gold to use inside Fable II – an interesting idea.

One of most notorious ‘polished’ Molyneux ideas is the canine companion which will be snapping at player's heels throughout the game. Early on in the game, players will come across a dog who is being harshly harassed by a local bully. Players can save the dog, in the process gaining an invaluable friend for the course of the game. The dog acts as an interface of sorts, with its most obvious being to guide players to the next objective in the quest and/or story. It will also growl in the direction of any enemies that are encountered throughout the game, alert the player to relevant NPCs, as well as signal for any quest items that might be found nearby. It’s certainly an interesting and fresh approach to what has traditionally been an immersion-killing mini-map on screen, but how effective it will be remains to be seen. What should prove interesting is how it will change in form depending on the actions of its master.

Family plays a much bigger role than it did in the first game, with the development team striving to make players actually care about their on-screen counterpart. Sex is back in the game, this time allowing players the choice of having protected or unprotected sex, with the result of unprotected sex being, surprisingly, spawn. The female involved will even have growing pregnancy bumps. Once the child enters the world, it will look up to the player’s character, adopting some of their characteristics and even mirror the player’s chosen alignment. Once in the world, the child will become completely dependant on the player, who can opt to provide for them, or make them starve to death should they wish.

Like most games these days, Fable II will be launched with a higher-priced collector’s edition. The most notable feature of this edition will be a – wait for it – bonus DVD, packed with a making-of video, concept art, developer diaries, and, of course, music from the game’s soundtrack. In addition, there will be five Fable II cards in the package, an Xbox Live trial card, a token to allow players to download the upcoming Archon Demon Door DLC, and even a little Hobbe figure. No skimping on this collector’s edition, then.

With less hype than the first Fable - though there certainly hasn't been any shortage of it - and many new features, such as co-operative play, a more organic world and the increased family involvement, added to the game, Fable II stands a much better chance of being a success than the first game. Providing Molyneux can actually deliver on his promises this time - and, at this point, it seems like he has managed to do just that - Fable II should prove to be an absolute cracker come this October.

Overall:
Fable II is shaping up to be one of the best games of Q4. We cannot wait.

[MC Fatigue]

Re: Fable 2

After playing the first one, I really couldn't have cared less about the second.

Until I saw the gameplay video and heard the creator talking about it. It sounds amazing. It sounds a lot like what he wanted to do with the first - but for some reason they stripped the first one bare and make it a pretty dull game.

It's one of the few games from E3 that I actually got excited about when I saw the video.

[Gibbz]

Re: Fable 2

Awesome

I wonder if the pull-out method is available, as well.

[jmood88]

Re: Fable 2

I have no doubt that this game is going to be great.

[Flawless]

Re: Fable 2

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[Flawless]

Re: Fable 2

Fable 2 Gets Release Date

Today, Microsoft Game Studios and Lionhead Studios announced that the highly anticipated action role-playing game “Fable® II” will ship to U.S. retailers on Oct. 21, 2008 and European retailers on Oct. 24, with subsequent release dates throughout the rest of the world in the coming months. Combining thrilling action, heart-wrenching emotional experiences and a genre-bending Xbox LIVE multiplayer mode, “Fable II” is the must-have blockbuster for 2008.

Fans eager for a head start will have the opportunity to test their luck in the Xbox LIVE Arcade title developed exclusively for “Fable II,” available on Aug. 13; those who pre-order a copy of “Fable II” at participating retailers will be given free access to download the “Fable II” Pub Games, or they can be downloaded without pre-order via Xbox LIVE for 800 Microsoft points. The high-stakes casino-style pub games, titled “Fortune’s Tower,” “Keystone” and “Spinnerbox” will offer players the opportunity to start earning a bounty of gold and treasures to fund their adventures in “Fable II,” ahead of the title’s release on Oct. 21.

LE - $79.99

• Bonus DVD – Includes new ‘Making-of Feature’ with Peter Molyneux and the team at Lionhead Studios and concept art viewer
• Bonus In-Game Content (Requires LIVE account) – Includes “The Hall of the Dead” Dungeon, “The Wreckager” Legendary Cutlass Weapon and Otherworldly Bonus
• Collectible Hobbe figure with accessories – From the Qee Collection comes this one-of-a-kind Hobbe figure. Nasty, brutish, and short, he roams the countryside, preying on travelers and spiriting away the children of the unwary.
• 48-hour Xbox LIVE Gold Trial Card – With Xbox LIVE Gold, players can show off their individual hero by inviting friends into their unique version of Albion or they can visit their friends’ Albion, and earn additional gold, experience and renown to take back into their own.
• Five printed Fate Cards – These five beautiful cards foretell the Hero’s great destiny to journey across all of Albion, encountering deadly enemies and enigmatic allies. The path leads to a choice that will change the world forever.

[jmood88]

Re: Fable 2

I might buy the limited edition.

[Flawless]

Re: Fable 2

Master Chief costume that's in the game.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Fable 2

That's awesome. I cannot wait for this game.

[Flawless]

Re: Fable 2

Gamespot just posted their E3 awards and Fable 2 took Game of the Show, Best Role-Playing Game, Best Xbox 360 Game.

...

Some new info I came across.

• You can name your dog and other random NPC's in the game.
  
• Besides playing ball with your dog, you can play many other games, such as hide and seek.
  
• The icons above your dogs head (i.e treasure etc.), go away after awhile. Your dog has 60 different barks, each with a slight variation.
  
• Show the Quest Map Feature - Allows you to see all quests, and friends in different locations via maps. That's how you find your friends without searching forever for their ambient orb. You click on their small orb on the map, to look at their progress and stats, talk to them, or invite them to play co-op. You can also gift items.
  
• There's about 180,000 of ambient dialogue in the game.
  
• You can jump off cliffs into water. Your dog will follow.
  
• Seasons and dynamic weather.

Dog being mo-capped.

[poster]

Re: Fable 2

Awesome stuff, can't wait for the 21st!

[jmood88]

Re: Fable 2

Gamespot just posted their E3 awards and Fable 2 took Game of the Show, Best Role-Playing Game, Best Xbox 360 Game.

...

Some new info I came across.

• You can name your dog and other random NPC's in the game.
  
• Besides playing ball with your dog, you can play many other games, such as hide and seek.
  
• The icons above your dogs head (i.e treasure etc.), go away after awhile. Your dog has 60 different barks, each with a slight variation.
  
• Show the Quest Map Feature - Allows you to see all quests, and friends in different locations via maps. That's how you find your friends without searching forever for their ambient orb. You click on their small orb on the map, to look at their progress and stats, talk to them, or invite them to play co-op. You can also gift items.
  
• There's about 180,000 of ambient dialogue in the game.
  
• You can jump off cliffs into water. Your dog will follow.
  
• Seasons and dynamic weather.

Dog being mo-capped.

Lol I can't believe they actually mocapped a dog.

[Uga]

Re: Fable 2

lol only Peter Molyneux can think about something like mo-capping a dog...