Fairy tale, or nightmare? (Fable II (Xbox 360))

Member Name: Matthew_Plant

Product:	Fable II (Xbox 360)
Date:	03/07/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, involving world.

Disadvantages: shallow, too easy.

Being a big fan of role playing games i was both excited and curious about the release of Fable II on the xbox 360. Lacking any real meaty RPGs on the 360, i was looking for something to feed my lust for customization, dwarfs and adventure...

Before I go into detail its perhaps important to state that I had little afilliation with the first Fable on the original XBOX, I played it a little but not enough to compare it much with its sequel.

From the opening sequence you can see the effort that has gone into creating a believable 'living' world. The graphics are reminiscent of a NINTENDO game, with vibrant colours and detailed graphics wrapped in a overall catoony look, which is where the majority of the games humour shines from. Most likely this game WILL make u laugh, and atleast will make you smile, never a bad thing when being involved in any form of entertainment.

GAME MECHANICS

Levelling up and progressing in the game, is achieved by gaining experience from killing enemies (for the most part). Exp is divided into four catergories, (skill and dexterity), (Strength and endurance), (Magic spells and spell power), and general exp. The concept is that your character should develop in a way that suits your playing style. In theory this sounds great, but what i found was, there was far too much exp to gain, it didnt take long to saturate my prefered play style (ranged) and i was confronted with the option either to waste exp or become an 'all-rounder'.

The battle system itself was solid enough and easy to use, some of the spells available were interesting and the effects pretty, but nothing seemed to stand out and make me feel like i had created an individual character, not in terms of gameplay anyway, which again was slightly dissapointing.

GOOD/EVIL

The choices made within the game dramatically change the way both your avatar looks and the world around him/her. This appears to be where alot of the work has been focused, and it works very well. It draws very much on lionheads eperience with simulation games and is in itself and achievement and fun to play with. The worlds reaction to your actions lead to creating a very believable 'living' world, giving your avatar much more dimension and character.

STORY/QUESTS

I won't go into detail with the plot of the game, thats something that should be left to be explored. The main story is a little short but that doesnt mean you are left with nothing to do there are plenty of quests and sub plots to explore. Some become monotomous, others are quirky and funny, some are dark and well evil... theres plenty to do in the world outside the main story, so dont rush through the main game and enjoy the many places to explore and stories to experience.

SIMS?

The place where the game really shines, is in the effort been made to create the many places to visit and their subsequent inhabitants. You can buy real estate, businesses and even castles, get married and start a family. In fact you can have several wives just make sure you dont get caught or they might pack their bags and leave, your children could end up in care, and everyone will talk about your playing around.

Early in the game you meet your first friend a poor dog that is being bullied by some mean kids, your faithful pooch will follow you to the death offering some extra fighting power, and will even find you treasure!

The game offers the options to pull many expressions at the other living habitants, these range from disgusting to amusing, some can be held to create a longer extended version, dont mess it up though or the response could be entirely different to what was intended. You can even learn new expressions for you and your faithful pooch, there is plenty of fun to be had on the sim side of the game, I was left wondering though was this really what the game was suppose to be about?

CONCLUSION

I cant deny I didnt have fun playing Fable II, I was left feeling a little cheated though. There were excellent online modes and even the option of a co-op henchman to add to the playability, but i never really felt like i was playing a RPG. Perhaps its the urge for more 'mainstream games' that has seen recent offerings shy away from intense story lines, and rich character customization and concentrate on ease of access and indeed the trend towards simulation that appears to be everly popular. I have no doubt people will enjoy this game, but dont expect it to leave you with anything in its aftermath, to me a RPG should be like reading a good book, Fble II is more like flicking through a comic book.

Summary: A good game, just not the best RPG out there.