Fable 2 – First Impressions

Fable 2 Cover Art

Let me start by saying I’m not a big fan of RPGs. I find games in this genre tend to take up too much time (which is a commodity I seem to having less of), and the badly designed ones just feel too repetitive – you either have to kill someone, find something or bring an item to someone.

I think a well-written RPG needs to fulfill two important criteria: First, the RPG needs to move the narrative in a non-linear fashion so the player is free to pursue whatever he wants with no dire consequences to the story.  The player should be able to jump in and out of the main quest anytime he wants, however he wants. Second, the game needs be crafted such that consequences do matter. Contradictory?  Here lies the dichotomy of an RPG game.  Every action the player takes needs to bear consequences because the world the game lives in needs to be alive and real – or at least give an illusion of. And the easiest way to achieve this is simply making it more linear: action-consequence. Yet, when it’s crafted this way it defeats the point of an open gameplay and results in a flat, oversimplified experience.

Fable 2 has done well in these two aspects.  The gameplay is balanced well between the two – whilst there’s no dire consequences for not pursuing your main quest all the time, your every action will affect you and the world around you.  If you steal something when no one is looking, you increase your evil balance. And too much of that, your physical appearance will alter and NPCs will react to you differently.  You wear certain clothes and increase your attractiveness score, the ladies in town will flock to you. It doesn’t stop there, the world of Albion is deeper and more dynamic.  If you increase the rent on the house you’re renting out, it will affect your purity score. If you trespass in someone else’s property, the guards will come for you.  Everything you do affects the world.

In terms of gameplay, the controls are pretty straightforward. Despite some criticisms, I find the simple fighting mechanic working very well.  X for melee, Y for ranged and B for spells.  You can combo them any way or you can choose not to. Depending on whichever attack you choose to dispose of the enemy, the experience orbs that drop will be from that same category.  So if you’re a predominantly melee player, you will level up your melee skills faster based on the melee experience orbs dropped.  The player’s attributes is governed by the same three skill branches. You can choose to pursure melee, then your character will appear more muscular.  If you choose to pursue range (called “skill” in game), your character will be taller and lankier.  If you pursue spells, your character will develop a magical glow.

My first character is quite well balanced between melee and ranged, but less on spells.  There’s no additional points to spend on what RPGs traditionally label as strength, dexterity and intelligence.  To me the simplicity works – you don’t have to spend too much time mulling and planning what skill point to spend next. The time is better spent exploring the world.

Furthermore, the game isn’t punishing when you die and that’s important.  The more punishing it is, the faster the game frustrates the player. When you die in Fable 2, you merely collapse to the ground, then get up again with full health.  The only drawback is every death will give you a permanent scar. And in this game, the scars you have will have an effect on how an NPC reacts to you.

In terms of storyline, the game establishes very early what your final goal is.  In fact, the first part of the game when you’re playing as a kid, sets up the entire game for you.  Though that first part is terribly linear, it establishes many important facets of the game so it’s very clear what your objectives are once you transition to play as an adult.  However, like a good RPG, the game lets you decide when you want to pursue your main quest or when you just want to tinker around – get an odd job, check out stores that are on sale or even just go exploring the world.

One of the best feature I like about Fable 2 is the inclusion of the dog.  It’s such a risky and difficult mechanic to build into the game but I have to say that it works really well.  The dog is a reflection of you. If your character skews evil, your dog’s appearance will change just like yours.  And how you treat your dog will affect how the dog is.  If you punish it all the time, you’ll get a more aggressive dog that will aid you in fighting but always fearful of you.  If you praise your dog too much, it will be more playful and might not fight as hard.  You can buy trick books to teach your dog new tricks or you can buy a rubber ball to play fetch.  After a while, the dog is so much part of your character that you begin to develop a bond with it.

Once I was taking my time fighting a group of bandits early in the game, and the dog got kicked really hard by one baddie.  Doggy whimpered and collapsed and that really pissed me off so I proceeded to zap that mofo with lightning, shoot him with my rifle until he collapsed then finished him off with a sword through his chest.  Injured doggy needs to be given potions to heal, just like you. After that, I bought a book called “Dogs of War” and upgraded the little canine to fight better. After the upgrade, the dog is able to pounce on fallen enemies to finish them off.  So in my typical encounters now, I’ll start by shooting a few enemies from distance and pooch will finish them off while I clean up the rest.

The dog also acts as your mini-map.  If you’re exploring and there’s a treasure chest nearby, the dog will bark to get your attention and will lead you there.  If there’s something buried, the dog will start digging as an indication that you should take out your spade to join in.  Even the treasure hunting skills can be upgraded via books.

There are some bad points about the game.  There’s some framerate issues especially when the screen gets busy and on menu screens and sometimes the camera seems a little misplaced. But all these are not particularly glaring so I can live with it. All the stuff that’s good covers these little flaws.

Overall, my experience with this game far surpassed earlier RPGs like Oblivion.  The balance between simplicity and depth is very well thought out and executed.  The visuals look rich, and I particularly like the music, which I believe is scored by Danny Elfman. If you’re a fan of RPGs in general, you should enjoy this.  If you’re not, this game could be a pleasant breath of fresh air, unlike some others before that in comparison to Fable 2, plays heavy and feels terribly stuffy.  Though I’ve yet to complete the game and can’t give a complete review, I feel the game has definitely got legs to be terribly engaging. I would say this is highly recommended for new players and fans of the Fable franchise alike.

Art/Graphics: 9/10
Music/Sound: 9/10
Controls/Playability: 8.5/10
Production Value/Design: 8.5/10
Replay Value: 7/10
Overall: 42/50 or 84%