Retroblog: Fable II (Xbox360)

Originally posted: Dec 7, '08

There's something about Fable 2 that feels at home when you play it; yes it's a new game but while playing you feel that you've already known each other for so long, not in a bad way but this is something that games should make you feel.. at home. Fable 2 is a Western RPG, meaning hack-n-slash and not turn-based; its locations are divided into regions but it still has that sandbox feel to it. The story is quite short but do a lot of side quests and it becomes lengthy as what a role-playing game should be. Some exciting sidequests are the usual collecting of items, owning of properties, doing jobs, raising a family, raising another family beyond the first, yes you heard it right, etc. this is as open as an open world game should get.

Leveling up in Fable is different, as your skills are divided into 3 groups, strength (melee), skill (range) and will (magic). In this game you do not get from one level to another, only these 3 categories do, so always doing melee means you only develop your melee skills and you'll leave your long-range skills behind. So the best tip is to use all of them equally so you'll be a more robust adventurer and ready for any obstacle the game puts in front of you. Anyway, it's possible to master all the skills available in the game, so you do not have to hold back at it. Next, when it comes to the gameplay, I can say it's somewhat similar to Elder Scrolls Oblivion (and any fantasy RPG I think is done right) where you'll go to deep forests and dungeons fighting bandits, goblins and the undead. Another unique aspect this game brings to the table is its expression wheel which you'll be using to interact with NPCs. You can laugh, flirt, annoy, tease, etc. with them which has different outcomes depending on what that certain person wants. This game also has the morality alignment thing that some games have; the option to choose between good and evil, while it seems going the good way is the always correct choice, some items and stuff in Fable 2 can only be unlocked by going the dark side, so always think ahead, by the way there's a way you can immediately go 100% good from 100% evil so it's sometimes good to go bad.

There's still plenty of things you can experience in this game but I'll leave it to you to see for yourself. So if you're looking for a good fantasy role-playing experience this holiday season, look no further than Fable 2. This game is exclusive for the Xbox 360.