Fable 2 Impressions

[ddb120]

what is with the chicken head mask?

I think the character looks dumb and I cant find any clothes worthy of making him look half-cool so I just leave him in his underwear, wearing the chicken mask, chicken boots and the standard gloves you start the game with... all painted pink. I got the suit and the paint from here: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1355442. Better being a little humorous rather than trying to be cool looking retarded IMO.

I bought/rented 9 houses in Bowerstone and all the Gypsy Taverns... I'm bringing in a little over 1500 gold every few minutes. I, like Tetrahedron above, plan on owning anything and everything and planting my seed in every female in the game.

I love the mindless fun of being evil in co-op and just going through towns killing innocent people and guards.

The things I dislike about the game so far are:

- My game freezes quite often.. not a lot, but seems to happen at inopportune times, although it may just be my xbox, I dunno..

- The fact that you can't join other peoples games with your own character and instead you have to pick from a selection of pre-made ones really disappoints me and takes away a lot of the fun factor in co-op for me.

 

[Itchyeyes]

You can't die? That is a huge nerf IMHO. Doesn't sound like much of a challenge.

It's not supposed to be a challenge. The point of the game is to explore the world and shape it in the ways that you want to. If you're just going to play the story line quest looking for the next bad guy to beat save your money.

 

[WesM63]

It's not supposed to be a challenge. The point of the game is to explore the world and shape it in the ways that you want to. If you're just going to play the story line quest looking for the next bad guy to beat save your money.

I'm just dumbfounded by that. The game has to have some sort of "challenge" per se, otherwise it wouldn't be a game at all, now would it?

Whats the point in defending the game to me, when it doesn't need defending?

 

[Loggahead]

I'm just dumbfounded by that. The game has to have some sort of "challenge" per se, otherwise it wouldn't be a game at all, now would it?

Whats the point in defending the game to me, when it doesn't need defending?

So, basically the game is NOT challenging? I'm on the fence on this one. I definitely don't enjoy games like the Sims for example. An rpg that doesn't challenge you? No thanks.

 

[Itchyeyes]

I'm just dumbfounded by that. The game has to have some sort of "challenge" per se, otherwise it wouldn't be a game at all, now would it?

Not really. At least not anymore than a game like The Sims or Animal Crossing has a challenge. People always bill Fable as an action adventure game, which I think is a bit misleading. The action adventure element is such a small portion of the game. The majority of the game actually bears more resemblance to the two games I mentioned above.

Whats the point in defending the game to me, when it doesn't need defending?

I'm not defending it. In fact I was telling you that if you're looking for a challenging game this isn't for you and you'll be disappointed.

 

[WesM63]

Not really. At least not anymore than a game like The Sims or Animal Crossing has a challenge. People always bill Fable as an action adventure game, which I think is a bit misleading. The action adventure element is such a small portion of the game. The majority of the game actually bears more resemblance to the two games I mentioned above.

I'm not defending it. In fact I was telling you that if you're looking for a challenging game this isn't for you and you'll be disappointed.

The Sims and Animal Crossing are Simulations. Not true "games". "Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interactivity"

The Sims and Animal Crossing are "games" by definition only, "noun, a competitive encounter between individuals or groups carried on for amusement, exercise, or in pursuit of a prize"

The fact of the matter is, I'm still buying the game, and I don't see why people are so hell bent on making me not buy it. Maybe I'll end up liking the "game" regardless if it is challenging or not. My original comment was just that, a comment and my thoughts. Lets leave it at that until I play the game.

 

[Psychotext]

If you die, you get scarred and lose ungathered experience. Keep losing experience, don't level. Don't level, keep getting killed as you try to take on harder stuff.

[Edit - Die / killed isn't the right term there, but you get the idea]

 

[Tetrahedron]

you dont die?

well name one game that has true death in it, where you have to start all over from the beginning, or even worse, if you die game over, the game is uninstalled and you can never install it again except perhaps a format reinstall the OS

so just because Fable2 put in a different death system doesnt mean there isnt penalties like Pyschotext has mentioned

 

[The Hedon]

This game is quite fun & 25x better than Lost Chapters. So much depth to the world & gameplay. The only issue I have is the lack of... quality in the rendering of water. It looks like liquid silver most of the time & is nothing close to <insert any game with great water>. Seems like the devs skipped that as a highlight for improvement when they made the game engine.

The water problem could be your TV/Display. The water looks amazing on my screen. However, the splashing from the swimming looks like complete garbage.

You can't die? That is a huge nerf IMHO. Doesn't sound like much of a challenge. (The first one was pretty easy to begin with.) Like I said, I'll play it anyway.

FYI, Reviews aren't everything, a lot of great games out there that got poor reviews.

If you die in a story, the story is over. What is the purpose then?

Reviews are not everything, true. But it's a good place to start. Poor reviews don't equate to good games either. Look at HAZE.

 

[PoweredBySoy]

you dont die?

well name one game that has true death in it.....

That's kind of a good point. In the vast majority of games, all 'death' does is force you to restart from some previous checkpoint and do it again. There are no real penalties to it - other than to be annoying. I think it's an interesting design choice Fable 2 took.

 

[Itchyeyes]

That's kind of a good point. In the vast majority of games, all 'death' does is force you to restart from some previous checkpoint and do it again. There are no real penalties to it - other than to be annoying. I think it's an interesting design choice Fable 2 took.

There's an interesting interview out there somewhere (sorry I don't have the link) where they talk about their reasoning behind the no death rule. Basically they viewed death in games as a holdover from another era. Back in the days death (and lives) were there to keep you pumping quarters into a slot. With most games today though death is pretty arbitrary. You basically take a few steps back in the game and reappear as if nothing had happened. They wanted to get away from that. Basically come up with a way that gave you an incentive not to "die" but make more sense cohesively with the way that the game world was structured than just resetting you to 10 min earlier in the game.

 

[]|[ Mar']['in ]|[]

I just wish they would allow a bit more to be done with the co-op.

So far I'm having fun with single player though. Going with a "good" will user first. If I feel like playing through again i'll make an evil brute.

I'm not really a fan of the way the spell casting system is done, as in when I want to cast more than one spell, I'm pigeon holed into casting a lower rank of one spell, and then charging 12 minute for a higher rank of another. But I've gotten used to it I guess.

 

[Stiler]

what do you mean? you can select any spell at any lv you wish, you can do this in the spell selector menu or on the fly by pushing the right trigger and then the d-pad up/down to select the lv and right/left to select the spell.

 

[Dreaz]

I think they are pretty righton with the lives thing.

We've seen variations of it in loads of games. Halo introduced the recharging shield that now nearly all FPS have. That's a form of 'not dying'. Full Auto does the same thing with the rewind feature (and duke nukem 3d). Bioshock has the consistent world after you die.

It's a concept that is catching on pretty quick. And in all honesty it's not a bad thing. For some of us, it was fun to spend hours on hours against 1 boss (or performing a series of 'hard' platforming jumps), and that's fine but it does narrow the gaming audience. For the great majority, that is not fun. Besides, I remember at points just retrying over and over bosses or whatnot not because it was fun, but because I just wanted to beat the muthafucker that had already wasted away X hours of my life. Beating these areas was a sense of accomplishment, but I think it was more a sense of relief =p

Of course I'm not saying all games should do this, but I am saying this trend is not something to rebel against. It's here to stay.

 

[limxdul]

oh god must play

 

[CrimsonKnight13]

The water problem could be your TV/Display. The water looks amazing on my screen. However, the splashing from the swimming looks like complete garbage.

I saw it on a friend's 1080i TV. I'll see how it looks on my own 24" LCD monitor before passing further judgement (I do own a copy). It still probably won't look as good as what I've seen with the newest FPSes like Crysis... which is why I'm skeptical about the water.

 

[The Hedon]

I saw it on a friend's 1080i TV. I'll see how it looks on my own 24" LCD monitor before passing further judgement (I do own a copy). It still probably won't look as good as what I've seen with the newest FPSes like Crysis... which is why I'm skeptical about the water.

No, the water doesn't look as good as Crysis water, nor Bioschock water. Crysis is supposed to look more realistic. Fable is supposed to have a "fable"/cartoony look. I think they nailed it (except the splashes).

 

[CrimsonKnight13]

Oooh, I forget about BioShock's water. Simply amazing & I loved that about the game.

I'm not exactly in awe about the choice to have the water look as it does in Fable 2 though. Cartoony or not... its rather "bleh" to me. Liquid mercury is what it appears as to my own eyes.

 

[CompuG##K]

I've racked a total of about 8 hours into this game so far, but I'm not very far into the story yet. I've been mucking around with side quest stuff and leveling.

I started out playing the "good guy" character, helping people out every chance I got, but all that has changed. It all happened when I broke into a house to grab a silver key. I was sure no one was watching, but I guess someone saw me...

The guards came, but I wasn't going to submit without a fight, so I started fighting them. This is with hardly any leveling up at all mind you. So yeah, just the grunt guards were pretty tough to kill. I held my own though, until the big guards started coming. I took a couple of them out, but I was outnumbered and they proceeded to kick the shit out of me. I stumbled out of town to recover, and then proceeded to inspect my character. Sure enough, the evil was starting to show in his eyes, his skin had paled, and he had a huge scar across his face. All of that was backed up with a gritty, vengeful look on his face. He had started down the path to the dark side.

I proceeded to level up with all the experience I had gained from the brawl in town, and then I returned and mowed down the town guards one by one.

I went to some shops, bought some clothing and dyes, changed my hair, and now my character has the "Mess with me and I'll rip off your face." look about him. Looks so freaking awesome.

Let's not forget about the dog, either. The dog is so good that I find myself backtracking to look for him if he ever gets held back or strays away. Not many npcs I would do that for...

Anywhoo...It's quite apparent what I think of this game. It rocks, plain and simple. Sure there a few small issues, but they're practically transparent in the light of what's good in the game.

 

[CrimsonKnight13]

Let's not forget about the dog, either. The dog is so good that I find myself backtracking to look for him if he ever gets held back or strays away. Not many npcs I would do that for....

The dog is one of the best companions I've seen in any game. They've used a great AI for it & you can tell that he/she shows the love that one's own dog would. Excellent in every way & I applaud Lionhead for such a great display.

 

[CompuG##K]

The dog is one of the best companions I've seen in any game. They've used a great AI for it & you can tell that he/she shows the love that one's own dog would. Excellent in every way & I applaud Lionhead for such a great display.

Yeah, I find myself actually caring about the dog and having feelings for it. Peter Molyneux hit the nail on the head when he said that if they could get you to have an emotional bond with the game, then the experience is far better.

 

[The Hedon]

I am with you guys. I freak out when I am somewhere, and then I turn around and my dog isn't there. I either call him to me, or I run back looking for him. The dog was a top notch idea. It is, IMO, one of the "innovations" for this next gen gaming experience, and I love it.

 

[Psychotext]

Just started playing. Top game so far!

 

[f1y]

Awesome stuff! Never played the first one, but this one is rocking my socks off..

XBL -

if anyone wants to roll with me

 

[theNoid]

Another 6 hour session last night. This game defines gaming for me, reaches to the core and tickles the prostate.

I am sad that when I beat this (several times) there is nothing else like it to feed the beast.

 

[capreppy]

I thoroughly enjoyed the first iteration. I might need to pick it up this weekend. Seems like a good followup

 

[Dreaz]

Has anyone found a review that featured the online co-op feature?

 

[Alai]

The dog is one of the best companions I've seen in any game. They've used a great AI for it & you can tell that he/she shows the love that one's own dog would. Excellent in every way & I applaud Lionhead for such a great display.

I think they pretty much just took what they had from Black&White and inserted a slightly lesser AI into the dog.

 

[DNAlevelC]

I went to the local exchange today and traded in a ton of N64 stuff. They ended up giving me like $80. I went to look at the 360 games and I saw Fable II. I stared for a second and then said to myself, "WTF am I waiting for?" I can't believe I hesitated, I murdered the first one on the PC when THe Lost Chapters came out, and then early this year I got it for my xbox, played it too much. When I got my 360, this was in my top 3 of needs. I have played for about 3 hours or so, and I love it.

I have tried the Co-op and it's so so. It needs a few tweaks, but it has potential. Now I will say this, I won't be playing it online that often. I am all about the single player on it, and so far I am satisfied. I can't wait to waste away my free time. Gonna tell my boss that I need an early vacation.

 

[Psychotext]

Yeah, I'm not much interested in anything other than local co-op... but I don't care, the single player experience is so captivating.

 

[Jerome36]

I started playing last night, and I'm liking it a lot so far, though I must admit I haven't gotten to far into it. I'm going to play through it, being as good as possible, and once I beat it I'm going to go through it again and be nothing but PURE EVIL!

 

[KamelRed]

I have mixed feelings about Fable 2. On one had I really like the gameplay, graphics, and all that jazz. The controls feel well thought out and the in game humor is top notch, having a rather large game world is a big plus as well.

However, the game is a bit glitchy sometimes and the load times are starting to get to me. The inventory menu is a giant mess in list form with a sprinkle of jerky load time for added measure, not to mention you can't bind items to hotkeys so you're always going back into your inventory to drink certain potions, etc. My biggest complaint is the fact that exploring the world yields crap for treasure. Expect to find some potions, condoms, and very small amounts of gold in all dig loctations and treasure chests.

Rarely, you'll find a new piece of clothing or a book that teaches your dog a new trick. But other then that it is a very unrewarding experience. Even the demon doors that in Fable 1 gave great items now give crap. Its like a slap in the face everytime you search high and low to find bits of treasure only to be once again rewarded with crap. For some reason there are 50 silver keys in the game but most chests only go up to 15, lol.

I like playing the game for the story and interacting with the NPCs but the fact that exploring and treasure hunting are so poorly rewarded leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[GregP24]

I've been playing it in a similar manner to how I function in real life - kind as possible to my dog and mean as hell to everyone else. This game is awesome.

 

[Dallows]

not to mention you can't bind items to hotkeys so you're always going back into your inventory to drink certain potions, etc.

What? That doesn't make any sense. I haven't play the game yet or really looked into the gameplay, but how would you handle hp during combat?

 

[KamelRed]

What? That doesn't make any sense. I haven't play the game yet or really looked into the gameplay, but how would you handle hp during combat?

The game decides what two healing items you can use on the d-pad. Usually its food if you have it. Normally, this wouldn't really matter but a lot of food influences different stats (fatness, good/evil, etc) thus making you have to manually enter the inventory screen and select a healing item that fits your needs.

 

[CEpeep]

The game decides what two healing items you can use on the d-pad. Usually its food if you have it. Normally, this wouldn't really matter but a lot of food influences different stats (fatness, good/evil, etc) thus making you have to manually enter the inventory screen and select a healing item that fits your needs.

Buy the potions store when you can afford it and use your discount to get sweet potions for healing.

 

[KamelRed]

Buy the potions store when you can afford it and use your discount to get sweet potions for healing.

Uh...ok?

 

[Alai]

Buy the potions store when you can afford it and use your discount to get sweet potions for healing.

I think he means for you to sell all your food and buy all potions so that the game has no choice but to use potions.

 

[stevedave]

sounds sweet when's the PC version out?

 

[KamelRed]

I think he means for you to sell all your food and buy all potions so that the game has no choice but to use potions.

That is only a part of the problem though. You still have to go back into your inventory and to use experience potions EVERY time. There is a potion for each experience group plus there are multiple strengths for each. So for example you buy out a vendor's worth of experience pots, you then have the tedious task of going into your inventory using 1 potion out of the 15 you bought which kicks you out of the inventory back into the game for just that one potion. So you have to go back into the inventory, scroll down to potions, scroll down to the potion you want (the list gets rather large even midway through the game) and use yet another potion.

And this cycle repeats over and over until you're done using all the potions.

Not to mention the various foods and all there attributes that you might want or not want. Only a few foods actually make you thinner so I found myself always scrolling through my inventory trying to get rid of the fat I collected off of other consumables. And then if you want to stay pure or corrupt you have to scroll through the list to find the right food for that.

Its just a very tedious process that could have been made a lot quicker if simple items could have been hotkeyed.