Gamer's Dish

Fable has created another chapter in its epic Action/RPG series with Fable II. Fable II follows the same format as the first Fable, which gives players options to do great things that are morally good or morally bad, along with having that affect how the game is played out. A notable difference with this game, is that players now have a dog that will follow them around, helping them find treasure or spots to dig for more treasure, as well as aiding with expressions and interactions with characters in the game. 

Like the first Fable game, Fable II takes place in the land of Albion, about 500 years passing from the first game. The setting new resembles the early modern period. The Heroes’ Guild no longer exists. After the defeat of Jack of Blades, Albion entered into a period of relative safety and stability during the time, increasingly corrupt Heroes were no longer needed. The people of Albion revolted against the Guild, which eventually lead to its destruction. Firearms have now become common and are considered the art of war. Cities like Bowerstone have now greatly expanded, and the old ideas and religions of Albion have been replaced by modern ideals of science and philosophy. This is where players would come into the story.

The game begins in the Old City part of Bowerstone, where the player, is a young child known as Sparrow, who lives in poverty with their sister, Rose, and they dream about living in Castle Fairfax, which is the home of Lord Lucien. Almost as if by magic, a man by the name of Mystical Murgo appears and is selling “magical” wares, including a magic box that grants a wish. Rose mocks the idea of magic, but an older woman named Theresa tells her, that it may in fact be magic. The cost of the box, of course being an issue for them, with the price being five coins.

With great curiosity, Rose and Sparrow decide to collect the five coins by doing odd jobs like collecting warrants, posing for a photograph, and other small tasks. During the time, they discover a dog getting abused by a local bully, Sparrow defeats the bully and the dog makes an attempt to accompany them. After they collect the money they needed, they buy the box and make the wish to live in Castle Fairfax. In a flash of light, the box disappears, with the assumption that it did not work. Disappointed at the results, the two go back to their makeshift home and discover the dog waiting for them, and Rose decides to let the dog stay with them for the night.

In the middle of the night, they are awakened by a guard, who takes them to Castle Fairfax by orders of Lord Lucien. The two now believe that their wish came true and are extremely happy. They walk with the guard up to Castle Fairfax, and meet Lord Lucien. They tell Lord Lucien about the box, and the wish that they had made. He asks them to step in a circle on the floor. A blue light emits from the edge of the circle, and turns red upon Lucien’s touch. He tells them that they are not any of the three, and that one of them is the fourth. With no explanation he shoots Rose, and afterward, shoots Sparrow, who then comes crashing out the window.

Upon waking up, Sparrow learns that they survived the fall to their heroic bloodline, and were rescued b Theresa and the dog. During ten years that have passed, Lucien has been rebuilding the Tattered Spire, which will grant the user enormous power. Sparrow is told by Theresa that they are the descendant of a great hero, and destined to bring down Lucien. However, Sparrow must find three heroes beforehand, in order to defeat Lucien with all their combined powers. Sparrow then begins the quest to put a stop to Lucien’s plans. Sparrow travels to Oakfield and finds Hammer, a monk who is upset at the fact that she is not allowed to fight. After traveling through a local cave to retrieve holy water for Oakfield, Hammer and Sparrow return to see the temple dismantled and Hammer witnesses her father’s death. After her father dies, Theresa tells Hammer of another destiny she has, and she learns that she is the Hero of Strength, and then accompanies Sparrow on their journey.

Next, Theresa tells Sparrow and Hammer that they are to find the Hero of Will, Garth. When Sparrow goes to their tower, they witness Garth’s capture. Sparrow then becomes a guard in the Spire for ten years, enduring different forms of hell and torture, before being able to rescue Garth. When they manage to escape, Garth kills the prison’s warden and then proceeds to the Hero of Skill, Reaver.

Reaver is a former pirate who lives in Bloodstone. In order for Sparrow to prove their worth to Reaver and get him to join them, they must take the Dark Seal to Reaver’s “friends” in Wraithmarsh. The Seal, as it turns out according to the Shadow Judges, marks the bearer for sacrifice to the Court of Shadows, and the sacrifice that is made keeps on making Reaver appear young. Sparrow is faced with the choice of course sacrificing their youth, or the youth of the young woman who’s trapped in the court. Either choice that the player makes, the story will continue.

Sparrow returns to Reaver’s mansion successful from his quest. Upon returning to the mansion, however, Lucien and his army attack, which have been brought by Reaver who wanted to collect the bounty on Sparrow. When Reaver learns that he would also be killed, he has a change of heart and he escapes with Sparrow through a tunnel and Theresa convinces Reaver to join their cause, at least until Lucien is defeated.

Upon the hill above the old Guild of Heroes, the four Heroes perform a ritual, but before the ritual is complete, Lucien attacks them, killing Sparrow’s dog and then killing Sparrow, before capturing the other three Heroes.

Theresa lets Sparrow know, that today, death is not a part of their fate. Sparrow awakens to a dream-like paradise where they are transformed back into a child, and they spend the day playing with their sister, Rose. After not too long, the skies become dark as the sun goes down, and a chilling music begins to play from beyond the gate where the family house is located. Despite the pleadings from their sister, Sparrow retrieves the music box that was acquired in the beginning of the game. Sparrow is then taken to the spire where the Heroes are having their power being absorbed by Lucien. Sparrow defeats Lucien with the music box and, thus, giving the player another choice whereas to shoot or not.

When Lucien dies, Theresa appears and grants Sparrow three different wishes, but of course, I’d rather you play the game, because there is still much to be discovered in it.

Pros:

• There are tons of things to do in Fable II, from simple little quests to help out villagers all the way to doing just the main plot, or even not doing a quest at all, but something to increase personal wealth.
• Even after the main storyline to the game is completed, there are still many things to do, which makes the game a lot of fun.
• I really liked having the ability to also choose what I wanted to do, instead of the game steering me saying, “This is what you have to do right now.”
• I also liked having free roam for the most part, instead of having a locked area say I couldn’t go there.
• There still was a challenge to the game, in the sense that, despite it being an RPG, nothing was really based on level, but more of skill and good time, which I honestly liked better.
• The game also constantly allows players to make choices, which will morally affect how the rest of the game is played, along with how their character would be viewed as, and I have honestly always been a fan of games like that.
• The graphics in this game were good, for the time that it did come out, and the game had a lot of humorous moments.

Cons:

• When the dog notified Sparrow of treasure and dig locations, it was confusing as to where the dog was point to, which caused some confusion and irritation.
• Occasionally, the little glowing trail which tells players where to go had a bug in it where sometimes it would get lost and send players in a different direction and have them turn around, which also caused some annoyance to me.
• The other bug was some loading issues, which if players were doing mini-games or sometimes loading new areas, the game would experience some lag.

Final Thoughts: As said before, I am a ridiculously huge fan of Fable II, and despite the couple of bugs that were in the way, I would not let that deter me from the game. It’s fun, it’s enjoyable and downright it can be addicting. Fable II is a whole other world waiting to be explored.

Grade: Because I loved Fable II so much, I have to instantly give it 10 out of 10, the game was phenomenal. So go explore Albion and choose how you are going to affect it!

Developer: Lionhead Studios

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Platform: Xbox 360

Release Date: October 21, 2008

Genre(s): Action/RPG, Sandbox

ESRB Rating: Mature