Fable II Hands On

I got a chance to play a small chunk of Fable II at the Microsoft offices in Singapore, while attending the GCA conference. Once I finally got there (a taxi driver had taken me to the wrong building!), Peter Molyneux had already started showing people the game. Check out our full interview with Peter on the site – in the meantime, here are my impressions of what I saw and played.

The game starts you off as a child, just like in the original Fable. Molyneux commented that they were running a risk not starting off with a ‘bang’, but rather with a gentle curve. Regardless, it gives you the opportunity to play through a tutorial that doesn’t seem to suck – helpful information is tied into the story, and the tasks you need to accomplish aren’t too onerous.

Things ramp up significantly towards the end of the childhood segment, although I won’t say what happens. But be aware that this game has been designed to tug at your emotions, and it may very well succeed.

One cool feature that quickly becomes apparent is the cutscene button. At nearly every point where a cutscene would normally be, you can choose to keep wandering around, or pull the left trigger to switch to a cinematic camera angle. It’s a tiny thing, but a welcome move that will satisfy those looking to rush through – and certainly those who are playing for the second time, and have a deep-seated hatred for unskippable scenes.

The graphics are largely impressive from a technical standpoint, but what impressed me most was the artistic style and its general cohesiveness. This feels like a unique and varied world that is nevertheless united, which you can’t say for too many games. From the slums you grow up in, with snow falling slowly around you, to wide open vistas of forests and lakes, you’ll be treated to a lot of great scenery through your adventure.

We were shown a glimpse of just how varied you can make your character look. In addition to the changes made by being good or evil, there seems to be a ton of clothing options for those who like to customise. Molyneux also pointed out that they decided not to have armour, simply because everyone would then hunt down the plate mail suit and all wear that. Clothing will infer different kinds of bonuses, and really emphasise the idea of choice.

It’s that idea of choice that really permeates the game, much more than it did in the original Fable. The whole idea is that not only will your character reflect who you are and how you play, but so will the entire world. Your choice of wife or husband, your children, your house, your neighborhood, and all the world’s inhabitants – everything will react to how you act, and be shaped accordingly.

One example is the ability to – we’re told – buy every single building in the game to be your home. This even includes the castle that the main antagonist is from – although it will set you back millions of gold. Still, if you can afford it, you’ll probably make your spouse happy, and you’ll then become the lord of the town it presides over.

The dog is another feature that’s been talked about a lot – and for good reason, as I found out after experiencing it first hand. In his keynote at GCA 08, Molyneux said they wanted to add drama and emotion into the game, and that they cheated by adding a creature that is so easy to become attached to. Well, it worked, at least in my case. I accidentally left my dog injured after a battle, and it took me a while to figure out he wasn’t following me. I scoured the road behind me, and then found him limping towards me in the distance. We were told that your dog will be involved at some point in the story, which surely means bad things for those who get attached to their companion.

I don’t really want to comment yet on the battle controls – they felt good from what I played, but without having time to unlock many abilities, I didn’t get a good sense of how deep they can go. Essentially, you have one button for melee, one for guns, and one for magic. To stop it being a shallow button masher, you’ll do different moves – and become a different kind of character – depending on how you press the buttons. For example, if you rhythmically time your gun shots, you’ll become more of a sharp shooter, whereas if you hold it down a lot and aim before firing, you’ll become more of a sniper. Using your melee, range, and magic skills in combination will also add further depth. It sounds like a great system in theory – let’s hope it bears up after a lot of playing.

Finally, I want to talk about the co-op, because it looks like the single best feature in a game full of great-looking features. At any point, a friend can come along and pick up a second controller, and join in your adventure either as a random henchman, or as their own character if they’re playing their own game. You can then proceed to work together for as long as you want – and you can even negotiate how gold and experience will be split. This is great for me, living as I do in a household where Final Fantasy XII gets played a lot – if I can drop in and play alongside in an RPG, I’ll be very happy.

And then there’s online play. It’s much the same story, except if you’re connected to the net while playing, you’ll see ghosts of other people wandering around doing their own thing. At any point, you can chat to and trade with them – and invite them into your world for some adventuring. Just think twice before inviting the guy with giant horns coming out of his head – if you’re not careful, invited characters can wreck havoc with your world, up to and including killing off your spouse and children.

So right now I’m thoroughly impressed with what I’ve seen of Fable II. If the rest of the game can stay as good, it’ll be something really, really special. Thankfully, we’ll find out soon enough – it’s due for release later in October. Keep it locked to NZGamer for the full review!

Oh yes, and you can have protected or unprotected sex in the game. Just be careful when sleeping with a lady of ill repute down at the docks - you may catch a disease you'd most rather be without. That's right, Fable II has STDs.

» Return to Top