Fable II CE: The Unboxening

I've literally just cracked open my copy of Fable II's collectors edition (thankfully ferried to me from Birmingham by a very good friend) - and despite the fact it faced some severe cuts earlier this year, it still manages to impress.

It may just be me, but I prefer the new slimline box with a cover - not only am I a sucker for the amazing character art emblazoned on the cover, but the metal box it was originally coming in - akin to the CE boxes for Halo 3, Gears of War and Mass Effect - was initially a little off putting. I have the CE for Halo 3, and the box is really not at all good at safeguarding the disc (a friend of mine has had to change his copy of the game seveal times because of the box scratching the disc), whereas my mind is at rest more knowing that the game is secured in the standard casing, with minimal fear of it being scratched into disrepair.

The CE standard case takes a lovely twist on its cover - I expected the case to just be the same as the sleeve, but instead I was treated to a nice horizontal image of the 'good' hero on the front, contrasted with an image of the 'evil' hero on the other side: simple and perhaps blatantly obvious to do, but I thought it was nice Lionhead still put some effort into making the set different - and the theme is transfered nicely onto the two discs, the bonus one having the 'evil' hero on its cover.

The exclusive content is given on a small card, similar to the xbox live trial card (also included), with a little description of the content given and where to find it in the game world. I thought that this could have been made to look a little prettier, but at least, unlike some of my american bretheren, its there! I can't wait to use the Hal's outfit and Hal's sword (Fable II-styled recreations of Master Chiefs armour and an Energy Sword, for the unitiated).

Well, now to the actual playing of Fable II - Albion awaits the return of the hero! I'll check back tomorrow with my initial thoughts of what is promised to be a brilliant game.