Fable II - First Impressions

My hero has been through a pretty tough patch lately.

After a hard days blacksmithing, I left Bowerstone Square to venture into Old Bowerstone to visit my wife Alex - who I was introduced to by the ghost of her ex-fiance, who had incidentally tasked me with jilting her as she did to him, but I refused to and married her instead - and our newborn girl, Gwen. As I walked down the streets, donned in my finest Spartan Armour, a careless and accidental tap of B sent a magical spell flying through the window of the local potion shop. The watch were not pleased, and, being on hard times in my pockets (4-star blacksmithing doesn't bring in what it used to), I chose to do some community service - clearing up 5 bandits in Old Bowerstone shouldn't too tasking for a hero, and I was headed there anyway.

I arrived in Market lane at an unfortunate time though - before I could fire a shot from my blunderbuss in time, a bandit broke down the door of my martial home (which frankly pissed me off, as I'd spent ages saving gold for that place) and proceeded to place his pistol to my wifes head and pull the trigger, right in front of me. As my baby was taken in by Child protection, I avenged the loss of my family by incinerating the bandits to a cinder. As I stood over their burning remains, a thought struck me - All of this was my fault. A broken window lead to a broken family. What could be easily replaced lead to something irretrievable - I liked my wife, and I loved my child. But because of an innocent accident on my behalf, I had lost everything I fought for.

But at least I didn't have to pay her 50 gold a day in upkeep anymore. I rented out the house and moved into a bigger one in the Town square, and set off seeking adventure once more.

Fate and Destiny and their ability to change at a whim are key to the concept of Lionhead Studio's Fable series, and their latest offering, Fable II, is a highly polished and brilliantly shining example of this - literally every decision you make, from kicking chickens to shooting someone, has an effect on the world around you. For example, I was joined by a friend of mine last night, and when we returned to Old Bowerstone, he was suprised to see it so clean, bright, and generally still standing - turns out as a child in his world, he decided to affiliate with a criminal instead of with the Town Watch, meaning when he returned to Old Bowerstone, it was a hive of scum and villainy, with burning buildings to boot.

Fable II is more than just about decisions - the game is a truly wonderful thing to play. The visuals are lush and innovative, the world around you is rife with strong british humour (which is probably why it is a little less successful in the states, bless the poor things.), the combat, albeit simplistic, is fun to work with and better to watch, and the voice acting, especially Zoe Wanamaker's Theresa, your mentor and guide on the path to becoming a hero, is spot on and simply remarkable - The world is absolutely and fully immersive, it feels at some points that you are no longer playing a game - you are experiencing one.

I've found very little to bemoan of in this game - sure, as reported following the american release, there are a few bugs, but so far I've not come across anything that is potentially game ruining, but apart from that, Fable II is an outstanding game, and I heartily recommend its purchase.

Now if you excuse me, the sculptor in Oakfield wants me to pose for her latest work to be displayed in the village's square... all in a days work as a hero of Albion.