Fable 2

The long-awaited sequel to Fable is here, but was it worth the wait?

The original Xbox adventure was fun, but we all knew it could have been a lot better. Since the arrival of the XBox 360 Fable fans everywhere have been waiting for the follow-up and finally their dreams come true.

Fable 2 is about choices - boy or girl, good or bad. Your decisions affect your appearance and how people react to you. Graphics are beautiful and the storyline draws you in.

The first hour or so leads you through the game, taking your hand a little too much at times and it feels more akin to the old arcade classic Dragon’s Lair as you press buttons when told to and run along a set track without being able to wander too much. However, this improves as the game progresses and the golden path guide starts to vanish.

You adopt a dog which becomes a useful ally, from helping to find buried treasure to bravely assisting you in melees battles. Treat it well and you’ll have a friend for life.


Combat is nice and simple. The X button controls your sword, the Y button your ranged weapons (crossbow, guns etc) and the B button allows you to cast spells which you have managed to unlock with the experience system. Spells can be switched easily using the right trigger, allowing you to quickly change from Inferno, to Time Control mid-battle.

But there’s more to Fable than fighting bandits. Socialising is just as important and the expression system allows you to pick from a selection of gestures to either impress or insult your fellow villagers. Their opinions of you are displayed on a slider across the top of the screen. Move it to the right to get people to fall in love with you, propose marriage and have ogies even. But beware, unprotected sex leads to STDs and babies so stock up on those condoms and make sure you don’t keep them in your darts pocket.


Co-op is cool. Friends can join your world and play alongside you. However, players can only bring in their stats, not their weapons or their character so they are going to look different, which is a big downside. However, they can earn experience and money while playing in your world.

If you want to run through the game as quickly as possible, completing quests and ignoring the other aspects such as caring for your dog, creating a family, setting up a business, then it is possible to finish the game in under eight hours we are told. However, you’re going to be missing out on a lot of enjoyment.

Fable 2 is a great game, but there’s still a lot of improvement available, particularly with the online co-op mode. I’m hoping this will be resolved via a patch at some point in the near future as this is perhaps the only major flaw in the game.

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