Fable II

Fable II
Developer(s)	Lionhead Studios
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)	Peter Molyneux
Engine	Proprietary (graphics) Havok (physics) Kynapse (pathfinding) Alienbrain 8 (asset tracking)
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release	NA: October 21, 2008 EU: October 24, 2008 AU: October 23, 2008
Genre(s)	Action RPG
Mode(s)	Single player, Cooperative gameplay, Xbox Live

Fable II is an action role-playing game for the Xbox 360 developed by Lionhead Studios, published by Microsoft Game Studios. The sequel to Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters, it was originally announced in 2006 and released in October 2008.

The game takes place in the fictional world of Albion, 500 years after Fable's setting, in a colonial era resembling the time of highwaymen or the Enlightenment; guns are still primitive, and large castles and cities have developed in the place of towns. Unlike the original, the player may choose to be either male or female.

Lead designer Peter Molyneux has played a major role in presenting this game to the public, as he did in the lead up to the release of the original Fable.

The game reached gold master status on September 22, 2008.

Plot

The story begins with the very poor young boy (or girl) being splattered with bird droppings, while their sister, Rose, laughs and tries to pass it off as lucky. Soon after, Rose hears a commotion down the street, and runs off to investigate, closely followed by her sibling. They discover that a street merchant, Murgo, is showing off his wares, including a "magic" box that will grant any wish to its owner. Rose scoffs at the notion of magic, and a blind old woman nearby overhears, and laments that even children no longer believe in magic. Rose is abashed, and wonders with her brother (or sister) if the box can really be magic, and could actually grant Rose's wish to live in a castle, like Castle Fairfax. The old blind woman says that for only five gold pieces, they could find out. Rose and the young child explore the town of Old Bowerstone, completing various quests to earn the necessary gold pieces.

When they finally do, they return to Murgo's booth and purchase the magic box. They then return to their hovel and use the box. It begins to spin and glow gold, but, suddenly, it starts to turn red, and the melody playing turns a sour, eerie note, finally vanishing in a flash of light. Rose is stunned, and quickly grows angry and sorrowful that they wasted five gold pieces on a worthless box, instead of possibly food for a week. She and her sibling return to their beds, and go to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Rose is awakened by the stray dog they had found earlier growling at a newcomer. The person reveals himself to be an agent of Lord Luciens', owner of Fairfax Castle and ruler of Bowerstone, and that he has come to collect them, at Lord Lucien's request. Rose is ecstatic, and quickly wakes her younger sibling and explains the situation. They travel to Castle Fairfax, and are met by Jeeves, Lord Luciens' personal manservant. He guides them to Lucien's study, giving them a vague explanation of why he has requested their presence.

When they arrive, Jeeves leaves them and Lucien welcomes them into his quarters. He asks many questions regarding the box they had purchased from Murgo the merchant, and if it was true whether or not they actually used it. Rose explains that yes, it is true, and that she had wished to live in a castle. Lucien tells them that their wish has come true, and that he will invite them to live in his castle, if they could do him one favor first. Rose hesitantly agrees, and Lucien asks them to step onto a panel on the floor, which happens to be an ancient Guild Seal. As soon as they do, it starts to glow blue, with a magical barrier separating them from Lucien. When Lucien approaches the barrier, it suddenly turns red, and Lucien recoils away from it. He then rushes to his book-covered desk, muttering to himself, trying to figure what is happening. When Rose tries to get his attention, he turns towards them, pulls out a pistol, and points it at them. He apologizes, telling them that they are, in fact, descended from Heroes, but not from the three he is looking for, but a fourth. He then shoots Rose, who falls to the ground, apparently dead, then aims at the young Hero, who is blasted out of the tower window, and falls to the earth. The player survives the 100+ foot fall due to being a Hero, and being able to survive falls that "would shatter the bones of normal men" (help reference). The stray dog that the young Hero found earlier appears, closely followed by the blind old woman, Theresa, who tells the unconscious form that "death is not part of your destiny."

The story skips forward ten years, during which the Hero and Theresa live among a group of gypsies. After presenting the Hero with a set of weapons, and teaching the Hero to harness Will, the force of magic, Theresa begins to guide the Hero to a confrontation with Lucien, guiding him telepathically, similar to the Guild Master from the original Fable. Lucien is hiding in the ruins of the Archon's Tower, a magical artifact that had at one point harnessed all of the Will energy of the world. During its initial use, the Tower exploded, and nearly wiped out life in Albion. Theresa gives the player a set of Tarot-like cards: The Thief, The Wizard, The Artifact, and The Choice, explaining that these tell the story of his destiny. This begins the game proper.

Theresa sends the Hero to Bowerstone, then to Oakfield, to try to track down one of the three Hero descendents, the Hero of Strength, to help her bring down Lucien and the Tower he's trying to rebuild. When the Hero arrives in Oakfield, he is directed by Theresa to the Temple of Light, to speak with the Abbot to possibly learn the location of the Hero of Strength. He says that their strongest priest happens to be his child, and that that child has to carry holy water to plant the Golden Acorn, so that Oakfield will have a crop. He asks the Hero if they can escort his offspring to the spring holding the holy water. The Hero goes to meet this priest, and discovers that the priest is a woman, who calls herself Hammer. She and the Hero head to the spring.

After they have gathered the holy water, they move on to a room that has a beam of light shining down on the ground. Hammer kneels next to the beam so that it shines into the water, and says a prayer to bless Oakfield's crop. After the ritual, another priest bursts into the room babbling about a dark figure taking Hammers father hostage. Hammer rushes off to help, with the Hero in tow. But before the Hero catches up, the dark figure shoots Hammer's father, and Hammer, in a rage, chases him off, and falls to her dead father's side.

After the funeral, Hammer asks what the Hero wants with her. Theresa appears, and explains how she can get revenge on the man behind her father's death: Lord Lucien. Theresa asks for her hand, and Hammer grudgingly aquiesces. She then tells the Hero to look for the second Hero, the Hero of Will, Garth, whom the Hero met as a child in Lucien's castle. She directs the Hero to him, and when the Hero arrives, they discover that Garth is being taken by the same shadowy figure that killed Hammer's father. Before the Hero can help him, they both disappear. When the Hero returns to the Guild, Theresa explains that Garth has been taken to the unfinished Tower to be tortured and interregated. She also explains that the Hero needs to rescue him, and in order to do that, the Hero has to enter the Crucible, whose winners are indoctrinated into Lucien's Guard at the Tower. When the Hero succeeds at the Crucible, Hammer explains that in order to go to the Tower, the Hero needs to get onto the waiting ship.

Gameplay

Combat

All combat is context specific, so that, if a player is on top of a tower, pressing a particular button may cause the player to throw an enemy off of the tower rather than attack with a weapon.

Additional features are included:

• Positional advantage: if an enemy is above the player such as on stairs, the enemy will have a tactical advantage
• Skill increases: better combos and flourishes become unlocked as the character progresses
• Weapon specific attacks: the character's combat style will change according to the kind of weapon they are using.
• Ranged weapon targeting: while using a gun, the player can aim more accurately by using a crosshair. During co-op, if either player would like to use the crosshair to aim, it would be shown from the same perspective as the rest of the fight, unlike behind the hero's shoulder in single player.
• Unlike the first game, Fable II will not have a mana bar. You can choose either a surround or a targeted spell.
• If the player presses and holds the X button he will block, and holding down the button while moving the analog stick will unleash a flourish.
• Armor will not play a role in combat. Your player's defense is based on the rank of his or her toughness ability. (This means you could wear a robe and still have as much protection as a suit of armor would give you.)

Weapons include: pistols, rifles, axes, swords, hammers and maces. Longbows will not be in Fable II due to the appearance of guns in Albion, however, crossbows will still be available.

Death

At first, the loss of all health would result in a Hero falling down, at which his attackers would kick him/her, leading to permanent scars. At the Game Developers Conference in 2008, Peter Molyneux indicated that the design for death had changed due to player feedback during play testing. It was found that players would rather turn off their console than subject their character to permanent disfigurement. In the new design, upon losing all health, a hero falls and loses an unspecified amount of experience; this experience is exchanged for a 'burst' of energy, allowing one last 'Heroic Struggle' in which the player rises to their feet and knocks all enemies away, leaving the player momentarily safe from harm.

Co-op

Online

On September 26 2008 it was reported that Fable II would not ship with online-co op stating that it would have to be patched in at a later date, reportedly as there are still kinks to work out. Although it was stated that the player would still be able to see their friends' Albion orbs, meaning players may still chat and trade with each other, other players would not be able to team up until the patch has been installed. On October 9, 2008, Peter Molyneux announced this update would most likely be available at launch on both the European/American release as an Xbox Live downloadable patch.

On July 14, 2008 at E3 2008 lead designer Peter Molyneux demonstrated 'Albion Orbs'. These orbs show where other players are in their worlds and allow you to, at the press of a button, bring them into your world to co-op with.

The mode of co-op is somewhat similar to that of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game; in that players are able to drop in and out of other player's games at will. The host player can set certain rules; eg. how loot gained is split between the players and if friendly fire is active or not. The joining player cannot load their custom hero; they much select a premade male or female character.

On October 19, Lionhead and Microsoft confirmed that the online co-op Fable II multiplayer feature update is confirmed for a first day free download on Xbox Live, worldwide (21st October).

Offline

While on the same console, a second player with their own account can drop in and out as a "henchman" to the first player. If the second player on the same console does not have an account of their own, the henchman is made in a brief character-creation screen that pauses the game. Henchmen created this way are not saved into the main player's game. The first player also decides how much bounty the henchman will obtain, e.g. gold and renown. The second player will also be able to port any experience, renown and gold to their own Fable II Hero via a memory card if they have imported their character and not created the henchman from scratch.

Features

Family

The family aspect of the Fable series has been further built upon. It is possible to get married and have children

Female player characters can become pregnant, and they will undergo the relevant physical changes. Same-sex marriages and Polygamous marriages, as in the first game, are possible.

The player's child or children look upon the player as an example and also follow their alignment, looks, etc. A player's family can be killed by a co-op player but only if friendly fire is made active by the host player. If the player's spouse is killed, the player's child will go to the orphanage.

If the player marries, the player's character can be divorced, with the former spouse taking half of your assets.

Character morphing

Fable II enhances the system of morphing one's character based on their actions as introduced in Fable. Character morphing revolves around two main alignments: Good and Evil. There is also Purity and Corruption and a number of aspects that are involved with it such as:

• Good or Evil
• Pure or Corrupt
• Kindness & Cruelty
• Wealth & Poverty
• Slim or Fat
• Young or Old

The hero's Skill, Will, and Strength attributes play a key-role in character morphing. These alignments either enhance or degrade a character's features. The player can be good but cruel, or be evil yet kind, etc.

Content

According to an IGN preview, Albion is about ten times the size it was in the previous Fable title. While Molyneux has stated that the player can complete the main story in 12 hours if they rush through it, it would take 100+ hours to complete everything in the game. Molyneux has stated that it would cost about 100 million gold to buy every item in the game.

Jobs

Peter Molyneux has stated that unlike Fable, the player does not get money through doing quests but instead doing jobs around the town e.g. Blacksmith, woodsman, henchman, assassin and others. Doing a job becomes a mini-game, relying on timing by hitting a certain button as a bar on the screen moves. As the player becomes more experienced in the jobs, they can make more money from each one for the same amount of time (a master blacksmith can make more than 100 gold per sword he makes) and multipliers increase the amount that can be earned.

Cutscenes

There are both interactive and non-interactive cutscenes in the game. According to Lionhead, the non-interactive cutscenes consume less than five minutes of game time.

In the fully interactive cutscenes a player can use their expressions during the dialogue or even run away from the scene, thus skipping it; afterwards the player can return to the cutscene location to start it again.

If the player runs away from a cutscene which contained important information, the character will come and find you later on.

Dynamic world

The world in Fable II is fully dynamic, interactive and free roaming with no set quest path to take and includes all 4 seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter).

Since the game takes place over a hero's lifetime, many things can change; Molyneux gave an example of a trade camp that the player could either help or destroy. Trading in such camps would increase their profit, resulting in a small town growing around them.

Additionally, every accessible property (properties that can be entered by the player) in the world is ownable, and ownership often unlocks further quests. In addition to purchasing and renting homes, businesses and stalls are now available for purchase. These businesses produce income for the player every 5 minutes, depending on the quality of the business, the economy level of the town, and the opinion of the shop owner for the player (A shopkeeper with a high opinion will work harder); this happens even while the Xbox 360 is turned off. Also, if the player frequents his own shops, the quality of their goods will improve, and improve the quality of the store. Players are able to furnish the houses with furniture and other items available for sale. In addition, titles will be awarded for buying property; if one were to buy every building and piece of land in a town he/she may become the mayor of that town; owning more land leads to higher titles such as king, and eventually Emperor of the entire land of Albion.

The environment in Fable II features trees with branches and leaves that are individually animated according to their own physics, each tree having roughly 120,000 leaves. There are also around 15 million poppies in Albion.

Peter Molyneux also has revealed the "bread crumb" trail, a feature that shows glowing sparkles in a line in front of you to guide you back to the main story line. Molyneux also said players are free to turn off this feature at any time and venture on their own path to that quest, or just completely ignore the quest and explore more of Albion or partake in a side quest.

In Fable II Pub Games, an unlockable concept art shows a map of a coastline unlike the one from the original game. Whether this is a new area or a revamp of the original is unknown.

The world of Albion is fully accessible - in the original Fable you were restricted by fences, this restriction has now been removed. Peter Molyneux has stated that "if it looks like you can go there, you can go there."

Pre-release marketing

Tales of Albion

Lionhead Studios released a section on their website entitled "Tales of Albion", which provides a back-story to Fable, Fable: The Lost Chapters, and Fable II. In "Fragments of the Old Kingdom", it details how the Archon came to power in Albion, and how the Heroes' Guild was founded. "Tales" also chronicles the end of the Heroes and ruin of their Guild in "Fall of the Heroes", and "Travels in Today's Albion" (which will be updated more and more as time goes on) describes where some places are and has a little description of each notable area/artifact.

Online competitions

Just as Lionhead has done with The Movies, online competitions were made available through Lionhead's forums. One such competition was naming a title to be used in the game, similar to the first game wherein a character was addressed by various titles that the character purchased from a "Title Vendor" Lionhead has stated these titles will be bought but they have to be earned first. They are bought from a town crier in Fable II; the winning title was Lionheart. An "insult the hero" competition is also taking place and the winner is yet to be announced. On May 30th, Lionhead held a competition for artwork that would be used in the game.

Video diaries

• On May 24, 2007, episode one of The Lionhead Diaries, examining the love and emotion aspect of Fable II was released.

• On July 30, 2007, episode two was released, highlighting the one-button combat system, and featured the Lionhead staff playing a game of football against fellow Microsoft satellite Rare and winning. It also included a professional combat specialist instructing the animation staff.

• On October 8, 2007, episode three was released, going in depth about the Central Technology Group, and featured Lionhead's 10 year Anniversary.

• On January 11, 2008, episode four was released, focusing on how the graphics department made the world of Albion.

• On March 19, 2008, episode five was released, looking at magic, GDC 2008 and co-op.

• On June 24, 2008, episode six "Art and the Hero" was released, looking at the artwork of the Hero, Albion, and many different characters in Fable II.

• On October 2, 2008, episode seven "Music and Audio" was released, showing how and where the main scores were made, and taking a brief glimpse at the various voice talents for the game.

The Lionhead Video Diaries have been watched over 40,000,000 times in total.

Fable II Pub Games

Main article: Fable II Pub Games

In August of 2008 Lionhead Studios released Fable II Pub Games. This includes three of the games that can be played in pubs through out Albion; Fortune's Tower, Keystone and Spinner Box. For 800 Microsoft Points all three games can be downloaded on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Alternatively, some video game retailers offered a product code when a pre-order for Fable II was made.

Web games

On the Fable II page of the Xbox website there are two games to play that, when completed, reward you with a prize that can be transferred to your Xbox Live account. These games are 'Chicken Kickin', a game where the player kicks a chicken for a chance to win Fable II gold and 'A Hero's Tale' which is an interactive story in which the player chooses the destiny of the child for the chance to win 1 of 5 unique items.You may try them up to 5 times. It should also be noted that 'Chicken Kickin' was broken for a short period of time, added again, and then taken offline, however the URL still works.[1]

Launch trailer

On October 17, 2008 Microsoft Game Studios and Lionhead Studios released the launch trailer for Fable II on the Xbox Live Marketplace, Xbox.com, and Lionhead.com - taking a look at the different locations, characters and unique variations in your own hero. The trailer asks 'Who will you become?', while showing the double nature of the world of Albion (a dark and light side, serious and funny, good and evil).

Cast

Fable II includes such well known actors as Stephen Fry, Zoë Wanamaker, Bill Nighy, Helena Bonham Carter and Ron Glass providing some of the voices.

Technology

The graphics engine is written in-house, but middleware is integrated for several other parts of the game: Havok is used for a physics engine and Kynapse is used for some AI. Alienbrain 8 is used to track assets such as 3D Models, files, and art.

Limited Edition

A Limited Edition was available on release date with the following extra features:

• 1 token card for in-game content (downloadable over Xbox Live)
• 1 Live trial card – 48 hours
• Bonus disc containing the "Making of Fable 2"

An Xbox Live account is required for the following items:

• "The Wreckager" Legendary Cutlass Weapon
• "The Hall of the Dead" Dungeon
• "Otherworldly Bonus" - Two items, "Hal's Outfit" and "Hal's Sword", and a purchasable "Master Chief" Hero title. The items are an outfit closely resembling Master Chief's armor and a sword similar in appearance to a Covenant Energy Sword; both of these items are a reference to Halo.

There was a supply chain issue that meant some North American Limited Edition games did not have all the intended content.

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
Edge	9/10
Eurogamer	10/10
Game Informer	9.25/10
IGN	8.8/10
Official Xbox Magazine (UK)	8/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	9.5/10
VideoGamer.com	9/10
X-Play	5/5

Reviews for the game have been positive as reviews found few complaints to garner about the game. Reviews cited its adherance to the orginal's recipe, while praising the changes that redefined the game system.

The "bread crumb" trail feature in the game was welcomed by Eurogamer "as leads you ever onwards to your next objective, but even though you can't get lost it still allows for deep exploration." OXM lauded the game as a being "probably the most consistent sequel ever made." Combat was cited as being "great when you're winning and nothing but irritating when you're losing" in addition to other flaws.

External links

• Official UK Website
• Official US Website
• Developer Website
• Video Diary Site
• The Fable Wiki, an external wiki