Many gamers would have played (if not have heard of) the 2004 Xbox game Fable where your actions have a direct reaction on your physical appearance and your world.

         

          Fable 2 is the highly anticipated sequel due to be released by Lionhead later this year exclusively to Xbox 360.  It remains an action RPG game just like the original.  This game builds upon the unique gameplay that players experienced through Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters, but is Fable 2 for you? There are several features within Fable 2 that will appeal to all types of gamers.

         

          In my opinion, this game would be a great pick for male and female gamers.  Fable 2 reaches out to the female audience by allowing the player the additional option of playing as a female character (a great move by the Fable 2 team if I do say so).  There are also other features that will appeal to some female gamers…

         

          Just like in the first game you can get married and buy a house.  But, now you can decide to have kids and as an extra added feature to the game (like in the beloved The Sims’ series) when you decide to have a baby your female character actually gets pregnant!  What will be more important, staying at home and helping to raise your child that you willingly brought into the world or traveling the world becoming an adventurer?

         

          Obviously this game will be a great addition to a hard core gamers collection of games, but I think casual gamers would also enjoy this title.

         

          The Fable 2 team has made this game a co-op but there is no longer the Player 1 and Player 2 label.  Fable 2 introduces the new titles: Host and Guest player.

         

          The new co-op feature will work to casual gamers advantage as well.  For example, imagine you’re the guest player but decide to cut your session short while the host player wants to continue.  The Fable 2 team have given the guest player the option to leave the game and retain all of their gold, health, weapons carried, everything!  Your character can now come and go as they please.

         

          As well as the multiple number of side quests that this game will undoubtedly offer, casual gamers will especially enjoy and be able to play features of this game without even being in the game environment.  A mini game called Keystone will be available to purchase before Fable 2’s launch date on Xbox Live (a copy of the game will be available for free with the Fable 2 game).  The currency in this mini game will be the same currency used in Fable 2.  So any money won in this game even outside of the Fable 2 game environment can be used and spent within the game.  Very useful.

         

          For those of us who loved questing because it was a guaranteed way to generate a lot of money, well forget it.  In Fable 2, quests no longer provide you with a monetary reward – harsh I know.  Instead the way to obtain money in this game is to get a job or gamble.  So it seems that in order to obtain money you’ll either have to be a workaholic or become a member of gamblers anonymous.  An interesting feature and I can’t wait to see what route most players pick.

         

          So now heroes now have the option to get a job to provide the bacon that their families will be wanting, or maybe they’ll choose to spend their money down the local inn?  Whichever option you choose will have consequences. The choice of jobs are farmer, assassin, blacksmith and henchmen.  The harder you work at your job the more your skills will increase in that job.

         

          If used effectively, the environment in this game will aid your combat situations.  You’ll now be able to interact with the environment around you during combat in order to attack defend yourself against enemies.  Think about it, instead of being backed into a corner by ten annoying hobbes, you could jump your character onto the wall behind them and propel them into a safer location to take the hobbes out one by one.  You can also throw objects, like bottles at enemies or at people depending what your moods like.

         

          Every action has a reaction.  This saying was true in the original game but the Fable 2 team has taken this saying even further.  Firstly, the NPCs around the world will react differently towards you with everything you do.  If you play as a truly heroic character the villagers will adore you, but maybe one day you’re not having such a good day and a woman comes running up to you crying about a problem and in return you laugh at her.  This not only will anger the woman but may also cause other villagers nearby to lower their opinion of you, so watch what you do even more so than usual.  Secondly, whatever path you choose affects your family.  If you have a son and you decide to take the path of evil your son will become a very spiteful and difficult child.  And don’t think that whoever is waiting at home for you will be pleased to see you, expect an argument or two if you’re not home often enough.

         

          Man’s best friend has also been introduced in this sequel and as your actions affect your family, your companion also changes to reflect your actions.  Your dog will be there to keep you company on long adventures away from home and help you in tight situations as long as you remember to feed and play with it.  But don’t feed him too much, just like your character if you overfeed your dog they’ll get fat. Although you may feed and play with the dog you don’t have any direct control over how they turn out, but ultimately they will be a canine reflection of your character.

         

          The better you are at using a weapon the more techniques are unlocked for that weapon.  The combat style will vary depending on the weapons you use.  The technique you apply when in combat will also affect the amount of experience you gain.  In this game “button mashing” will earn you less experience than trying to adopt a good style of fighting.  Oh, and as well as using the typical magic, bow and sword weapons, players can now use guns.

         

          The task of trying to be good in Fable was one of the hardest I had.  How did I know eating a Crunchy chicken was a bad thing?  I struggled to get my character to be a perfect angel, but the majority of players chose to play as a good character but in Fable 2 this task has been made even harder to accomplish.

         

          Good luck finding your path.  Will you be a perfect angel or a hell raiser?