Peter Molyneux's reputation often precedes him, and rightly so. Molyneux is notorious for promising the world and not delivering. It happened with Fable, and many thought that it would happen with Fable II as well.
Fortunately, it hasn't. That's not to say that the game is perfect; far from it. But the game has an undeniable charm. It's witty, wonderful, and a blast to play. The NPCs are amazingly dumb, but they do their job and make you laugh. Your dog is often useless, but he's the best companion in a game in recent memory. And the game is relatively glitchy, but you can't help but love it. In some ways, it's a total let-down, but still I couldn't be much happier with Fable II.
The game starts in your childhood. You are "Little Sparrow," or at least, that's what your sister Rose calls you. You and your sister are orphans living in the town of Bowerstone. A trader is in town, and a "magic music box" peaks your interest. These times serve as a tutorial. Your quest to gather enough gold to buy the box teaches you about expressions, combat, and introduces you to one of the most important characters in the game: your faithful companion, Dog.
There idyllic times are not to last, though. Tragedy strikes, and the game cuts forward ten years. Here your true quest begins. It is one of revenge, patience, and retribution, and although it is not always invigorating, it does a good job with its non-linear approach and keeps you interested long enough to see it through to the fascinating conclusion. You are tasked with gathering three Heroes to help bring down the evil Lord Lucien and ultimately exact your revenge.
Snow falls lighlty over Bowerstone while citizens huddle around the Trader's stall
A great main quest is fine and dandy, but side-quests are often as important to RPGs as the main story is. The side-quests are where Fable II really shines. They are all very interesting and never feel "slapped on." My favourite involved ghostly pirates, a secret island, and a treasure hunt! It took longer than some chapters of the main quest, and was an absolute blast.
Combat in Fable II isn't exactly deep, but there is no denying that it is fun. Each type of attack is assigned to a button; X controls melee, Y is ranged, and B is magic. While it may seem like this is too simple to work, it's actually superb. If you hold down a button, it generally charges up the attack. A charged melee attack is called a flourish, and is an unblockable and extremely powerful blow. Holding Y will zoom in with your ranged weapon, be it pistol, crossbow, or rifle. Finally, holding B will increase the spread, power, and longevity of your magic. In addition, you can assign a different magic attack to each level of power. For example, you could have Confusion on level one to stun your enemies while you charge up a more powerful attack to take them out. Combat is fluid, fast and fun. It's never been so easy to hack through bandits, wraiths, or balverines.
The game is far more than a hack'n'slash RPG, though. It's a life-sim, too. The world is chock full of hundreds of NPCs, and your hero can chat up, marry, or even kill any of them (except the children, of course.) Unfortunately, our hero has an unfortunate case of muteness, and has to communicate through a series of wordless expressions. To choose an expression, you pull up the expression wheel with the right bumper, then choose a specific category, like Romance, Scary, or Social. From there you can choose a specific expression.
The NPCs around you will react to your expression in three different ways. Each NPC has bars that change depending on their opinion of you. The bars are funniness, love, and fear, and they go up or down depending on your expression. For example, if you growl at them, their fear bar will go up, or if you flirt with them, their love bar will go up.
It's not exactly a deep system, but it is undeniably fun to fart loudly in the middle of the town square and see little smiley faces pop up above all the town members' heads. It is far too easy to manipulate, though. One quest has you trying to woo a young barmaid into falling in love with you so you can marry (or dump) her. I thought that it would be a long-term quest - I'd have to come back to the bar every day for several days, slowly build up her trust, slowly have her fall for me.
Not so. I gave her a few thumbs up, a couple smiles, and bam! she was falling all over me, practically begging me to marry her. 
Social interaction plays a huge role in Fable II
We've all heard a lot from Molyneux about one other social element. The dog. Your dog is one of the greatest canines ever to walk the earth. He lives to be about 30 years old by the game's conclusion, shifts species at points throughout the game, and has a sensational nose for treasure. All joking aside, the dog does play a very important role in Fable II, perhaps even more than Peter Molyneux expected. He is your premier emotional connection to Albion, always at your side, barking excitedly, helping you find goodies, and even fighting baddies with you. He's a bundle of joy, and who doesn't love a cute little puppy? Isn't he just a cute wittwe guy? Yes he is! Yes he is!
500 years after the first Fable, questing is apparently a not-so profitable profession. In fact, questing will not earn you any money at all. In what I suppose is an effort to add realism to their game, Lionhead Studios has forced you to work for your money - quite literally, work. You must chop wood, forge swords, or serve drinks at the bar to earn your keep and buy stuff. They're simple minigames - a meter appears above your head, and you must press the A button when the marker is in the right place.
It's incredibly menial and boring, so fortunately there is an easier way. You can buy every building in the Fable universe - every house, store, or stall that you see. You can adjust prices at stores and choose to rent out your house that you aren't currently living in. Every five minutes, you will earn cash from your real estate empire. This continues when you're not playing, so as you can imagine, money will soon be no object for your hero - which, in my opinion, is the way it should be.
Uh oh...
Fable II has a very unique graphical styIe. It discards the traditional greys and browns that populate far too many games these days, instead opting for a vibrant colour palette of brilliant greens and deep blues, and the result is absolutely gorgeous. The screen practically crackles with energy. Running through the world of Albion is a feast for the eyes, from the rain-soaked coast to the lively forests to the sunny plains and farms. The world is incredibly vibrant and alive, not at all static and never lifeless. There is a great attention to detail. Birds sing in the Brightwood Forest and rain splatters down upon the Bandit Coast. The weather and night/day effects are brilliant. There is an internal clock that keeps track of the time, and as the time of day changes, so will the world. Shops close and open, people leave the bar for bed, and the animals species seen changes depending on the weather or time. It all adds up to a very immersive experience.
There are some technical hold-ups, though. NPCs will walk right through each other and you or your dog can sometimes get stuck in environmental objects, like rocks or trees.
The game is a treat for the ears, too. Fable II features a beautiful musical score. From the soothing melody that plays while you flit through grassy plains to the suspenseful beats that add tension in the eerie swamps of Wraithmarsh, the music fits the game's moods very well and contribute to the atmosphere greatly. Fable II's voice acting is also pretty good. It suffers from some mild "Oblivion-it is," where dozens of NPCs sound exactly the same, but as a rule it's very good. In particular, the narrator and Theresa, voiced by Zoe Wanamaker, is great.
A gorgeous colour palette and wonderous environments contribute to the immersion
You are likely going to get a couple of play-throughs here. I played through once as a good character, and once as an evil one. There are lots of secrets to find and side-quests, so despite a relatively short main quest, a play-through should last at least a dozen hours, and likely more, provided you don't rush.
Fable II stumbles along the way, but ultimately it achieves its goal. It's a hilarious, engaging, and fun RPG that manages to suck you in completely. It's a unique hack'n'slash, life-sim hybrid that should be experienced by most 360 owners. It's not for everybody. You won't find a deep or innovative experience here, but it is fun, something that is slowly but surely being discarded in pursuit of better graphics or technical achievements.
If you immerse yourself in the world of Albion, you will be richly rewarded. Don't come in looking for a straight-forward, set-path RPG. There's more to this game than swords and monsters. You're supposed to raise families, get jobs, interact with villagers, and watch your hero grow and flourish. You will get out of Fable II what you put into it, and if you invest the time and effort, the rewards are oh-so-sweet.
