Rapid Fire- Fable 2

Hero or villain? The choice is yours in Fable 2

Some games are played for the challenge, to stretch your tactical chops to the limit. Fable 2 isn't that type of game. You aren't going to run into any difficulty roadblocks or the like when you play it, but that doesn't discount the fact that Fable 2 is still a quality RPG game. It has an great open world, full of quests and missions worth your time, that makes the game worth playing.

You play as a young man or woman descended from heroic blood. A decade ago your older sister was killed by a rich man by the name of Lucien Fairfax, and thus your main quest is to find this man and kill him for what he has done. Throughout your journey you interact with other heroes who will aid you in your quest; keep an eye out for the hero Reaver. He is one funny, arrogant, bastard. Reaver aside, the story has several high points worth noting. One moment I would personally point out is summed up in two words: "Perfect World". It's probably the most reflective, memorable and sobering 15-20 minutes I've played in a video game.

Around town or in the midst of nature, Fable 2's world is wonderful.

But Fable 2 strength does not lie in the story. The truth is that the game boasts a large world for you to play in. There are a ton of interesting sidequests to undertake, because each quest usually has two choices associated with it (good and evil). But more importantly just wandering around the world of Fable is reward enough. I myself love to just stroll around the more verdant areas, certainly helped by good graphics and a wonder-filled musical soundtrack, but NPCs are usually very funny and worth paying attention to. Their one-liners are finely crafted and delivered. In relation to delivery, voice acting is incredibly strong, with some main characters standing out more than others; Stephen Fry's Reaver, and Zoe Wanamaker's Theresa earn special notice. There are also shops to buy all manner of things (clothing, weapons, books and odd jobs to do (blacksmithing or chopping wood for instance). In sum, though the main quests are intriguing, more often than not you're sucked into the game world.

I've alluded to it earlier but the element of choice is ever-present in the game. There are many forks on the video game road, each changing you and the world around in its own little (or big) way that you will come to notice. Take for instance your childhood; there was a moment where you collected some arrest warrants. If you gave them to the constable the future city is clean of crime. Hand them to the thieves, however, and it'll be a much different story. Your character's reputation is also a subject of flux. Be a heroic figure and droves of people will follow you around in admiration. Be villainous, and they will run for the hills in your presence. Prices of items even change depending on how much the people love or hate you. There are also other choices such as marrying and having kids... only to then kill your loved one with the drop of an axe through his or her head if that is what you want. The choices and their eventual consequences are all up to you, and sometimes you just want to replay the game to see what it looks like if you made the other choice. Some of the choices you make can also generate humorous responses.

No... put that gun away. Combat is not that fun an ordeal.

But there are moments where you need to fight, and it's where we can start to see some issues for Fable 2. Combat is divided into melee weapons, ranged weapons and magic, and assuming you have all three at your disposal you can use all three of these attacks as each move is linked to one face button. It is fun to alternate between attacks (and there are a lot of magics to learn too) but as I've noted before fighting the undead, hobbes (chubby imps) and other humans is not a challenge. Navigating the interface is also a bit suspect. Once you have a lot of items finding the right item to use can be a bit of a chore. Maps are also not entirely informative of telling you where the shops are.

In spite of its shortcomings, Fable 2 is a game worth experiencing. You can easily get suckered into sinking 30 or so hours in this game, provided you do more than follow the golden crumb trail that leads your next main quest objective. Odds are you are going to do just that.

I give Fable 2 four stars out of five.

Better the world... Or unravel it.