Fable 2 [Xbox 360]

"If one thing can be said about this game, it's that peoples expectations nearly ruined it's release. It absolutely confounds me that people are calling Fable 2 by the aggravating name "Fable 1.5." This is not the best game of all time, however it's certainly not a disappointment to the series.

My personal favorite among the new additions to the game would have to be the guns via the skill combat system. The choice of weapons has been improved from the last game in spite of losing bows from the original Fable. Furthermore the ranged gun/crossbow play is dramatically improved over it's predecessor, allowing you to target specific body parts of an enemy rather than the point and hope method from the original.

Then there's the magic system, which is easily the most drastic change to combat in the sequel. Rather than depending upon mana potions to continue casting spells, the penalty is to simply wait long enough for your spells to be cast. Which isn't half bad, because even then attacks can't interrupt your spells.

The combat system is nearly more of the same, but the flourish system has been revamped and is charged now rather than relying on blocks from your opponents. I don't want to spoil too much about the combat systems for those who haven't played it yet. It's just too pleasant a surprise once you jump into the game.

My biggest gripe about the game though is the coop play. I cannot tell you how irritated I was when I first heard that this game would feature mercenaries for use for the guest player rather than their own game character. It gives the coop a level of shallowness that is unrivaled by other multiplayer games and is absolutely inexcusable. This feature could have and SHOULD have been in the game, but it's nothing new for a game developer to make promises they can't keep.

This does not however detract from what a great game Fable 2 is, because I wasn't going to buy it for the multiplayer anyways. Even if it's incredibly annoying that I'll never have the option of trekking through Albion with a friend using my own character unless I'm hosting.

All in all I would have to say that this is my favorite game of 2008, perhaps even 2009 but we'll have to see what comes down the proverbial pipe. Until then, why not go pick up a copy of Fable 2? I promise you'll love it unless you're a biased 360 hater. or have no soul (how synonymous! :P).
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"Like the description above says, there is indeed a massive amount of freedom and exploring to do in Fable 2. And although Albion is beautifully designed, I expected a little bit more freedom in exploring this gorgeous world to be honest: I guess I wished some locations were a bit more stretched out.

Besides that, Albion somehow feels like it exists out of loose parts rather than feeling like one huge kingdom. But these are really just the only gripes I have with Fable 2...there are just so many fun things to do in Fable 2!

The main story takes quite a few hours to complete and even now, after finishing the game, I come back to it. And not only because of the downloadable content, there still are tons of jobs and missions to take on.

The graphics are beautiful, the controls feel very fluent and there is plenty of humour. To put it simply, If you've enjoyed the first Fable then you are going to absolutely love this sequel. It has all the good things to offer the first game did and much, much more. Highly recommended!"