Fable 2 game review pc

Click to visit. When the original Fable was released, it was released on a console … Click to visit. Is it possible to buy and play Fable 2 on a computer? This way of playing… Click to visit. Fable 2 on PC? Share 0. Tweet 0. Pin it 0. Related Posts. January 12, Next Post. Notify of. Inline Feedbacks. Search Search. More Any News. You'll need only complete a small percentage to compete the game, so there's plenty of reason to return after you finish. There are also job openings scattered throughout the towns in Albion.

These range from simple rhythm games, such as chopping wood, to deeds only a willing hero can perform, such as saving a town from ravenous balverines. Odd jobs provide the best source of income during the early goings of your adventure, but before long, you'll discover that the monetary system in Albion doesn't always make sense. If you purchase a store or rent out a home, you will receive money every five minutes.

It's wise to invest money in small businesses early, watch your wallet grow while you embark on various quests, and use your newfound wealth to buy even more properties. The problem is that you earn that commission every five minutes, whether you're actually playing or not. If the world of Fable II were persistent, changing during your time away from the game, this would make sense. But in its current form, the only thing that changes between your playtimes is how much money you have, which quickly makes currency meaningless.

Your dog will turn out as evil as you are. The combat is a blast once you learn how to take advantage of your various moves. You have three basic attacks to mess around with: melee, magic, and ranged.

Though it is certainly possible to finish the game focusing on just one or two of these techniques, choosing that method will make the combat repetitive and far too simple.

The key to getting the most out of combat in Fable II is to utilize all three styles, mixing up your attacks to keep enemies on their toes and, even more importantly, keep fights interesting.

Magic will often slow down attackers, shocking them with lightning or freezing them in place. Melee attacks are the most powerful, letting you aggressively take on pursuers before they have a chance to damage you, but you'll put yourself in dangerous situations if you rush right in to every fight.

Ranged weapons can take down a foe waiting in ambush or cleave through an enemy who is content to block your melee attacks. And if you knock an enemy on his back, your dog will join in the fight. Mixing up your moves is quite satisfying, letting you plow through enemies in a variety of ways. The more moves you earn, the more engaging the combat gets, which makes it fun to kill more enemies just to see what else you can add to your repertoire.

The problem with the combat in Fable II is the lack of an adequate punishment system. When you lose all of your health, the color fades away and you are forced to watch your hero's dying gasps in slow motion. Within five seconds, you'll be back on your feet, fighting the same enemies who seconds earlier seemed to have ended your life. To give you an idea of how insignificant your own death is, your dog won't even notice your pain.

The only deterrent that might make you fear death is battle scars you receive every time you fall. These scars are permanent, negatively affecting your attractiveness level for the rest of the game.

While this is an interesting concept, the execution is ineffectual. If you play as an evil character, you're going to turn out ugly anyway, so the scars add another layer of scary imagery to your dark persona. A good hero may not want a scarred face, but people will still love you when you perform valiant deeds.

Thus, the slap-on-the-wrist punishment system removes the fear of death. The lure of the unknown will draw you through every inch of this well-constructed world. The various treasures scattered around the fields are the most obvious reason to leave the beaten path, but charming visuals provide their own reward. The diversity of the environments makes scouting out every nook and cranny well worth the extra effort.

Once you learn how to manually aim your gun, you'll be able to hunt down rude gargoyles that taunt you when you walk beneath them. These tricky creatures can be hard to spot, but they add another dose of humor and reason for exploring this fantastic world.

There are a few problems, though, that can make exploration annoying at times. The map is pretty useless, which means you'll have to rely on an optional glowing trail to avoid getting lost.

Also, it's not always easy to tell which parts of the environment you can walk up and which require a detour. These are small issues, though. Finding buried treasures and new areas is one of the most rewarding aspects of Fable II. Dying looks pretty cool but won't hurt you much. Albion does look really impressive. If you had to discern a person's likes or dislikes and their feelings towards you from visual clues, that would have worked.

Instead, you can access the likes and dislikes of anyone you meet via a menu, making it the entire process feel disingenuous. If you don't want to be a loner, you can use your renown and the expressions in your repertoire to get others to fall in love with you. With a wedding ring and a home to live in, you can get married to any interested man or woman. From there, you can have sex sadly, no mini-game is included and have kids if you don't use protection. Yes, there are condoms in Fable II.

Unprotected sex leads to STDs and babies. Hopefully not on the same night. If you're a female hero, don't worry -- you won't have to sit around for nine months waiting for junior to pop out. As soon as you're pregnant time warps and the little one is gurgling in a crib next to the bed. Your baby eventually becomes a child, one who worships you. There is something quite touching about coming back from a long adventure and having your kid hug you.

Your spouse may be a different matter. Being married is a real bitch. Even the most understanding of spouses needs attention. But with your adventuring ways, that's not always easy. Unless you make an effort to get home regularly, you'll come home to a serious nagging. Keep up your estrangement and you'll likely be divorced before you ever save Albion. Trust me; you're better off without her. Of course, what is an RPG without combat?

When you're not trying to convince your wife to have an orgy with four hookers, you're out clashing swords with bandits. Fable II's combat system is simple but brilliant. The X button handles melee attacks, Y is for ranged attacks, and B is for magic. What makes Fable II special is that you can easily combine all three buttons for some really fun battles. Tap X a few times for some sword slashes, then whip out your pistol and pop your enemy once in the chest before flamebroiling his ass with an Inferno spell.

The more you mix up the three elements of combat, the higher your experience multipliers. Experience can be spent to unlock new functionality for your swords and guns, increase your strength and accuracy, and improve any of your eight spells. Once you have unlocked all levels of the Brutal and Dexterous Styles, you'll have a blast kicking the crap out of just about any enemy who gets in your way.

And since magic uses no mana aka energy , you are free to keep slinging spells rapidly at enemies. Combat is streamlined for ease of use and really never becomes too complex. Combat is a lot of fun, despite two deficiencies: It's far too easy and there is very little variety in the enemies you battle. Lionhead made the decision that the hero can never die. I actually agree with that. In many ways, death is an antiquated idea in videogames.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be challenged. And with the exception of a single battle in Fable II, I never felt challenged. I was only "knocked out" once -- and that was on purpose, so I could see what happens. Lose all your health and you get knocked down, costing you all uncollected experience and earning you a few scars. Within seconds you are back on your feet fighting again. Defeat just isn't punishing enough. For a good deal of Fable II, you will be battling Hobbes think goblins and bandits.

Later on there are a few other enemies thrown into the mix -- Balverines, banshees, hollow men -- but none of these ever create that sense of wonder and awe expected from a fantasy game. Only the trolls -- of which there are few -- measure up to the level of the fantastic I expect from a game like Fable II.

One way to add some spice to combat and your social interactions is to bring in a second player. Online co-op play is not yet available for Fable II, but is expected to be available in a downloadable update during launch week.

There is still couch co-op and some online functionality. The online elements allow other gamers playing Fable to appear as moving orbs in your world. Wherever a gamer is in Albion, they show up as a bubble in your world.

You can set your game to show everyone who is online, just your friends, or turn it off. These bubbles aren't just for show. You can talk with these people, trade items, and view their stats. Eventually you'll be able to hop into an online game with them, but that's still to come. If the online co-op works anything like couch co-op on a single system, count me out. Couch co-op has a number of flaws.

The game is set in the world of the host, with the other character joining as a henchman. Here's the catch: A henchman brings with them all their experience and skills but none of their weapons or their character model. The henchman must play with a preset character design. One of the great things about Fable II is how varied one hero can look from another. Isn't one of the purposes of co-op to show how different my character is from yours?

Another issue is the camera. It is limited in how it can be manipulated and because of having two heroes on screen, is pulled back too far. You also won't get the benefit of being able to zoom into with your gun. And no, you cannot fight your friend. I don't know why, but even if you turn safety mode off used to avoid accidentally killing innocents you can't target your pal. Doesn't everyone want to spar with a buddy over the spoils of battle? There are a few good things about couch co-op. You and your guest can decide the split on both money and experience earned during your session.

A lower-level hero could "hire" a more powerful character to come into his game and help him kick some ass. All the host has to do is up the split on gold so the henchman gets all the coin. It is enjoyable to run around killing with a friend, and there are experience multipliers for combining attacks. Plus, the host can turn the safety feature off and let their henchman kill their spouse. That way you're no longer married, but don't have to shoulder the guilt of being the one who killed your better half.

So what kind of hero will you be? The family man? The loner? The bigamist? Will you befriend everyone in Old Town only long enough to lead them to the Wheel of Sacrifice at the Temple of Shadows? Morality is really just a device to give players choice.

Your actions will affect Albion -- sometimes in small ways and other times in very significant ways. Not only are you measured by good and evil acts, but also by your level of purity or corruption.