Who Needs Reality When You’ve Got Fable?
Wow. I think I could leave this post at that one word and it would do just as good, if not better, a job of summing up my experience with Fable II. Granted I’ve only put 5 or so hours into it, most of which have been spent arsing about, and for a game as open ended as Fable, 5 hours really isn’t that long. If you’ve yet to buy it, don’t even waste you’re time reading what I’ve got to say about it. Go and get it. Now!
High up the list of what developers aim to achieve with their games is an environment in which the player feels truly immersed in. Rarely do you play a game, however, where you actually feel part of the world. I swear, Fable II will suck you in almost instantaneously. Before you know it, you’ll have comfortably settled into Albion and won’t even have noticed an hour has passed where all you’ve done is danced for the locals, flirted with the wealthier men, and earned a few Gold to upgrade weapons and kit yourself out in fetching garments.
My first job was as a Blacksmith; a job which I took very seriously and stuck with until I was promoted to the highest position. I earned a good wage from it and decided to invest that Gold wisely, rather than spend it on chocolate and condoms (which, OK, I had already bought). I purchased a stall selling pies (because who doesn’t like pies?), which I shamelessly flirted with the owner of to get a cheaper price. And later on, a small and shabby house which I’ve been renting out, automatically bringing in Gold from both ventures every 5 minutes.
Take it from me, though, the pie business isn’t as lucrative as I would have hoped. Only when a really fat customer comes along do I actually make a decent amount of Gold. And even less so recently what with me lowering the prices so my moral standing in that particular town would increase. But I can’t complain, as that Gold filters through on a regular basis, even when Fable II isn’t booted up in my disc tray.
One of the first tasks I set myself was to find a man I desired enough to settle down with. I knew I wanted a man who could provide for me, so I naturally gravitated towards a shop owner. I flirted a little, but even my best pick-up line didn’t seem to be working, though he did find my dancing rather amusing. It was at that point I checked out the info on that particular character, only to see he was batting for the other team. So that’s why the flexing of my muscles didn’t provoke a stirring in his loins. And on the other end of the spectrum, I had an overweight lesbian fall in love with me, unashamedly following me around Albion asking for my hand in marriage. I’ve yet to accept.
But settling down and having an other half isn’t mandatory. After all, I have my loyal dog - who I’ve perhaps not so surprisingly named Indie - to keep me company at all times. The dog really is a great touch in Fable II, one I was initially unsure of how well it would work. He will follow you around at all times, even helping you out when you’re being attacked, or putting that strong sense of smell to good use by finding treasure items, and barking to alert you of near-by enemies or other points of interest. I don’t know if it’s just me being a dog lover, but I definitely feel a sense of attachment to my virtual Indie, and when a townsman is rude to him, or that one time he even got kicked, it tugs at my heart strings and gets me all protective over my furry friend.
Another cool addition to Fable II, which came as a surprise to me, is the ability to see other gamers on your Xbox Live friends list floating around the virtual world, too. They’re in the form of glowing green orbs and apparently you can even interact with them. I’m not entirely sure how to do that, but I’ve already had a couple of lovely gifts from some people. It’s not vital to the game, sure, but it’s fun to see what others are getting up to at the same time as you. Bowerstone Market seems to be a pretty popular hang out.
The only disappointment I’ve suffered so far is in the limited character customisation. I tend to skim over previews and reviews of a game I’m looking forward to for fear of spoilers, but somewhere along the line I had picked up wrong information, assuming you could heavily customise your character. This only extends to choosing their sex, and from there on in changing their clothes, dying their hair, tattooing them etc.
I haven’t even scratched the surface of Fable II and all the charisma it has to offer. If I continue to have quirky experiences like I am now, then I’ll definitely be writing about it more; perhaps compiling stories of things that have happened to me in Albion. In fact, since beginning to write this post I’ve already added a new experience to my book; having sex! That’s right, I’ve since settled down with a ‘romantic and bubbly’ househusband. However, I’m planning on divorcing him soon on the grounds of unattractive noises made while orgasming…
What about your experiences with Fable II? Did you skim through the game only to complete the main quest, or did you subconsciously end up living life in Albion as you do in the real world?
But I will be focusing on the main quests more over the next few days ’cause I’m itching to find out where the story is going. The story, by the way, seems to have been done before, really cliched, but it doesn’t really matter in this case; the witty dialogue and humour is what sets it apart. It’s not trying to be something it’s not. It’s just done REALLY well.
But man, all the accents in this game are OTT and irritating!
Hmm. Uhh. Yeah. Skyrim. It’s massive. The quests are never-ending. My character has a mohawk. My class is Breton. Don’t
Kyle