In The Spotlight... Fable 2

Being a huge Fable fan, I've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of a sequel to the popular role-playing game ever since I first heard rumors of Lion Head Studios working on Fable 2. I have to admit that my cravings for Fable 2 resulted in me daydreaming of playing the game while I was supposed to study for my 'O'-Levels. Well... that's a bit exaggerating but still... you get what I mean... Now, I have already played the game and I'm gonna give my honest opinion on the game below but before I do that, I have to warn you people. Everything below is my personal opinion on the game so before you starting flaming me for something I wrote below, please remember that I'm not trying to offend others with my remarks; You can choose whether you believe/agree with me or not. Another point to note: the last time I played Fable was ages ago, thus, some things I write about it may be inaccurate. A piece of advise: If you haven't played both Fable and Fable 2, chances are you won't get what I'm saying. I apologise for this.

Expectations
Fable was one of the best role-playing game I've ever played. It's storyline was filled with rivalry, revenge and betrayal. It was very much like reading an excellent book except that instead of you imaging what happens in the story, you actually 'experience' it yourself. Yet there was a flaw in this jem of a game: It was incomplete. Due to impatient fans, Fable was released too early. What do I mean? Well, heres an example: In Fable's Bowerstone Market, there was a water fall with a ship in the waters. It was extremely clear that these waters were meant to be a path to another region but due to pressure from the all too impatient fans, they eventually turned it into a waterfall. Thus, Lion Head Studios had to release an expansion: Fable: The Lost Chapters to make the game more 'complete'. However, this was just something minor in my eyes and Fable eventually became one of my favourite games. When I heard of works on Fable 2, I was skeptical. Fable was incredible and I had doubts that Lion Head Studios could release a sequel that was near the standards of the first game.

Oh my god. Is this happening?! That was fast...
Fable 2 was in the same storyline mould as Fable, with the main character losing his family, getting taken under the wings of a powerful person and then, embarking on a journey for revenge. I was rather impressed with the game initially. The cutscene at the very start of the game was magnificent and it showed of things to come with a landscape shot of the vastly changed town we grew to love in Fable: Bowerstone. However, things begin to go downhill from then on. I'd previously read on a forum that Peter Molyneux, the man who had promised great things for Fable 2, had made a promise to gamers that the childhood days of the main character would take at least an hour to complete. However, I took a mere 10 minutes to complete it. Another big disappoint for me was that the game cuts straight from the childhood days to the main character's early adulthood. The apprenticeship days were a crucial part of the story in Fable for me. It kind of strengtens the storyline and makes you engrossed in the game as you 'experience' everything the main character experiences. However, Lion Head Studios decided to cut this part from the storyline in Fable 2. Immediately, I was not as drawn to the storyline as I was to Fable. Lion Head Studios made up for this by making the maps more detailed and items harder to obtain. The main character's companion/dog was also a cool addition to the game and it soon became a vastly important part of the game for me since it was capable of finding treasures and digging spots. But I felt that it was absurd that there was only 1 dog in Albion which was that of the main character's. Another aspect of the game I felt ridiculous about was that you couldn't die in the game. This meant that no matter how many times your health points ran out, you were NEVER gonna lose. I was excited about facing new enemies in Fable 2 but when I played the game, there was not many new foes; just a revamp of the old foes. This was another major disappoint to me. The storyline was also a letdown... it was not as great as Fable's storyline although I was surprised that Peter Molyneux exclaimed that it was better than Fable's. This led me to wonder whether I had actually really finish the game and whether I was missing something in the game however after searching online, I realised that was not the case. In the end, I ended up murmuring to myself, "Oh my god. Is this happening?! That was fast...".

Conclusion
Many would say that I am not neutral enough to talk about Fable 2. Others would try to remind me that Fable 2 was created for casual gamers in mind. I agree with them to a certain extent. However, I also have this to say... Fable 2 is a sequel to Fable. This means that you would expect the same features that made Fable a success to be in Fable 2. But where were the legendary weapons in Fable 2? Where was the amazing and lengthy storyline? Where were the huge and invincible-looking bosses in Fable 2? Fable was a game for 'hardcore' gamers. By making its sequel more for casual gamers, it made all the gamers who enjoyed Fable vastly disappointed. Besides, you wouldn't expect casual gamers to play a role-playing game. I hate to say this but in my personal opinion, Lion Head Studios was too greedy. They wanted both hardcore gamers and casual gamers to buy Fable 2. Fable 2 was a bad experience in my opinion. However, if you forget that its a sequel to Fable, it would be an alright game. But in my case, it was a bad game that brought back fond memories of playing Fable... how I wished Fable 2 matched the brilliance of Fable...