R
Ranger28
Guest
Fable 2
I just finished Fable 2 for the first time. The main story is brilliant in its ability to evoke emotion.
With that said i enjoyed the main storyline immensely but can't help but feel a little bit mislead by Molyneux. (Might be SPOILERS below)
1. The world was big, but it could have been far bigger. I really wanted to be able to explore those hundreds of miles between the regions. Also having only 2 major cities and several smaller settlements was disappointing. Although they were interesting to explore and interact with it gets a little boring after the main story is finished.
2. The Dog. He was such a good addition to the game, but i felt that he wasn't all that Peter M promised. I was certainly attached to him, but after the between the initial stages of the game and the end all he seemed to be was an elaborate treasure seeking device.
I made him a 5 Star Fighter but all he seemed to do was run around and occasionally bite an enemy that was on the ground. What happened to the way the dog fought in the first video he appeared in all those months ago.
I pulled out my ranged weapon and the dog didn't charge an enemy wielding a melee weapon he just stood there, same thing happened when i had my sword drawn, no running off to occupy a ranged opponent. I was really excited by that video Molyneux showed us of the dog and his combat abilities but i feel let down.
3. Nice clothes, hardly any variety. It was nice to be able to change the colour of the clothes but there just didnt seem to be a very large range in types of outfits. I think there could have been many more outfits.
4. Bloodstone, not so nasty. Before i first came to Bloodstone i expected the people to ridicule my benevolence, to give me the finger as i walked past, to kick my dog, to jack up the prices because they hated me, maybe even to attack me in the streets.
When i got there half the town was in love with me, half the shopkeepers had given me discounts and professed their adoration of my saintly deeds. I couldnt help but feel a little disappointed i really expected this Bloodstone to be an evil place. The closest i came to evil was a prostitute making a subtle proposition and a barmaid saying how she would like to kick my dog. Not too evil.
I was really expecting a larger reaction from the people in this evil, scummy town in relation to my purity and goodness. I would expect a similar reaction if i were a corrupt evil character in Bowerstone or Oakfield.
5. Consequences. I was really hoping that my actions would constantly change the world around me, not just when there were major developments in the storyline. I really liked how Oakfield, the Temple of Light, Westcliff, Brightwood Farm and Rookridge changed due to my actions but it's a shame the only noticable changes only occured once throughout the game.
I was hoping that if I bought all the buildings in Oakfield, then placed the rent at -60% for shops and -75% for houses that the town would really go through an economic boom. I was hoping to be able to go away do a few quests then come back and be able to notice changes in the community, such as the people looking wealthier, maybe a few new houses or renovated houses and maybe a few new shops.
That might be asking a bit much but it was what i was hoping for.
6. Interacting with environments. I think it would have been nice if the way you can interact with your surroundings was improved. I really wanted to be able to cast a level 5 Inferno inside a house and watch it burn. Or in a field and watch some crops desintegrate. It would have been awesome if i could leave that house as it was burning, do a few quests then come back and see that the villagers were rebuilding the house. Again i think the whole choice/consequence thing could have been alot deeper.
7. Needed some proper hair dyes. I wanted to be able to dye my hair Blonde, Brown, Black, Red etc i know it changes with morality but once you finish the Spire and age 10 years your blonde hair goes a funny dirty colour and you start to look like a bum, well i did at least. Besides that the the range of colours in the dyes was nice.
8. Need More Sidequests. There didnt seem to be that many sidequests and the ones that there were seemed to get a little repetitive (The Archaeologist, Slave Rescue).
9. Seasons. I liked the additions of seasons but i dislike how after finishing the Hero of Will quest, Albion is stuck in Autumn, i wanted to see the seasons changing more often maybe after several side quests.
10. Combat. Ok I love the combat in Fable 2, the system is really really enjoyable. It looks really cool and stylish. It works extremely well. But i remember in the first combat preview there was a subtle drum beat that told you when to attack during melee combat. I couldnt hear this maybe i was button mashing or the music was two loud but it wasn't there. By the end i wasn't button mashing, i was using flourishes and my own little strike patterns but i couldn't hear those subtle hints that supposedly tell you when to strike. Maybe i should turn the music down on the game and see if that helps?
11. Combat continued. I really like the feeling of being a powerful hero that is achieved when you maximise combat branches and obtain powerful weapons such as the Red Dragon and the Daichi, but the lack of enemies makes combat a little boring after this is achieved. Those final battles in Reaver's Rear End are brilliant, hundreds of enemies trying to stop 2 powerful characters with nosuccess. It was very enjoyable.
Afer that though the small skirmishes with bandits, hobbes and undead last only a few seconds and are no where near as exciting as you just slaughter them with no real danger to your hero. I would have liked to se an increase in the amount of enemies as you became more skilled and a bit more variety in the combat scenarios.
12. Family. Family was good i had two children a boy and a girl, once i had three children a boy and two girls but i don't know what happened to the third may have been a glitch. Something strange happened with my firstborn though. I came home after the Spire and this little redhead ran up to me, i was slightly confused as i had blonde hair and my wife had brown hair.
I was also a little disappointed that they don't grow much older than 9 or taller than my knee. It would have been nice if they reached their teens. Around the same age as Rose in the early stages of the game would have been nice.
13. Glitches. Fable 2 has a fair few bugs, the Dog textures constantly disappearing was slightly annoying but i suppose it didnt affect gameplay to much. The Crucifix glitch was annoying though, luckily i turned off the console without saving and avoided being stuck with that for the rest of the game. Also the heroes hair was strange it would constantly change from brown to blonde while my alignment was Good/Pure. I didn't encounter any glitches that were to serious however which was good. The Bowerstone furniture shop bug is a bit annoying though.
14. Spire Consequences. I was a little disappointed with the fact that the citizens of Albion didn't really acknowledge my end choices at the Spire. I chose love and chose not to bring back the thousands that died building the spire. I was expecting the relations of those loved ones to abuse me in the streets, to make rude gestures when they discovered that i had the opportunity to bring back their loved ones.
Now that i've said all that, Fable 2 is a pretty awesome game, i thoroughly enjoyed it, even though i thought it was missing a fair bit. PM certainly delivered alot more than in Fable 1, which was also a great game, and i cannot wait for Fable 3 which i hope extends the Theresa and the Spire story and the Rose and Scythe story.
Sorry about the length of that post, i don't tend to rant but when i do i go to town.
I just finished Fable 2 for the first time. The main story is brilliant in its ability to evoke emotion.
When Lucien shot my dog and told me he had killed my family i repeatedly yelled at the screen and bashed the y button. I don't know why everyone is complaining about killing Lucien with 1 shot, it was extremely satisfying ending that old mans life. i think the satisfaction achieved through that one shot is far greater than what can be achieved through a long and difficult boss fight, but that's just my opinion.
With that said i enjoyed the main storyline immensely but can't help but feel a little bit mislead by Molyneux. (Might be SPOILERS below)
1. The world was big, but it could have been far bigger. I really wanted to be able to explore those hundreds of miles between the regions. Also having only 2 major cities and several smaller settlements was disappointing. Although they were interesting to explore and interact with it gets a little boring after the main story is finished.
2. The Dog. He was such a good addition to the game, but i felt that he wasn't all that Peter M promised. I was certainly attached to him, but after the between the initial stages of the game and the end all he seemed to be was an elaborate treasure seeking device.
I made him a 5 Star Fighter but all he seemed to do was run around and occasionally bite an enemy that was on the ground. What happened to the way the dog fought in the first video he appeared in all those months ago.
I pulled out my ranged weapon and the dog didn't charge an enemy wielding a melee weapon he just stood there, same thing happened when i had my sword drawn, no running off to occupy a ranged opponent. I was really excited by that video Molyneux showed us of the dog and his combat abilities but i feel let down.
3. Nice clothes, hardly any variety. It was nice to be able to change the colour of the clothes but there just didnt seem to be a very large range in types of outfits. I think there could have been many more outfits.
4. Bloodstone, not so nasty. Before i first came to Bloodstone i expected the people to ridicule my benevolence, to give me the finger as i walked past, to kick my dog, to jack up the prices because they hated me, maybe even to attack me in the streets.
When i got there half the town was in love with me, half the shopkeepers had given me discounts and professed their adoration of my saintly deeds. I couldnt help but feel a little disappointed i really expected this Bloodstone to be an evil place. The closest i came to evil was a prostitute making a subtle proposition and a barmaid saying how she would like to kick my dog. Not too evil.
I was really expecting a larger reaction from the people in this evil, scummy town in relation to my purity and goodness. I would expect a similar reaction if i were a corrupt evil character in Bowerstone or Oakfield.
5. Consequences. I was really hoping that my actions would constantly change the world around me, not just when there were major developments in the storyline. I really liked how Oakfield, the Temple of Light, Westcliff, Brightwood Farm and Rookridge changed due to my actions but it's a shame the only noticable changes only occured once throughout the game.
I was hoping that if I bought all the buildings in Oakfield, then placed the rent at -60% for shops and -75% for houses that the town would really go through an economic boom. I was hoping to be able to go away do a few quests then come back and be able to notice changes in the community, such as the people looking wealthier, maybe a few new houses or renovated houses and maybe a few new shops.
That might be asking a bit much but it was what i was hoping for.
6. Interacting with environments. I think it would have been nice if the way you can interact with your surroundings was improved. I really wanted to be able to cast a level 5 Inferno inside a house and watch it burn. Or in a field and watch some crops desintegrate. It would have been awesome if i could leave that house as it was burning, do a few quests then come back and see that the villagers were rebuilding the house. Again i think the whole choice/consequence thing could have been alot deeper.
7. Needed some proper hair dyes. I wanted to be able to dye my hair Blonde, Brown, Black, Red etc i know it changes with morality but once you finish the Spire and age 10 years your blonde hair goes a funny dirty colour and you start to look like a bum, well i did at least. Besides that the the range of colours in the dyes was nice.
8. Need More Sidequests. There didnt seem to be that many sidequests and the ones that there were seemed to get a little repetitive (The Archaeologist, Slave Rescue).
9. Seasons. I liked the additions of seasons but i dislike how after finishing the Hero of Will quest, Albion is stuck in Autumn, i wanted to see the seasons changing more often maybe after several side quests.
10. Combat. Ok I love the combat in Fable 2, the system is really really enjoyable. It looks really cool and stylish. It works extremely well. But i remember in the first combat preview there was a subtle drum beat that told you when to attack during melee combat. I couldnt hear this maybe i was button mashing or the music was two loud but it wasn't there. By the end i wasn't button mashing, i was using flourishes and my own little strike patterns but i couldn't hear those subtle hints that supposedly tell you when to strike. Maybe i should turn the music down on the game and see if that helps?
11. Combat continued. I really like the feeling of being a powerful hero that is achieved when you maximise combat branches and obtain powerful weapons such as the Red Dragon and the Daichi, but the lack of enemies makes combat a little boring after this is achieved. Those final battles in Reaver's Rear End are brilliant, hundreds of enemies trying to stop 2 powerful characters with nosuccess. It was very enjoyable.
Afer that though the small skirmishes with bandits, hobbes and undead last only a few seconds and are no where near as exciting as you just slaughter them with no real danger to your hero. I would have liked to se an increase in the amount of enemies as you became more skilled and a bit more variety in the combat scenarios.
12. Family. Family was good i had two children a boy and a girl, once i had three children a boy and two girls but i don't know what happened to the third may have been a glitch. Something strange happened with my firstborn though. I came home after the Spire and this little redhead ran up to me, i was slightly confused as i had blonde hair and my wife had brown hair.
I was also a little disappointed that they don't grow much older than 9 or taller than my knee. It would have been nice if they reached their teens. Around the same age as Rose in the early stages of the game would have been nice.
13. Glitches. Fable 2 has a fair few bugs, the Dog textures constantly disappearing was slightly annoying but i suppose it didnt affect gameplay to much. The Crucifix glitch was annoying though, luckily i turned off the console without saving and avoided being stuck with that for the rest of the game. Also the heroes hair was strange it would constantly change from brown to blonde while my alignment was Good/Pure. I didn't encounter any glitches that were to serious however which was good. The Bowerstone furniture shop bug is a bit annoying though.
14. Spire Consequences. I was a little disappointed with the fact that the citizens of Albion didn't really acknowledge my end choices at the Spire. I chose love and chose not to bring back the thousands that died building the spire. I was expecting the relations of those loved ones to abuse me in the streets, to make rude gestures when they discovered that i had the opportunity to bring back their loved ones.
Now that i've said all that, Fable 2 is a pretty awesome game, i thoroughly enjoyed it, even though i thought it was missing a fair bit. PM certainly delivered alot more than in Fable 1, which was also a great game, and i cannot wait for Fable 3 which i hope extends the Theresa and the Spire story and the Rose and Scythe story.
Sorry about the length of that post, i don't tend to rant but when i do i go to town.
