Peter Molyneux (finally) keeps his promise with Fable II
He’s the biggest chatterbox in the industry, but once you meet him, you really can’t hate him anymore. His plans are always extremely ambitious, but the games often only half-fulfill those ambitions. With every new game, the man claims to bring something revolutionary, and in practice those revolutionary game elements do not always deliver the desired gameplay. And yet I have high regard for the person in question… I’m talking about Peter Molyneux.
The Englishman has quite an impressive track record. Over the past decades, he has produced games such as Populous, Powermonger, Populous II, Syndicate, Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Dungeon Keeper, Black & White, Fable, Black & White 2 and The Movies. Not a bad list, I thought. Still, there was always something to be said for a number of these very innovative titles. The Movies, for example, was a fresh idea, only the way in which players could put together their own films was not user-friendly enough; Black & White 2 was a step back from the original; and Molyneux promised golden mountains for Fable, but in the end considerably less shone.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the original Fable on Xbox – and many with me as the game has sold over 3 million copies. Still, in the years before its release, Molyneux oragled so much that you were inclined to think that the man would deliver a new wonder of the world. That was not the game. Fable was short, the world was much less free and open than expected and quite a few promised game elements sparkled with absence.
Fable II ended up being what Fable should have been. I don’t think so alone, Molyneux has said that several times. You can play with both a man and a woman, you can get married and have children and the way your character develops evil or noble, dark or light, pure or corrupted is many times more extensive. If you keep playing devils this time you really become half a demon and if you pick up everything nobly, you almost literally become Jesus on earth… of course all portrayed with that characteristic English humor. There’s more freedom than ever before and before you know it, you’ll be spending four hours just playing minigames in a town, impressing residents, playing pub games in the bar or having women (or men if you prefer) in bed. talking. You’d almost forget that the game has a big main storyline with exciting quests and a whole bunch of subquests.
The great thing about Fable II, however, is that both seasoned players and novice gamers can handle it. Veterans who played the first Fable from front to back will now enjoy the versatile gameplay. However, newcomers can also easily get to grips with the game. A glowing breadcrumb trail subtly shows you where to go should you get stuck. And the combat – split between magic, shooting with crossbows or guns, and melee combat with sword, axe, hammer or frying pan – is all controlled by one button. Players who want more can indulge themselves with an ingenious combo system, while the casual gamer can simply button bashing. It’s really well thought out.
Molyneux succeeds in fulfilling a long-held dream of his own: to create a game that everyone can play and enjoy. Fable II is ultimately a fairy tale for everyone. A fable with humor, adventure, drama, freedom, convincing characters and a world in which you as a player just really want to be.