The J-TAC

Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: kotaku.com Some claim the graphics look "too childish."

"Fable 2," by Lionhead Studios, brings some interesting new features to the world of Albion that its predecessor failed to. However, not all of them were as stellar as Lionhead had hoped.

The story of "Fable 2" starts you off as a prepubescent peasant boy or girl, whichever you choose, that lives in a shack with your sister who dreams of one day living in the king's castle. After purchasing a mysterious item from a traveling salesman, the king's men approach you and your sister late one night to bring you both to see him. Once there, you discover that the king is trying to rebuild what's known as the Tattered Spire, which will grant him tremendous dark powers and he eliminates your sister and you, or so he thinks.

"Fable 2" can be played in a multitude of ways. You can use either physical, ranged or will/magic attacks. Vanquishing enemies in any of these ways will give you experience that is used to level them up. Also, the player is granted freedom to do as they please. The player can make their character good or evil depending on their actions. Throughout the journey you're accompanied by your faithful canine companion, which is one of my favorite aspects of the game. There's a lot of freedom to be had in "Fable 2." There is also a new co-op mode that could have been better.

The visuals of "Fable 2" are good. There is, however, a slight fairy tale world look to the animations, which makes some people complain that it "looks too childish." I had no problem with the animation and if those complainers can get past the look of the game they would realize that it's good despite their silly qualms with the visuals. After a while you realize that there are several people in Albion with the exact same voice, which wouldn't be so bad if they didn't talk very much. However, it seems that talking is all they ever do.

The major problem I found with the game is with the co-op mode. Your partner has to go in the same direction that you go for the camera to move, so if the person you're playing with feels like being obnoxious they can keep you from going anywhere. That may be acceptable to some people, but not me.

Altogether, I enjoyed my time in Albion. I thought "Fable 2" was a really good game, but it was almost too easy. My character's stats were maxed out less than three quarters through the game. Everyone should at least try "Fable 2" to see what it has to offer. Hopefully, you can enjoy Albion as much as I did.

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