Fable 2

[SchizoidFreud]

After kicking off his presentation with a series of disclaimers about how sequels are tricky things and certainly aren't his specialty, Molyneux talked about how he wants Fable 2 to be something other than just "more" and "better" than the first game. "I set up Lionhead to innovate and push...that's why we exist. I hope that's why Microsoft acquired us," he said at one point, before talking about his most memorable moments in gaming (his favorite being the ending of Ico) and his desire to fill Fable 2 with equally affecting content. Not simply by penning an epic story, he wants to get you so emotionally invested in other characters that their happiness and pain become your own.

 

We've known for some time that one of Molyneux's goals for Fable 2 is to make you experience unconditional love, but at previous presentations, the only characters cited as examples were your offspring and, to a lesser extent, your husband or wife. The pet dog that was introduced during today's demo is, perhaps, a character that you're even more likely to bond with, because while your family will welcome you back with open arms when you return home from a quest, your dog will be fighting alongside you every step of the way.

 

Without wishing to give too much away, you'll acquire your pet dog (or it'll acquire you, at least) early on in your Fable 2 experience when you're still a child. Like you and your in-game family, he'll age as you progress through the game, and his appearance will change to reflect the way you're playing. If you play as a good guy, you might end up with a mutt that looks like a big, fluffy Old English sheepdog, for example, while those of you with a Molyneux-like mean streak will end up with a vicious-looking Doberman or something. Lionhead's self-imposed design rules when adding the dog to the game were that it must love you unconditionally, its presence must never aggravate you, and you must never be required to look after it. Based on what we saw during the presentation, none of these rules appear to be in danger of being broken, and the canine companion promises to add an awful lot to the Fable 2 experience without ever detracting from it.

 

One of the most intriguing things about your pet dog is that you'll have no direct control over it whatsoever, while almost everything that you do will influence its behavior. When you're walking around, he'll rarely stray too far away from you, but he'll actively explore the area and, in doing so, he'll draw your attention to points of interest and anything that has changed since the last time you were there. Furthermore, when he senses danger, he'll move ahead of you and start barking and growling to alert you. Your dog will be your guide through the free-roaming world that Fable 2 takes place in, and he purportedly performs that duty so well that Lionhead has seen fit to do away with the first game's minimap.

 

Regardless of the promises that Fable 2 will let you start a family and invest in properties, its focus is, of course, still on completing quests by doing battle with all manner of enemies. When you engage bad guys or monsters in combat, your dog will do everything in its power to protect you, which basically means that it'll attack the enemy that poses the greatest threat. To demonstrate this, Molyneux unsheathed his sword in front of a small group of enemies, at which point his dog decided that the guy carrying a gun was the most immediate danger and charged at him. When Molyneux put his sword away and readied his rifle (Fable 2 takes place some 500 years after the original game), the dog figured out that the enemies with melee weapons were now the most dangerous and leapt at one of them instead.

 

The dog was injured during the battle that ensued, and we'd be lying if we said that seeing it limping around with only three working legs didn't tug at a few heartstrings. As a hero in the Fable 2 world, you'll have the ability to heal it with a simple magic spell, but before doing that, Molyneux opted to show just how evil he is in the games he creates by simply walking off and leaving the dog behind. Much whimpering and limping ensued, and when the camera was repositioned so we could see the hero moving farther away from the dog's point of view, it became clear that mistreating this loyal canine companion will be a tough thing to do. Had Molyneux proceeded to leave his pet behind, we're told that it would never give up looking for him and might very well have shown up weeks later, still carrying injuries and still hopelessly devoted to its cruel master.

 

Even Peter Molyneux has a soft side, and he claims that one of his favorite things to do in Fable 2 right now is to play with both his dog and his young son. We've yet to meet his Fable 2 family, but we did get to see Molyneux playing fetch with his dog using a squeaky ball that he'd purchased previously. The dog's movement and behavior during this game, as at all times during the demonstration, was remarkably convincing, and it was only after Molyneux used a few stern "expressions" to discipline his companion that it stopped wagging its tail and dropping the ball at his feet in the hope that it'd get thrown again. The dog even ran off to relieve itself against a tree at one point during the demo, and we're told that particularly evil mutts will enjoy soiling the bodies of slain enemies in the finished game.

 

With just a few minutes of the presentation remaining after the dog had been fully covered, we were treated to a brief video fly-through of different areas from the Fable 2 world. The most memorable location that we saw was undoubtedly the large city of Bowerstone, which you might remember was only a small town in the first game. The city comprised more buildings than we could even begin to count, including everything from small market stalls and houses through to a pub and a large castle. You'll have the option to purchase every single one of these structures if you've got enough gold, and each of them will have at least one quest attached to it.

 

Molyneux, who openly admits to becoming somewhat infamous for making and not delivering on promises about his games in recent years, ended the presentation with just one: "I promise you will feel moved," he said. We're not inclined to doubt him on this occasion, and we look forward to bringing you more information on Fable 2 as soon as it becomes available

[KnackChap]

 

being a huge peter Molyneux fan this is my most anticipated x360 title for 08

[Hahaman]

is it releasing this year?n just check out the vid of gdc co-op fantaaastic

[MarketTantrik]

GDC '08: Fable 2 Co-op First Look

 

We meet with Peter Molyneux before GDC and get a demo of Fable 2's previously unannounced co-op mode.

 

By Justin Calvert, GameSpot

Posted Feb 20, 2008 12:12 pm PT

 

From Gamespot

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SAN FRANCISCO--Earlier this week, during a pre-GDC meeting with Peter Molyneux, we were treated to the latest of the ambitious game designer's presentations of Fable 2. At last year's Game Developers' Conference, we were introduced to the pet dog that will accompany you through your Fable 2 adventure, and four months later at E3 we had an opportunity to try out the game's one-button combat system for the first time. Molyneux had another ace up his sleeve for GDC 08: the unveiling of Fable 2's "dynamic" offline cooperative-play system.

 

If you've been following our previous coverage of Fable 2, you already know that the large world in which your story takes place will ultimately be shaped by your actions as one of its heroes. However, none of us knew until now that you'll be able to invite other players' heroes into your world where, at least in theory, they'll play alongside you as obedient henchmen. When asked, Molyneux didn't deny that online play will be supported in the finished game, but for the purposes of our demo both players were using a single console. The second player's character's information was retrieved using his Xbox Live gamertag, and we were told that at the end of the co-op session any experience and money earned by the henchman would be taken back to his version of the gameworld. Furthermore, before playing together, you'll have the option to determine what percentage of the experience points, gold, and renown earned will be awarded to each of you.

 

Fable 2's co-op mode is set up in a way that encourages you to play nice with friends. Nevertheless, this wouldn't be a Molyneux game if it didn't give you the freedom to be a complete jerk, and sure enough, it was only a matter of time before Microsoft Game Studios' Josh Atkins, a guest in Molyneux's Fable 2 world, set about ensuring that he'd never be invited back.

 

After the pair showed off some of the "flirt," "pose," and other emotes that your heroes can perform in an attempt to outdo and impress one another, Molyneux decided that they should pay a visit to his (female) character's family. As they approached the picturesque farm cottage, a small boy, perhaps 5 years old, ran out to greet them--clearly thrilled to see his adventuring mother, who had purportedly been away from home for around six in-game months. On the other hand, the husband was quick to express his displeasure at her being away for so long, and perhaps wasn't thrilled that Molyneux had returned with a good-looking henchman in tow. Less than a minute into the husband's rant, henchman Atkins pulled out a gun and shot him dead. In the moment, those watching the demo laughed out loud. Then Molyneux went on to explain the consequences of his colleague's actions.

 

Molyneux's husband, whom he (OK, she) had presumably spent some time fostering a relationship with before marrying and getting pregnant with, was dead--forever. The child, who along with his father was completely dependent on the income of the adventuring mother, would now end up alone at the family home for months at a time, and we're told that ultimately he'd end up in an orphanage. You could track him down there if you really wanted to, but it's unlikely he'd ever be the same carefree little kid again. Needless to say, the potential for "griefing" in Fable 2's co-op mode is massive, so you'll want to be careful whom you choose to share your world with.

 

As the pair continued to explore the beautiful countryside, Molyneux's dog was keeping a watchful eye out for enemies. It started growling as they approached what appeared to be an abandoned mine, and when they got close enough, a small button icon appeared on the screen, prompting one of them to press the left trigger for a better look at the entrance off to the side of the road. Sure enough, there were a couple of enemies lying in wait there, and though the ensuing battle didn't last long, it afforded us ample opportunity to see both the melee and ranged attack buttons being put to good use. The third combat button, which will be used to perform all magic, is still being kept under wraps for the moment. Experience is earned in combat by collecting the small glowing shards dropped by slain enemies, and in keeping with games that employ similar mechanics, the shards gravitate toward you so that you don't have to waste too much time picking them up.

 

On the other hand, money doesn't appear to be something that you'll earn much of as an adventurer, so you might want to give your finances some serious thought before settling down and starting a family. However, you can earn a salary for helping out other players as a henchman. Toward the end of our meeting, Molyneux even mentioned that his character had dabbled in real estate and that you'll have the option to work a regular job in what free time your adventuring allows you. He didn't want to go into much detail about the professions in Fable 2 just yet, but we're told that the positions needing to be filled in the gameworld include blacksmith, barman, and assassin.

 

Another way to earn money in Fable 2, or at least for Fable 2, will be gambling. The pub game of choice in Fable 2 is apparently a hybrid of roulette and craps known as Keysto. This game will be made available for download on Xbox Live Arcade a few weeks before the release of Fable 2, giving you an opportunity to earn your Fable 2 character a mountain of gold before his or her adventure even gets under way.

 

Before we bring this preview to as abrupt an end as Molyneux's handlers did our meeting, we simply have to tell you that Fable 2's visuals have improved a great deal since we last saw the game. The environments that we saw were nicely detailed, considering the scale of the world, and the colors were really vibrant. Animated shadows cast by tree foliage, windmills, and the like have added a great deal to the overall look, and details such as a rooster parading around the farmyard were noticeable but understated. Incidentally, the environment's colors all get very muted during fights, but at the same time the colors of combatants remain vibrant, which makes it easier to keep up with what's going on and--let's face it--just looks really cool. We should also point out that, at least during the tightly-scripted demo, the camera did a good job of keeping both co-op players in shot even when they moved a reasonable distance apart.

 

Fable 2 is currently scheduled for release later this year. We look forward to bringing you more information on the game as soon as it becomes available.

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[MarketTantrik]

New Fable 2 Fact Sheet

Authored By: Mayur Gandhi On: 22/02/2008 At: 08:35

 

From NZGamer

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Fable 2 is the true sequel to the wildly successful original that sold more than 3 million copies, offering even more choices and building on the core gameplay theme of Fable, where a player's every decision continually defines whom they become. Fable 2 is an action role-playing game that truly allows players to live the life they choose in an unimaginably open world environment.

 

Set 500 years after the original, "Fable 2" will provide gamers with an epic story and innovative real-time gameplay, including a massive amount of freedom and choice to explore a vast collection of dungeons, catacombs and caves in the world of Albion.

 

Features:

• Choices, consequences. The innovative gameplay pioneered in the original "Fable" provided gamers with a never-before-seen level of immersion in a truly interactive world. "Fable 2" expands upon the scope and depth of the Xbox classic by adding incredible new features and creating a wider, more complex kingdom of limitless choices and consequences. Players will have the option to play as a man or woman, get married, have children, and live a life of their own design.

 

• A land far, far away. Revisit the sprawling world of Albion more than 500 years after the events of the original "Fable," where you are free to explore the landscape and openly roam the countryside. For the right price every house, hut, dungeon and castle is for sale. Players can witness how the world grows and changes in response to their decisions in incredible and unique ways as they rediscover Albion as if for the first time.

 

• Fight with ease. "Fable 2" pioneers a new combat system designed to allow players to truly master hand weapons such as swords and maces, ranged combat weapons such as bows and guns, and an entirely new magic system. These three disciplines, while very accessible, are also amazingly deep, and allow players to mix combat styles and become everything from master swordsman to skilled ranger to evil magic welder, utilizing a single button on the Xbox 360 controller.

 

• A hero's best friend. This groundbreaking addition to the game is integral to the theme of unconditional love in "Fable 2." The canine companion will act as friend, compass and protector. Players must merely feed their pooch and he will love unconditionally, creating a bond that sets up emotion-filled journeys all throughout this magical world.

 

• Experience the world together. For the first time in the "Fable" series, gamers can experience the expansive and immersive world of "Fable 2" with friends, utilizing the new and exciting Dynamic Co-op Mode, bringing the long-awaited multiplayer function to the world of "Fable 2."

 

• Xbox LIVE Arcade mini-games earn major cash. Carbonated Games has partnered with Lionhead Studios Ltd. to bring an unparalleled experience to gamers through Xbox LIVE Arcade. Gamers can start earning in-game currency for the "Fable 2" world later this year, before the game's release to retail, by downloading and completing exclusive mini-games, which will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade and allow gamers to purchase weapons, armor and more for their hero.

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[MarketTantrik]

Sex, murder and child abuse in Fable 2

Multiplayer wasn't the RPG's only surprise this week

 

From Gamesradar

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Not everything in Fable 2 is fantasy. On the contrary, some of the emotions and relationships you develop in the action RPG could end up feeling very real. Shockingly real. Heartbreakingly real.

 

We witnessed this potential in our recent demo with the game's creator, Peter Molyneux. He was showing off the sequel's new two-player cooperative multiplayer, which enables a friend's hero to battle, adventure and gain experience in your world, or vice versa. What's more important, however, is the huge and lasting impact your coop partner can have on Fable 2's story and setting during his visit.

 

We've seen two players joining together for an entire game's quest before. We've seen experience sharing before. We've seen drop-in-drop-out anytime dynamics before. We've seen badass female heroes before... even if they don’t usually have multiple husbands and all the children that result from unprotected sex with those multiple husbands, as Fable 2's does.

 

But one moment genuinely surprised us and, if it happened in our game, would genuinely affect us. When Molyneux took his heroine home after a long absence, the guy playing coop casually pulled out a gun and murdered her husband... in front of her son. Bang - just like that. Dead, with no reset function or simple heal spell to undo the horrible deed.

 

Immediately before this action, the son had been pleading with his mother not to abandon him again for so long. That would make us feel real guilt. The husband had been scolding his wife not to bring such unwholesome travel companions back to the house (in other words, the co-op partner who would later kill him). That would make us feel real shame.

 

However, allowing a friend to enter our fantasy world and then watching helplessly as that friend destroyed a crucial piece of it - without our permission - would make us feel real betrayal. Real anger at the other player. Real sadness for the lost virtual character.

 

Now that is something we HAVEN'T seen in a co-op game before. If Fable 2 can deliver more shocking moments like this one, in and out of multiplayer, it might just live up to some of the hype.

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[Daedalus]

i SO HOPE that is true

[MarketTantrik]

New screenies of Fable 2

 

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Its looking a lot like Oblivion.

 

--MT

[Bulovski]

yup - 2nd screenshot Oblivion, 1st one looks more like a well rendered scene from NWN2. My apprehension around this game is with Molyneux is promising. Fable was a 'good' game - but fell short of its promises to create a living breathing world around. Heck - Witcher was better in that respect. Now F2 is promising the earth and more, and I just think it's going to come in snippets - an interesting game hook. But that's about all. It will not be an integral part of the game - that will still be good ole hack / slash / get points.

[Achieved_Nirvana]

At one point in Fable 2,

you meet a shadow creature who decides that one person must suffer in order to proceed in a crucial part of a quest. A young, attractive woman wanders into the woods and you are given a choice. One person must be horribly scarred. But will you sacrifice your own face to save this pretty girl or will you let vanity rule your decision? Sure, it could be easy to say you don't care about how you look, but your appearance affects how everyone in Albion reacts to you. Come home to your wife and kids with a mangled face and they will scream with terror. Are you willing to spend the rest of your time in Fable 2 horrifying children? And if not, then you forfeit the happiness of an innocent woman.

 

 

Sounds good!

[Systematic]

That box-art is pretty kick-a*s.

[Man In The Box]

It's a bit like Fable 1 where the boy's reflection in the water was an evil one.

[Systematic]

It's a bit like Fable 1 where the boy's reflection in the water was an evil one.

 

They're both symbolic to the choices you have in the game and what the outcomes of your decisions are.

 

I remember when I beat Fable on the Xbox my character ended up with a halo on his head.

[Tyler]

Nice box art. I love it.

[SchizoidFreud]

nothing beats the fallout 3 box art

[Tyler]

^^ I didn't know there was a competition going on.

[Hahaman]

^^lol that was a good one

[MarketTantrik]

Awesome boxart !! I like the fact that they have completely perverted the evil version of the character.

[Achieved_Nirvana]

New screens!

 

 

 

 

-------

 

Looks incredibly detailed.

[godspeed4476]

cant wait