Fable 2 Non-Gamer Review

Conclusions

When playing Fable 2 I found there were lots of interesting places to explore, things to see and even things to hear. There was always a new place to go, which was exciting.

I thought the way in which your choices determined everything really added to the character of the game too, I could play it ten times and each time it would be like a different game.

Traveling around Albion was a bit of a chore though, Sparrow can't actually move very fast so it always took a lot time. Unless you had already been to that place in which case it was possible to fast-track there using the map. When the game was loading, the screen would come up with interesting or amusing pieces of information on a screen - what a bonus! And no, I am not being sarcastic.

The loading screens would often say really funny or really useful things too. Sometimes it would come up with tips on how to improve your social or fighting skills. But other times it would come up with quotes from people in the game. One time it gave me a quote from a local drunk which said “Give a man a fish and he will stink out the whole town, but give him a fishing rod – yeah, give him a rod, and he'll poke your eye out!”


See? Useful information.

Whilst you are exploring Albions countryside there are always treasure chests and keys to find as well. Occasionally the dog will even tell you to dig in a certain spot and when you do it you would find dog treats or pretty jewels

I thought the graphics in Fable 2 were excellent and enjoyable - the country side and towns were detailed and arty and had a real atmosphere to them. Before, when I have watched other people play games I have noticed that whilst the close-up scenery is detailed, the distant landscapes are often blurred. Fable 2 however seemed to have lovely detail even in the distance.

As far as the sound goes, I found Fable 2 very amusing. Occasionally when Sparrow was minding her own business I would overhear other villagers talking. Their conversations were absolutely hilarious. I even heard one person say “Did you here about that chicken that ate a little boy, it was terrible!”


Fable 2 has a lot of layers like this; hearing villagers telling weird and funny stories, having other woman coming onto you and being given the opportunity to kick various roaming animals was not the end of it.

One quest seemed to be set for no other reason but to make a mockery of Evil Dead, which I saw with my brothers a while ago. In this quest, called ‘Return of the Extremely Dead’ two idiots named Sam and Max accidentally summon dead bodies when they read from a book called the Normanonicon. A coincidence? I think not.

Overall, I enjoyed playing Fable 2, I may even go as far as to say I will continue to play it when I leave the bit-tech offices. For people who are starting out playing computer games I definitely recommend it.

I don't recommend it as much for experienced gamers though. I think they would enjoy the different ways in which you can play the game, and change the fate of Sparrow, but really the fighting skills needed were extremely basic and people who play games a lot may find it too easy.