Fable II Reviews

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Written by BuckGB on November 12th, 2008

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One final point worth considering is the way that the developers packed the experience with so much humor. Load screens contain silly comments by random residents of present-day Albion, including nice bits of history. At one point in the game, there's reference to an old guild master who was found murdered with (Your health is low) slashed into his forehead. Those who played the first Fable should get a laugh out of that, and there are other nods to the first game that are similarly intriguing (including an entire environment).

To accompany our travels around Albion, Lionhead recruited the Slovak symphony orchestra to record the score for Fable. It was stated in the development diary that although the music and sound was a backdrop to the game it must always suit the environment and fall perfectly into the background to improve what's happening on screen. The Team cannot be faulted as the music in Fable is perfect. It conjures atmosphere at the right moments and relaxes the tone for exploring a beautiful spring meadow. The voice acting also is great with the likes of Zoe Wanamaker and Stephen Fry putting in performances, and excellent performances at that. Stephen Fry's character Reaver is a Extravagant, Pompous and beautifully written character that few could voice better than Mr. Voice over himself. I laughed out loud when I had to explore (no joke) (Reaver's rear passage) to escape his mansion as Fry told me about his many sexual adventures playing for both teams if you catch my drift. The town's people of Albion are as vocal as ever and always offer up witty remarks and comments to any passing hero, disciples at the shadows at their temple can be heard complaining that (the one downside of worshipping shadows is that we must take our tea without milk) which creates images of a room deep inside Lionhead with developers brainstorming all these fantastic one liners for the blacksmith in Bowerstone to the bandit in bloodstone. The voices are superb very rarely some dialogue may slip in out of place but it barely detracted from the enjoyment. All sound effects are solid, most from combat with clashing swords and gunshots. But also groaning and roaring enemies add to the players' immersion into Albion as overall the sound from Fable adds to the visuals to actually take you into Albion.

When it comes to the combat, Fable 2 hits the right note. The combat is split up into three separate attacks: magic, melee and range and using all three during battles with enemies will allow you to get the best out of the combat. While you can use only one method to get through the game, you're really not doing the game any justice, especially when you have a wide array of moves and options available to you. It's extremely satisfying to use your magic to slow down an enemy and then use a melee attack to finish them off, or to use your bow and arrow to shoot down an enemy high up on a cliff and see him tumble to his death. Overall, the combat system is enjoyable and definitely one of the best aspects of Fable 2. It's not overly complex and doesn't scream for perfection, but you can master so many different forms of attack because of the upgrading abilities. The only downfall of the combat is that the game doesn't really punish you for dying. This inturn makes the game feel a little to easy. Firstly, you won't die all that much anyway. Secondly, if you do die, you receive battle scars, which may hurt your chances with a female, but if you've chosen to go down an evil path, you're going to have scars anyway so therefore the punishment is more of a reward to make you look more evil.

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