The first Fable title was proceeded by more hype than I’d seen attached to any title prior or since besides the much-maligned Daikatana.  Lionhead frontman Peter Molyneux stated that he wanted Fable to be the best Role Playing Game of all time.  He talked at length about the power of choice, the balance of good and evil, and how the world around you would change and grow based on your very whims.  You’d be able to plant an acorn and watch the resulting tree grow through the course of your life – nature’s measuring stick to your progress.  The final product was a little less than the ambitious plans that Molyneux had in mind.  The original Xbox and PC specifications at the time were simply not powerful enough to achieve his lofty goals.  What we ended up getting was a hack and slash RPG-lite with little in the way of real choice, but still a fun game regardless.  Almost immediately after production of the Lost Chapters expansion, work began on Fable II.  Remaining below the radar, Fable II was seen only last year as a short CGI trailer.  Amazingly, and just months before release, I’ve gotten to play the game.  Peter Molyneux wants me to believe in unconditional love, courtesy of a video game.  This man has delivered most of the God Game titles that shaped my childhood love of gaming – surely he can pull it off, right?

Welcome to Bowerstone

My demonstration of Fable II started me off exactly as the game will start – at my childhood.  (You’ll be able to pick your gender this time) Sporting the same humor as the previous title, things are somewhat funny, but decidedly melancholy.  You are a scrubby street urchin living in the city of Bowerstone.  You and your sister are trying to eke out an existence performing a number of menial tasks.  As I made my way through the world (there is a set of breadcrumbs to guide you through this ‘tutorial’ type area) I ran into a bully beating up on a dog.  Being an animal lover myself, I couldn’t tolerate that – I took my wooden sword and beat him down and quick.  I befriended the dog and was told by my developer guide that this dog will be my best friend throughout the rest of the game. 

Trying to get enough scratch to rub together to feed ourselves, I run across a large crowd of adults.  They gather around as some snake oil salesman tries to sell some sort of magic box.  This magic box is said to grant the wishes of its owner, and our sister has always wished to live in Bowerstone Castle.  Spending our hard-earned 5 gold pieces on this box, our sister wishes for exactly that.  When absolutely nothing happens, it is only natural that disappointment should set in.  Exhausted from our earlier work, we head home to rest.   Awakened in the morning by armed guards and an invitation to see the castle, it seems like our dream has come true!  In the most painful way, this proves not to be the case.  Welcome back to Albion – welcome to Fable II.

Moving forward in the demo (and our adulthood) we come to a combat scene.  Based on what I was wearing, I’ve obviously I’ve grown up to be a bit of a spellsword, with more of a focus on magic than might.  Grabbing the second controller, the developer and I proceeded to rip apart zombies and werewolves that had besieged the area.  After we cleared out the area I took a step back to admire my handiwork.  I was amazed at how well the combat had come together without becoming extremely complicated. 

Sitting at range, I unleashed magic on my enemies to keep them at bay.  Each spell has five levels of power, ramped up by simply holding down the B button for a longer period.  One spell threw a magical dagger at a distant enemy, but powered up those daggers grew to very large swords that flew in a larger arch towards our enemies.  As the enemy closed the distance I pulled out a large blunderbuss and blasted a few in the chest, sending them reeling backwards.  Unleashing a sword, I stepped toe to toe with my enemies and saw the completion of the concept that Peter Molyneux showed me last year – single button combat.  Tapping the A button did a short strike that did minimal damage, but similar to the magic system, holding the A button did significantly more damage.  There is a bit of timing to get your strikes to chain together, allowing you to do more damage or even throw a killing blow.

…the ever changing world of Albion

With our enemies dispatched, we moved back to the city for some quick bullet points to close out the demo.  Just as before, the towns are full of people, but this time they won’t be so quick to forget your actions.  This time you can have a lasting impact on the city, not only through the ownership of buildings (you can own almost every building in the entire world if you have enough money), but also through your actions and deeds.  Once you leave the tutorial areas, things become less black and white as the decisions you faced as a child.  Things that aren’t necessarily bad or good can have profound impact, making players heroes to some and villains to others. 

As you grow older, things continue to change in the world.  A small camp can be nurtured to grow into a thriving town, or be burned into oblivion and destroyed forever, simply based on your actions.  Molyneux promises that good and evil will dwell firmly in the shades of grey realm.  Another way that the game can and will change is the use of Dynamic Levels.  Promised in the first title, Fable II will deliver dynamic areas that will change based on how you play.  Will the park you played in as a youth remain as you remembered, or slip in the a dark mist as it sinks into swampland?  Peter is making pretty big promises again…

Acorns:

Fable was one of my favorite titles of the last generation.  Did it deliver on its many promises?  Not completely, but that didn’t stop it from being different than almost anything else we’d seen before.  Fable II comes with far less hype this time around, but no fewer promises.  This time around, you really can plant those acorns and watch them grow.  Get ready to find unconditional acorn love this October.

-- Ron Burke, Director of Gaming Trend

So they finally incorporated acorns. But do they grow in real time, Mr. Molyneux!?

I don't think I could be much more excited for this game. I might end up hurting somebody before October 21.

Sounds like I might actually get to play the Fable I bought my original Xbox for. Better late than never. Nice Preview. Where ya at Starcraft? Your loosing you position as the leader of the Fable hype machine.

I was thinking the same thing. Jagged has become quite the usurper lately.