Yeah, that's right, I thought I was only gonna do a two-parter for this too.
But you've lucked out, 'cos now there's a 3rd part for your glorious little eyes to feast upon.
Unlike the previous two reviews, I'm gonna focus on other "less or more important" aspects of the game, provided on what your opinion is.
This one is somewhat of a look at both Fable 2 and for the sake of having something more differential to call it, Fable
Classic And the little parts that they either got right, or missed entirely.
I might also revisit areas frmo previous review sections for the sake of elaboration.
I
still To this day play Fable 2, even though I'm completely aware of it's built-in flaws, why? I dunno, maybe it's because despite it's flaws there's still a terrific game within it's very core...
Or maybe it's because I don't have enough money to rent
Prototype again, a game I'd much rather be playing.
What first to get into? How about the greatest of failures provided by the game that seems to get greatly overlooked.
The Freedom.
That's right, Fable 2 and it's predecessor were hailed pre-release by their creator, Molyneux for being games that allow ultimate, life and environment changing choice within them.
Fable classic, definately managed to swurve past this concept so much as to near enough do a complete U-turn and then stop, So as to leave the metaphorical "helm" of the games main interest pointed at the linear story and "You have to go this way WHEN WE TELL YOU!" style of gameplay, but sitting on the edge of freedom just enough to give you enough choice over what your character does and looks like.
As if to say "We want you have choice, sure, but don't get any ideas about making this YOUR story, bitch, It's ours!"
Which is contradictory to their original plans and even for the character type they used, I mean why make a mute, nigh emotionally void character who morphs depending on your allignment choices if at the end of the day he's going to follow the
exact same story that everyone elses characters were going to have?
I mean, yes, I do understand that a fantasy game
needs story, it goes without saying.
They'd be a bit pointless if not Genre breaking if they didn't have a story, but please.
If a game is supposed to be "All about the freedom, dawg." Then please don't make your story so integral to the game that it's virtually impossible to escape it for the sake of any of that sweet, sweet freedom we were promised.
But despite that, Fable Classic was also a very good game, I'd go as far to say that it was better than Fable 2 in a lot of solid aspects, Gameplay, Graphical quality(Beautiful for the generation it was in),
Story quality.
That's right, although Fable Classic's story was overbearing and prevented you from being able to enjoy the premise of the game's ultimate freedom, it was still a decent story, even the part in Lost Chapters that was stapled on at the last minute was interesting enough, and ultimately put asside any doubts you had about whether the villain was truly vanquished.
I won't say it's the best story in a game so far, because there's definately better contenders for that title, I'll let you know if I play any of them.
Although, I'd definately say that the Team Ico games kinda deserver at least a peek at that glory, there minimalist attitude towards their games has left the stories more open for interpretation and as a result, more interesting and engaging.
Shadow of the Colossus: You don't know why the girl's dead, you don't know what actual attachment the wanderer has towards her, shit, you don't even know the wanderer's real name.
But you feel involved somehow through the struggle and I'm sure I'm not the only one that was geniunely upset when it came to certain points.
1: Aggro's "death"
2:The end result of all your hard work.
Anyway, back on track.
Fable was a great game despite it's story taking over from the get-go and I think, for what it missed out, it made up for with the quality of what it still had.
Fable 2 however can't say that, Fable 2 was promised to be more free and greatly excel over it's predecessor, unfortunately I'm still waiting for the DLC that makes that actually happen.
'Cos since I started playing I've not seen any great improvements, sure the game looks pretty, it's fun to consider the fact that your character is a descendant of Classic's protagonist, it just felt good to know that after all the times I got married in Classic that it eventually was worth something because Fable is evidence enough that the Hero wasn't sterile.
The map's a great deal larger, they're also much less linear, but's not quite free-roaming yet, Sure in GTA4 there are literally hundreds of buildings you can't enter, but that's why you have helicopters to standing ON TOP of the buildings.
I have to say that when I heard that the world was gonna be larger and much more accessable I was thinking I wonder if they'll find a seemless way to switch from area to area, like in Arkham Asylum (OK, I didn't use that exact game as an example when I was thinking about it pre-release of Fabl 2, obviously, but it's the
best example of seemless movement between zones since the first Jak and Daxter).
But unfortunately it's still a case of every two minutes you'd be stuck at a loading screen, which makes you think, "I can just go in the maps and choose where I wanna be, saves me from looking about 7 loading screen in the next 10 minutes.."
This is a tiny, tiny flaw however, when compared to the Story and it's iron-like choke hold on our decision-making "power" the game is supposed to be about.
For instance, within the first, 30 minutes or so, you find yourself in Bowerstone Market.
You meet Theresa (I may have spelt that wrong).
She tells you all about your part in a larger destiny then you could comprehend (If you haven't played Classic Fable that is...) and even goes as far as to tell exactly where to find the end boss, who (I'm gonna assume most people have seen or heard about this by now) has
no powers what-so-ever.
none, not even a single solitary lick of power, well he can make you fall asleep, but that's about it, nothing stopping you from picking him off from a distance with a rifle while he's oblivious to your actions.
Theresa then tells you that yes, he's at the spire, contructing the most destructive monument the Old Kingdom had ever seen (We know how well the Old Kingdom did, don't we?).
That's great, all well and good, the guy's respsonsible for putting your life in the shitter 10 years ago, he murdered your sister and shot you out of the window of a several hundred story castle, onto the cold cobbles below (Not to mention face-planting a house on the way down has to play havoc on your spine and face), he's also "recruiting" thugs and barbarians to keep honest hard working people in line while he starves them to death for no reason other than he's a huge douche, and he's been doing it uncontested for 10 years? I mean leaving the hero out of this for a while, what were the populace of Albion doing durnig all this time where their loved ones were going off to work and not coming back? Someone must have thought about checking it out at least?
No? So the Hero is the only one interested in going there? Ok, If that's what the story wants us to believe.
Beyond that, like I said, The old blind woman (I've given up thinking I've spelt her name wrong) has told you all of this vital information, if you've played it smart and done some treasure hunting before talking to her, then you're more than ready to buy some decent equipment and barter passage to the spire from that point in the game.
But wait, Ol' Blindy has something else for you.
A pack of cards detailing that you and three other unwitting jackasses are supposed to gather and perform a ritual to achieve ultimate power so as beat the completely terrifying
MORTAL MAN.
But what does the ritual even do? You never actually find out. Even after you've gathered the other heroes and performed the rituals, the only thing that happens is your companions (And Reaver) are ultimately left butt-fucked of all their strength, skill and will and completely helpless against innevitable abduction, while you're forced to stand in a shiney circle and watch it all happen.
If thats isn't bad enough Lucien rubs it in your face, telling you how he's murdered your wife and kids (Provided you have any) even though he has absolutely nothing against them, other than their unfortunate association with you, after which he decides to shoot you
AND you dog in the face, what a
prick.
Which when you think about it, is a bit much for something that you could have handled at the beginning of the game when you're pointed in the direction of his "secret evil lair" and then as if you were never told about it, shown the other way and told to gather x amount of y so you can eventually slay z...
No.
Simply, No.
I realise it's a bit much to ask for a game that you can complete within the first 40 minutes, because who's actually gonna invest time and money in a game like that? But really, isn't that what ultimate freedom is about? I mean I consider the people you fight along the way to getting to Lucien much more of a chorse and engaging then what we all got at the end, which was essentially a giant middle finger with "Thanks for playing, you guys SUCK!" written on it.
Or even "You played this far, my God I can't believe you played this far..."
Here's a decent Idea, Have Lucien be the foreshadowing Evil, by all means, a good game needs a main focus for it's overall objective. But make it so you could totally just hitch a lift on a boat and kill him from the moment you've reached adulthood.
the beginning of the game serves as a good reason to hunt him down, heresay and guidance from your mentor-figure serve as even more incentive to kill him.
He murdered you're only surviving family member, he then went on to enslave and kill hundred or thousands of other people's loved ones, let the people of Albion KNOW about it! have them talking in the streets about it, have enraged, distraught mothers of wives crying or rampaging in the streets! Make the populace want blood! They have a right!
DON'T just let them continue calling him "LORD" Lucien and blindly following him and the Mayor of Bowerstone, if he's been missing for 10 years and KILLING MOFO's, that's usually enough to call an elected replacement into his position.
Let it be possible to kill him from the start, let the people rejoice, and celebrate your achievement!
Well done! You killed the boss of the game!
But there's still other, GENUINE threats looming around, say some outraged spire guards have ransacked villages? The commandant (Being the only one now because you didn't give Lucien the time of day to make more) has resumed Lucien's work? Making the final boss fight MUCH moe challenging.
Hell, Thag, The Impatient was harder to beat then Lucien was... And you kill him to get to fucking Bowerstone! The Game has you re-visit that bandit camp anyway from time-to-time, why not let Thag have a more defining role on the populace.
Make it like a mix between Fable and shadow of the colossus (but have the bossed in no real order), the bosses are scattered about, you have to defeat them eventually, or hell, implement a way of joining their ranks, which then becomes less about killing the boss for the greater good of Albion but more about assuming command of a group of bandits, it was fun to do in Fable Classic, why not keep it around? (Although admittedly that was more me exploiting the fact you could ask the bandits in Twin Blades' camp to follow you all the way to Oakvale then an actual feature, me'thinks.)
So many things that would be at least decent examples of free-will within a game and all comlpetely possible when you think about it.
Here's an idea, If you don't feel like killing Lucien straight away or you've not played Fable 2 before and aren't aware that Lucien is a complete pussy you can carry on doing what Theresa tells you to do, either way you'll end up killing a boss or two anyway.
I think I'm gonna leave it at this, before I start hemoraging from my eyes and ears, don't be surprised if a 4th part appears eventually.
At the end of the day, Fable Classic wasn't as free as it was supposed to be, but managed to save itself because of the effort the devlopment team put in, Fable 2 wasn't anything it promised either, but falls just short of providing a decent game udnerneath because it slightly more rushed than it's predecessor.
I just hope they finally learn this when it comes to Fable 3, which despite all this, I'll still be buying when it comes out.
G, out!
As you can see, not much to go on.
