Fable 2

[snoopy369]

Indeed... a kid's game is a game designed for kids, ie with things kids enjoy being the main factor. Zelda (at least later iterations of it) was designed for a wide audience... it would be very different if designed for kids specifically.

[Felch]

All right, fine. Zelda is a game that the whole family can enjoy.

Happy now?

[Felch]

Originally posted by DrSpike
The 360 gamepad works well with the PC - though you need a wireless receiver which costs around £10 if you want to use the standard wireless pads.

Another option - buy a wired gamepad. They're not as easy to find as wireless, but they hook right in with USB, and I think they're a little bit cheaper (~$10). All you need then are drivers. Plus you never have to buy batteries again.

[DrSpike]

Yeah that is an option - but wired gamepads are so last century.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Felch
All right, fine. Zelda is a game that the whole family can enjoy.

Happy now?

Yes.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Felch
Just because it's a kid's game doesn't mean an adult can't enjoy it. I'm only saying it doesn't have the violence of GTA, or the insane complexity of Europa Universalis.

The point of that was that the controls for Zelda, and similar games, are designed with a gamepad in mind. Mouse and keyboard tend to be rather clumsy.

The number of misconceptions in this post is astounding.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Felch
All right, fine. Zelda is a game that the whole family can enjoy.

Happy now?

[Felch]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


The number of misconceptions in this post is astounding.

I like to think the degree to which my ideas are misconceived is astounding.

Quality, not quantity.

[Felch]

It comes out tomorrow. It looks like it'll be pretty good, but overshadowed by Fallout 3 (at least, for my purposes).

[Asher]

Oh crap, I've completely lost track of release dates.

I just picked up Rock Band 2 and still have tons of NHL 09 to play, and Fable II comes out tomorrow. And then Fallout 3 next week?

Then Gears of War 2 on Nov 7th?

Then Call of Duty World at War on Nov 11th?

Then Left 4 Dead on Nov 17th?

**** you, 360. I've no time for this ****!

[Asher]

Reviews of Fable II:

IGN: 8.8/10

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/921/921508p1.html

I have been waiting a long time for a return to Albion. The past four years were well spent by Lionhead. Fable II has a great combat system, some excellent atmosphere, a smart experience system, and lots to do. It’s only when you start exploring the social aspects that things take a downturn. The expressions system is too goofy for the more serious tone of Fable II and almost every interaction feels artificial. The sandbox elements aren’t nearly as enjoyable as the adventure aspects.

ArsTechnica: "Buy"

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/games/fable-2-review.ars/1

Though I've written more for this review than I was supposed to, I wish that I could write fifty pages on Fable II. It's hard to boil my thoughts on the game down to just four pages: there's so much to see and do in Molyneux's latest rendition of Albion that it's hard to get to the meat of the game and let the rest speak for itself. Whether you love or hate the man and his sometimes-pretentious claims, his latest game is worthy of praise.

There are a few aspects of the game that I didn't touch upon that don't need many words. The graphics are technically disappointing but artistically excellent; the game's style is impressive but the bouts of slow-down during latter encounters and the sometimes washed-out look of the game can be a let-down. The audio, however, is near-flawless: excellent voice-acting and fitting music the whole way through make the game a treat for the ears.

The inclusion of co-op is something that's a big selling point for the game, but it's not worth spending much time on in the review. The game includes both drop-in, drop-out offline co-op, as well as online co-op, both of which are excellent and offer something unique beyond just buddying up for combat, in that players can perform tag-team moves and expressions, and the visiting player has a lasting impact on the home player's world. In that regard, the co-op is excellent. Disappointing, though, is that, in both flavors, visiting players do not use their actual avatars: they use henchmen which take the place of their avatars and transfer gold and experience orbs back to their own player. Whether or not that will change with the launch day patch will be followed-up on in Opposable Thumbs.

There are other specifics and small nuances to the game that I've left out to let you discover. Because, ultimately, Fable II is a game that everyone will experience differently. I've done my best to make this review less about my own experience, less about the specifics of the game, and more about how the mechanics could shape yours, because that's what makes Fable II so impressive. It may not be entirely "sandbox" in nature, but its uncanny ability to shape itself around you rather than forcing you to cope with it is rare, and it's because of the way the game's various systems work to support this design intention that Fable II stands as one of the best RPGs of the year and easily one of the finest titles in the Xbox 360 library.
The good

* Beautiful art style
* Excellent writing, voice acting
* Extremely well-developed world
* Tons of quests
* Incredible tapestry and breadth of great gameplay systems
* Great achievements
* Local and online co-op

The bad

* Some visual bugs and slowdown issues
* Co-op visiting player can't use actual character
* Combat can be hit or miss
* Breadcrumb trail is hard to live without but makes you lazy
* Lacking depth in some areas
* Generally not very challenging

The ugly

* Deciding to put off questing for that rare treasure you've been seeking for weeks on your one day off from real-life work because the townspeople want your blood for overcharging, your wife is pregnant with your third child and she wants more money and nice furniture for the family, your ex-wife is sleeping with the blacksmith at the store you own, and your first-born son is attacking the neighbor's chickens with the toy sword you gave him.

[Felch]

Originally posted by Asher
Oh crap, I've completely lost track of release dates.

I just picked up Rock Band 2 and still have tons of NHL 09 to play, and Fable II comes out tomorrow. And then Fallout 3 next week?

Then Gears of War 2 on Nov 7th?

Then Call of Duty World at War on Nov 11th?

Then Left 4 Dead on Nov 17th?

**** you, 360. I've no time for this ****!

Those are what we call, the good kinds of problems.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Asher
Oh crap, I've completely lost track of release dates.

I just picked up Rock Band 2 and still have tons of NHL 09 to play, and Fable II comes out tomorrow. And then Fallout 3 next week?

Then Gears of War 2 on Nov 7th?

Then Call of Duty World at War on Nov 11th?

Then Left 4 Dead on Nov 17th?

**** you, 360. I've no time for this ****!

Indeed - it's a hard life.

I'm looking to pick up Tales of Vesperia (not out here yet) and Dead Space too, and probably Fifa 09.

[conmcb25]

So whats the consensus, is the xbox version of this game a must play? My 16 year old has been talking about nothing else for the past two weeks and wanted to take the day off of school to go pick it up today.

The silly boy, Im making him wait till after school being the evil disciplinarian that I am

[Asher]

Considering it just came out an hour ago, most of us have not had time to play it...