Molyneux Screws The Pooch (Again): FABLE 2 on Xbox 360

[Leto II]

It's now quasi-official -- and this time Pongo comes with:

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: FABLE 2 FOR 360 - FIRST DETAILS!

Fable 2 shows its puppies! One man and his dog to star in the 360 sequel to Lionhead's all-conquering RPG.

Fable 2, ah how those two words give us inordinate amounts of pleasure; the prospect of seeing Lionhead and Big Blue Box's marvellously inventive RPG making the leap onto Xbox 360 has us brimming over for more beardy antics.

Of course, Lionhead has downplayed talk of Fable 2 before, especially when it was inadvertently mentioned by a Microsoft exec earlier in the year, but for us, it's almost a cert. Why wouldn't you want it on 360?

However, a source has revealed to CVG that he interviewed Peter Molyneux recently and the Lionhead genius revealed not only that he's really enjoying making Fable 2 for Xbox 360, but also spilled a few tasty gameplay morsels.

Apparently Fable 2 will see you start out as a young boy again but in a different area from the original Oakvale, only this time you'll have man's best friend for company in the form of a young puppy who accompanies you throughout the tale.

Once again, how you act and interact with the Fable universe will change the appearance of your character, but now your dog will change too. Be good and you'll have a loving fluffy poodle for company, but play the bad boy and you'll be taking a snarling evil hound from hell for walkies!

And apparently that's about it for Fable 2, although Peter Molyneux apparently also did reveal that the brothels or bawdy houses, which made a recent appearance in Fable: The Lost Chapters, will also be a major feature.

We contacted Lionhead right away to discover the veracity of this here Fable, but were met with a firm "no comment" but we'll update you with more as soon as we have it. But we think it's an absolute cert and we'd expect Fable 2 in all likelihood to make a debut for Christmas 2006.

Big ups to PJ Webstar!
Read the original article here (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/r/?page=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/news/news_story.php(que)id=128840). At least we get to frolick amongst those filthy, filthy brothels once again. Huzzah.

[FrankCobretti]

How was Fable: The Lost Chapters, anyway?

[Brad Millette]

A lot of fun, with some neat additions. Nothing earth shattering, but a fun action RPG with solid controls and good graphics.

[Leto II]

(double-post)

[Leto II]

Eh, it's not half-bad, once you get past the annoyance of having to utterly start from scratch again; haven't gotten to the northlands-region yet, though, which is where the lion's (pardon pun) share of new storyline expansion can be found.

It's worth a purchase if you held out last fall on the original release (as many of us did NOT). Part of me thinks that here's a game that *deserves* to be pirated...or at least a free copy given to each legitimate Fable owner. Some folks might find it disgusting that they knowingly sell half a game for full price, then expect us to shell out even more cash just to play the game that should have been released last year.

Now, not putting off the relative merits of the new version, but IMNSHO they would have to at least double the length of the single-player game to really flesh it out. The story (what little there was) was *excellent*. They'd also have to remove or nerf certain combos which allow you to completely max out your characters stats and levels in about 30 minutes of monster-farming....they need to take note from the Elder Scrolls series on how to properly balance that kind of stuff.

That said, this new Molyneux sequel will very likely be worth the investment, but given the double-dip mindset these days, not sure if I'll necessarily be doing another Day One blind-buy this time around.

[Agent Back Smith]

So, you get a dog in this one.

[The Alexor]

So we'll get a dog fot the sequel. Instead of everything that Moylineux promised would actually be in the first one. I liked Fable, it was fun, but I ultimately found it to be shallow so I probably won't pay 80$ (that's in can$) for more of the same.

[Jason P. Thompson]

The first one did not live up to what they were pimping it as. I was severely dissapointed... lets hope they can get their asses in gear for the next one.

[AMH]

....(that's in can$)....
I used that name for a strip club in an old comic I drew in middle school.

And this game seriously needs more than just a fuggin' dog. Let's try and make it truly epic and substantial this go around, eh? And how about juggling the audio clips a bit ("Hero, your health is low!")?

[Orin_Quon]

Fable 2 Preview:

http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1470/Fable-2/p1/

[DARKMITE8]

Could the Dog HUD be the secret feature...

He gave one hint though; this secret feature is in some way related to the “unconditional love” feature explained above in the way that it is all about “emotions” Molyneux wants you to experience when playing Fable 2.


More on the dog as User Interface and the pregnancy thing:
http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/11557/New_Fable_2_Feature_Dog_Sidekick.html

“But the big thing, one of the biggest parts of Fable 2, will be the introduction of a dog to the game. Not just any dog, but your dog. The dog will be faithful to you and will have a deeply nuanced artificial intelligence so you won't actually control your dog at all.

Instead your dog will act as a sort of living HUD. The game has no map, no other user interface on screen. Instead you will have to rely on the dog and what he sees and does. You also will control the dog by your own actions.

A great example. You come upon two bad guys and pull our your gun (yes, the game has guns) and the dogs knows automatically attack the closer targets.”

[The Alexor]

A great example. You come upon two bad guys and pull our your gun (yes, the game has guns) and the dogs knows automatically attack the closer targets.”

Wow! Such cutting edge gameplay! Such amazing A.I.! The dog can detect ennemis and attack them... when YOU attack them! Genius! This'll be the greatest RPG of all time!

I was so burned with the first game, I'll need some very aggressive convincing from Molyneux and his gang to convince me Fable 2 won't be as shallow and repetitive as the first game.

[The Alexor]

It seems the second game is gonna suck even more:

Peter Molyneux has simplified combat to just one button in Fable 2, hopefully enticing casual gamers to play while still rewarding hardcore gamers with upgrades based upon the use of advanced maneuvers in the system. But either way, Molyneux wants players beating the game.

Just what we needed. Simplifying a game that already was too simple.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/easy/molyneux-wants-people-beating-fable-2with-one-button-282795.php

[GDog]

Fable is already a pretty easy game. It's been a while but I remember making a magic type character that exclusively used the explosion-of-fire type spell. That was basically one-button-mashing type gameplay. Plus now that I remember, I played through the game with my girlfriend at the time, and she did most of the work. We beat it in like 3 days.

[ChunkyLover53]

I wonder if Molyneux's gonna apologize for this one too, like he did with the first game.

Go make Dungeon Keeper III before it's too late!

[Trevor]

The first game was pretty great, assuming an adjustment of expectations. My only complaint (and I only played the Lost Chapters version on the PC, not on the XBOX) was that it was too short. And that's a good complaint, like 'the song wasn't long enough'. or that 'Mom didn't make enough meatloaf'.

[FrankCobretti]

As Joe Casual Gamer, I love Fable. There are no maps to memorize, no insanely cray quests to carry out. It's just, "Walk here, kill a bunch of monsters, walk there, kill some more villains." It's just the thing for occasional gaming.

[Greg David]

I agree. Once I resigned myself to the idea that it wasn't going to be what they touted it as, I really enjoyed it. I'm not hardcore enough to bitch when finishing a game isn't equivalent to a full-time job. I'm really looking forward to the new one, even if Lionhead did botch The Movies.

[Ron Vogel]

Fable is one of the few RPGs I can stand because of it's attempt at some sort of a better fighting mechanic than most RPGs. To hear that the fighting is being simplified is a total bummer. Oh well, I can't afford a 360 anyway.

[Greg David]

It does seem like a shame to fix something that wasn't broken. I loved the control scheme. Going from melee to ranged attacks to spells without having to stop and use menus was great.

[The Alexor]

Fable was a fun game but it lacked what was promised: depth. Combat got repetitive real fast.

[Greg David]

Well, like I said, you just have to get over what they promised it would be, and appreciate what it is. Once you can do that, it's actually a great game.

And quite frankly, combat is always repetitive, as far as I'm concerned.

[The Alexor]

Even if you get over what they promised, it's still a very shallow game. You surely didn't play Fable for the story or the characters, or obviously the combat.

Fable's a fun game, but not for long.

[FrankCobretti]

You surely didn't play Fable for the story or the characters, or obviously the combat.

Well, yeah, I do. The story's simple enough to keep things moving along while providing me something I can dive back into after weeks or even months away. The characters are nicely rendered and I like the voice work. The combat's terrific: pull the left trigger and mash the X button: who wants to memorize complicated combinations?

Alexor, I suspect that you're a "gamer," while I'm a guy who likes to play video games. I'm not looking for War and Peace. I'm just looking to cleave some zombies.

[The Alexor]

I get what you mean. I just believe Fable over-simplified everything way too much.

[TheTwist]

Well, yeah, I do.

I'm with you there. Someone on these boards summed up the game at release as "charming" and that's exactly what it was. A beautiful art style and score mixed with a combat system that perfectly blended melee, ranged, and magic attacks. The story was a typical boy-saves-the-world that we've seen from countless RPGs...but then again it was a game called Fable.

The game did have its faults, mostly in things either omitted (like competing heroes) or half-finished (like the social system) but these were minor complaints in the face of an otherwise excellent experience.

Regarding the sequel, the impressions from E3 were universally positive that I recall. Calling it "one button combat" conjures images of senseless button mashing, but the actual design has a lot more thought behind it. A different button controls each of the attack options (magic, melee, and ranged) and how you press it (quick press for an attack, hold to block, or release after a successful block for a special attack) determines your action.

Here's the Gamespot preview from E3 for the curious:

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/fable2/news.html?sid=6174455&mode=previews