Not all gamers like RPG’s (Role Playing Game). I used to think that I was one of them. I considered myself a hardcore online warrior. That all changed one fateful vacation. I was trapped in a desolate state called Vermont, and I had no internet to play xbox live. I was going through withdrawal, and I needed my gaming fix. Luckily there was a place to rent xbox games (I think it was a log cabin or something). I decided to rent Fable, since I had heard such good things about it.

This was my first time really getting into an RPG. I loved how my character developed before my eyes, and the gameplay was good enough to hold my attention all the way through the storyline. Because Fable was such a good game (in my opinion), I believe that they can’t screw up Fable 2…..or can they?

Many people were dismayed when Fable was initially released. Not necessarily because the game was bad, but because there were some features that many people expected to be in the game, but were not implemented. This time around, Peter Molyneux and the people at Lionhead Studios are going balls out (so to speak) to include as many new features as possible.

One feature in this game is a dog (mans best friend) that you CANNOT control directly. You can however, control the dogs actions through the way you interact with it. The reasoning behind not letting the player directly control the dog was to try to create a feeling of love or companionship between it and you. I think that this was a good idea, because I have heard of people becoming emotionally attached to their pikman to the point of restarting the game if they lose too many in a mission. This feature will definitely add depth to the game.

Fable 2 will also have ONLINE multiplayer. Players can play through the story together, and the main hero (I’m assuming player one) will determine how much gold/exp that player 2 will get. You can play coop, then immediately take the same character you were playing online coop with, and play single player.

One major issue I have with the game is the one button combat system. Most of your attack will be delivered by pressing one button. I fear this can lead to repetitive game play, even if there is an abundance of animations. For example: you press X standing behind an enemy, and you do a sweet attack that destroys the back of his head! Cool animation! But honestly, I believe that the novelty of a variety of animations cannot make up for a one button combat system, but I will reserve my judgment until I play the finished game. Also the spells have changed a bit since the first Fable. There will be spells (fire based and lightning based for example) that you can use in two different ways. You can do a direct target attack, or and area of effect (AOE) spell. The AOE will do damage to enemies all around you, while the direct attack only hits one target. They have also done away with the spell menu from the first Fable.

Overall I would still say I’m pretty psyched for the games release. It comes out in the US on October 21, 2008. I hope this entry helps you decide if you would like to try this game out.