ANTICIPATION: Fable 2

Welcome to Anticipation, our weekly feature about future games we are looking forward to!


Fable: for quite a while before its release on the original Xbox, 'Project Ego' was the source of much rumor and speculation, as well as the occasional conference room speech by Peter Molyneaux, the title's creator. Molyneaux had already impressed the gaming world with such excellent 'god games' as Populous and Black & White, as well as a variety of sim titles like Theme Park and The Movies, and many watched in anticipation as he touted the incredible list of featured ideas in his new pet project.

When Fable arrived on the scene, I had partaken of the green Kool-Aid and purchased an Xbox, despite every Nintendo-fanboy molecule of my being screaming in objection. The cold, hard reality was that my beloved Cube, awesome though it was, lacked certain games in its library that intrigued me, and Fable was one such title. I picked it up on day one, and plunged deep into the virtual fairy tale that had so many talking.

I spent many hours playing Fable (though I never quite finished it!), and truly, there were some impressive features at play here. Extensive trading systems, side quests, interactive NPC's, aging, tatoos, hairstyles, armor, weapons... it got a bit dizzying at times! But while I found much to admire about the game, it was definitely lacking a few of the promised features, and the core gameplay just seemed pretty mindless. I guess I was pretty spoiled, having enjoyed the Legend of Zelda games, which are the closest comparable title to Fable I can think of. Still, there was so much potential in the fundamental idea behind Fable, and I guess that I hope to see some of that potential realized in its sequel.

I watched a great video demonstration online once, given by Molyneaux at last year's GDC. I'm sure you know the one; the Hero is walking in a forest along a road, and his dog accompanies him. Molyneaux goes on to demonstrate the amazing interactivity and AI that the dog possesses; it automatically defends the master, knows whether you are using a ranged or melee weapon, attacks the enemy it is best suited to defeat, etc. Some great stuff, and all of it just one small part of the bigger picture!

The enhancements to graphics, sound, effects and, I hope, combat should all come together to result in one impressive final package, not to mention new levels of world immersion. Features like full-scale towns, family development and the early industrial age setting are also welcome additions. So, come Spring, you can bet I'll be choosing Good or Evil once again on a whole new level.