Fable 2 will it deliver, can it deliver?

Fable came under a lot of scrutiny from gamers, the gaming press, and maybe received more than it actually deserved. The reason for this was the game's designer and mogul of all things gaming, Peter Molyneux mentioned several features, pre-release that transpired, weren't included in the final product. Amongst the angst ridden gasps of despair and betrayal, the non inclusion of touted features separated gamers into two camps (well, maybe not so black and white as this). There were the gamers who appreciated what Fable had to offer, and the aesthetically pleasing design of the whole game was something fresh and intriguing. The other miserable lot, simply moaned that the game lacked the touted features, which for them would have made the experience far more compelling for their gaming tastes.

Let's face the facts; Fable was engineered and designed to accommodate a wide demographic of gamers, and this was oh so evident in the way it played; the simple combative elements, the rather linear and short story mode, the optional side quests, the intuitive yet basic leveling up system, and let's not forget the wailing guild master every couple of minutes (in case you forgot what you were actually supposed to be doing). I'm confident that most competent and experienced gamers would know what they were up to in their adventuring, hence the inclusion of the option to switch the bastard off in the re-release Lost Chapters.

Anyway, I digress. Fable was generally regarded as a good/great game, despite the lack of touted features, which we were told in an attempt to claw back some semblance of reality; were not possible, or feasible on the old Xbox hardware. The poor baby couldn't cope with the likes of growing plants, free-roaming lands, offspring, and player characters turning into werewolves at night in conjunction with all the features that were included.

Whether these features would have made the game more enjoyable for either you or I, or more relevantly, the moaners who complained and supposedly made death threats to good old Peter, is perhaps by the by, as we'll never know. I think what possibly got people's backs up was Peter's excitement in his own ideas. His unmatched enthusiasm caused a great stir amongst his own team, and of course everyone who listened. On one hand, as a gamer it's great to hear about ideas during the development process of games. On the the other hand, you can start to look at things through rose tinted glasses or worse, become overly cynical (which I think a lot of people became - and in hindsight perhaps they were right).

Fable 2 is on the horizon, and of course Lionhead and Peter Molyneux have drip fed us game details. We know about the one touch combat system, which again indicates that Fable 2 will also be a game designed to cater for experienced and novice gamers. We know about the 500 year gap between it and it's predecessor, meaning we have an advancement in technology and such like; although how much this changes the core gameplay is yet to be seen as you are still forced into two groups of combat which are achievable, regardless of the weapons used i.e melee and ranged.

We know about the dog now and how this feature is an extension of the players' interaction with the game world. It sounds rather novel, and we're told that it won't be an intrusive feature but will grow on us to the point where we're forced or rather, compelled to care about it.

We can now have more of an impact on the world economy, beyond affecting trade routes by scaring the delivery folks away. We can buy more property and become more of a tycoon where rents can be set rather than it being generated by the game itself, and thus subsequently affecting the game world in more diverse and impacting ways.

The lines between being evil and good aren't going to be so clear cut, and thus will present a more emotive gaming experience. We'll have to think about the outcomes of our actions a little more carefully, beyond do we let such and such person live or die. The tag line, every action has a consequence will be more relevant this time round.

We know hints of the multiplayer aspect beyond the single player experience, the fact we can team up more with AI as part of the story is a welcome feature, and the fact that this time players are going to have more choice in how their character looks. More importantly the sex of our hero or heroine, should I say is now a tangible choice for the player, and one that presents it's own set of gameplay differences.

Fable 2 certainly has a lot of possibility and a lot to live up to, and I think in some cases there's going to be stuff added that might not be overly necessary, but included all the same for sake of shutting up the moaners. I couldn't care less about trees bearing the scars of my sword swipes, years into the game, or the fact that if I chop a tree down it will grow back over time. These features are perhaps something to interest the gamer for a moment in their playtime; but in the grand scheme of the adventure are something that most gamers are going to amuse themselves with for 5 minutes and then forget about. Unless Lionhead have really pulled out all the stops and thought about everything in their game world, there is a possibility that some features are going to be lost on a number of those playing. However, I have faith in the team at Lionhead and of course Peter realizing his vision of the game idea he originally had in Fable; but due to time, money and just a lack of power in the hardware, couldn't produce how he intended it to be.

Peter has kept his mouth firmly closed, well maybe not as firmly as he could, but much more in check than when Fable was being developed. He's jokingly let ideas slip, but ultimately has divulged enough morsels of info to keep the gaming press and more importantly the gamers intrigued and interested. We've not seen anything of the game world beyond the basic looking tech demos and few screens which have hardly (or at least I hope) conveyed how gorgeous the game can and will look.

There's still a huge element of mystery surrounding Fable 2 and more-so in regards to how the story will play out, and how our character will affect the goings on in Albion. Obviously Fable 2 will keep a lot of the ideas we've seen in the first game and of course expand upon the elements that gamers in general liked, such as the villager AI and the rather amusing emote system. However on a more critical note and the reason behind this article, is how well these new features and gameplay mechanics are going to be received?

We still have the whole concept of a game that is being developed to cater for a wide audience, and I guess as a developer, it's not an easy task to keep the loudest gamers (the hardcore forum venting bunch) happy, and the casuals gamers; the guys who like to dip in and out of games interspersed with the other forms of entertainment mediums which make up their "free" time; who also won't necessarily notice the deeper nuances of a game as a result.

As a developer there's definitely something about inclusion with your work, and as the adage says, that why create something that only few people get to see - or perhaps spend why spend valuable time or part of the budget on? It raises the issues for a developer, that including stuff so secret, that few get to see or experience it in the raw (although now we do have a you-tube generation which can inform those who don't experience it in the flesh) becomes an unrewarding exercise. Why spend those precious development hours catering for the minority, especially when you are proud and want to share and be appreciated for your efforts? So inclusion as interpreted by the hardcore fraternity, is perhaps, for them at least, killing the soul of gaming. Games becoming shorter, losing more complex features, and a general toning down of the backbone of games. Yet those in the creation process have the dilemma, and the clawing of a budget to think about.

Undoubtedly, developers have to think about these issues, and with achievements this has perhaps made these decisions a more obvious one. In the past, games have had the age old levels of difficulty to separate the hardcore from the casual, and thus now those who do go beyond the norm are rewarded with the beeping virtual pat on the back points and badges.

So how is Fable 2 going to incorporate the hardcore and the casual, and more importantly at what cost and with what sacrifices? Undoubtedly some features are going to annoy the hell out of the hardcore, whereas be a godsend for the casuals (like the dreaded and flawed save system in Fable). Who is a more important group to please? As a developer working on the same game for years, and of course being gamers themselves, there has to be some sort of balance. Will Fable 2 get it right this time? and perhaps is the vision the team have with the game's achievements the key to this?

I remember beating Fable without leveling up my character throughout the entire game. It made for a tougher more rewarding experience, but was something I tasked myself with rather than have the game direct me to play this way. This is perhaps what Fable 2, and games in general need, and as mentioned, achievements are the potential purveyors of mechanics like this. The team at Lionhead, seem to be an imaginative bunch, and so there has to be hope that in this regard, they can pull it off.

As gamers we naturally will ask numerous questions prior to actually getting our mits on playing; Will Fable 2 deliver? Will all the features we've heard about be included (and obviously some new)? Will the whole "Love" angle have us all riveted to our screens? Will grown men be crying like babies as a result, and will everyone have a shared but different experience that will be discussed on Internet forums for years to come? Will the combat truly allow for individual flair and call for a genuine mastery, should gamers choose? Will Fable 2 go so far beyond what the first game offered, we'll be bowled over by its supremacy, or will we be left with that feeling we get all the time, that it's a sequel and feels familiar with some added features thrown in for good measure?

It's hard to know what we really want from a game without entering the realms of impossibility, it's hard to judge at this stage what is going to deliver, especially when we all have our own opinions on what makes an experience go beyond good, and become great.

Either way, this year when Fable 2 launches, once again the moaners will come out of the wood work and complain about this and that. However, for the majority of gamers, hardcore or casual, it's safe to say that if you enjoyed Fable, then Fable 2 is going to be bigger, better and a more complete experience regardless of what features the game has or does not have.

There's a lot riding on Fable 2, Lionhead know it, Microsoft know it, and the gaming masses know it too. There's most certainly some posturing and something to be proved here, and the ball is firmly in Lionhead's court at the moment. As far as I am concerned, I loved Fable, despite the fact that it was too easy for my tastes, it was rushed (as Lost Chapters proved) and delivered, but not in the way it all sounded pre-release. They say lightening never strikes in the same place twice, let's hope that the positives from this kind of saying hold true for Fable 2. I'm quietly excited for the game and I guess the lack of media blitzing has something to do with this. Let's hope the hush hush approach continues to keep us all interested to the point that when the game finally arrives, we are all simply bowled over, because as gamers we love games, and can appreciate good/great games for what they are and not what they aren't. The amalgamation of overt hype is what creates the disappointments in the gaming industry, and so ultimately the silent veil that shrouds Fable 2 is thus far perhaps its biggest asset at this point in time.

In closing, and in answer to the original question, can Fable deliver and will it? Well the answer is ultimately subjective to what expectations the individual gamer has. Although expectations are also determined and shaped by what has tactically been released on the game such as screenshots, movies and sometimes the words uttered from Peter's over excited mouth. I can only offer an opinion based on the same facets of information we have all seen already. I think Fable 2 will deliver, as it most certainly has to if Lionhead are to retain their well established credibility that for some moaners, was tarnished with Fable. The question of whether the game can deliver is of course down to individual perception and expectation. In this respect, as long as the released media is perfectly indicative of the gameplay (which it looks like it has been thus far) then sure Fable 2 can, and will deliver the kind of game the fans are after, and more pleasingly, the kind of game the moaners can adhere to as well.

Posted By: Robert Cram

Date: 2008-01-20