Fable 2...You Almost Had Me

It's been a while since I had such an up and down situation with a game. I've been going back and forth on buy this game since the beginning of the year. First off, I wasn't a big fan of the first game. I've known of Peter Molyneux and his "promises" before so I approached the situation very cautiously. I began to hear about the scar system and having a pet companion. The introduction of Co-Op mode and the ability to start a family had me intrigued. I began my toying with the thought to pick up the game. This was the reason I decided to pick up the game.

The Box art is fantastic. Love the style, the character, and even the font. Add Co-Op and I was ready to give Molyneux a chance.


Then came the circus. Fable was finished. It wasn't finished. It was going to make the date. It wasn't going to. Pub games was released. It sucked. It had glitches. People were going to be punished for exploiting that crap. It was on purpose, kinda. The collector's edition was going to have this or that. Things were removed because of whatever problems. More things were removed. Molyneux rated his own game. It was too high. It was too low. Co-op was not going to make it on the disc.

Right here is when I decided not to get the game. The only real game mechanic that I was interested in and it wasn't going to make the Street Date. F' That. I'm out.

Then they announced it would make street date but in the form of a patch. I'm still out.

Then I saw the Fable 2 Limited Edition Guide Art.

Crap, I'm back in again. I think. Shit, I don't know. I'm so confused.

So in this moment of uncertainty. I decided to sit on it. I waited and talked with friends I knew who had picked up the game. This is what I've gotten.

Co-Op screws up Fable 2. You share one camera view in Co-Op mode. Not just off of one console but System Link and Online Mode too. You both have control over the camera and are constantly trying not to be a nuisance to the other. If you play Online, you cannot see when the other person goes into a story sequence. This means if player one is talking to an NPC, player two just sits there on a paused screen until player one is finished. Finally, you can exploit getting in trouble in town by selecting community service missions and just never doing them.

So I'm done with buying this game. I am officially scratched off the list. Outside of actual game problems, I've heard that some of the Limited Editions didn't even include the in game items that were promised. Some packaging error. Also certain retail managers were promised signed by Molyneux copies of Fable 2. Seeing as how for a certain video game retail chain, there are well over five thousand stores, I wonder if Molyneux will ever be able to deliver on those as well.

I can't stand hype. Some say, there is no negative press. That any attention is good and in this case, help sell more copies of the game. I'm thinking that Fable 2 is selling really well. It's one of those training wheel RPGs that fun and interesting enough that anyone can play. I hope it does well and that people enjoy it, but I'm really impartial to how well it sells. It won't effect me at all. Emotionally, I don't care. But more importantly, I'm not spending the money on this game. And probably not on the next Molyneux game either. But I guess we'll have to see on the next one.

This one is a Pass,
David