The first Fable game was tremendously hyped by the zealous Peter Molyneux, but unfortunately failed short of expectations. While definitely a decent action/RPG, it simply did not offer the depth it promised. Now when before the sequel’s release Peter came in and said Fable II would offer everything Fable didn’t have time to, we were skeptic. Did Fable II manage to do so?

Well yes and no. The game is definitely good, and it’s a much more free and non-linear experience than its predecessor, but there are some awkward bits that just don’t fit in, like the designers just concentrated on adding as many features as possible, and neglected making them fit together.

The game world is free-roam, much like in the Elder Scrolls series, and there is no set quest-path. There is this annoying bread-crumb feature which shows you the path to the nearest quest, but fortunately you can turn that off and just do your own thing. There’s also your pet dog, which acts as a treasure sniffer and is quite handy actually.

The obvious addition that was sorely missed in the first game is the ability to choose either a male or female character. Both genders can get married and have children (there are even STDs). There are jobs that you can do to earn money (such as blacksmithing, woodcutting etc) which take the form of minigames or combat.

Speaking of the combat, the system is very similar to the previous game, and can be either a button mash fest or can be played more tactically, with the latter having the reward of cooler combo moves and fewer scars from wounds. Death is not an impediment as it just results in the character being respawned with a small loss of experience, and the loss can be easily recuperated either through adventuring or even buying experience potions.

The world is dynamic, and changes with time and with your actions, which can shape the fate of entire settlements. Pretty much everything in the game is about choice; every choice affects either you or the environment. Sadly it’s more a case of the former than the latter.

Fable II ultimately feels like a potpourri of free-roam RPGS, action-adventure games and the Sims, integrating elements of all, but not managing to rise above the level of mediocre with either of them. This formula has been applied before, but at least in the case of say, Spore, it was done right. In this case, it seems like developers were trying too hard.

Again, this is not to say that Fable II is a bad game, not at all, it’s decent for casual gaming or a weekend rental, but it’s not the revolution Peter Molyneux would have us to believe it is.