Fable II * * * * *

WOW!! I really cant do this game justice. If you havent played Fable 1 on the xbox you NEED to! But this one will be 100x amped up if the pre release info is up to snuff. It is scheduled for launch in a regular and limited edition on 10/21/08 and is a MUST GET! The limited edition comes with all the usual crap (a figure a making of DVD some playing cards) and some extra content. Im excited to see what the extra content may be but all they are saying is that it will require an xbox live account.



First an overview of fable 1 in BOLD for all those who have never played it.
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Fable features a character-customization system based on the concept that everything the main character does affects him to a certain extent, measurable through counters accessible through the game's menu, or more generally through his overall appearance, which will change depending on the player's choices. Eating too much causes the character to gain weight. Appeasing his wife will cause her to buy him presents, whereas abusing her leads to divorce. Drinking too much alcohol can cause him to become sick and vomit. The character will also obtain expressions throughout the game which can affect his personality.

Every article of clothing the character acquires will change his in-game appearance. He can be further customized through a variety of haircuts, facial hair, and tattoo cards that allow for a range of body modification options. The clothing, hairstyle, and tattoos the character wears will affect the way he is seen by the non-player characters.

The character's statistics also affect his outward appearance. High levels of Strength cause larger muscles, high levels of Skill increase height, and knowing high-level Will powers (magic spells) causes arcane tattoos to appear on the body and begin to glow.

The hero has a positive or negative alignment. Their actions will award either good points, which produce a positive alignment, or evil points, which produce a negative alignment. For example, killing monsters or saving villagers will result in achieving good points, whereas killing an innocent person, breaking laws, or abusing a spouse will accumulate evil points. The apparel of the character also affects his alignment; dark clothing earns evil points and bright clothing earns good points. The alignment affects not only the responses of the non-player characters but also the appearance of the character. A hero with an abundance of positive alignment will soon find a halo surrounding his head, butterflies swarming around him and his hair will turn blonde. An evil character will sprout horns, emit a red haze from around his legs, draw flies, and have glowing red eyes, in addition to balding.

Over the course of the game, the character ages physically. However, contrary to popular belief, the age of the character has nothing to do with how long the game has been played; rather, how many times the player has accessed experience upgrades in the Guild. Whether he is good or evil, his hair will start to turn white as he grows older. The apparent age of the character is related to the core skills he acquires; using magic often will cause the character to age faster.
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Fable II will take place in Albion, 500 years after Fable's setting, in a colonial era resembling the time of highwaymen or the Enlightenment; guns are still primitive, and large castles and cities have developed in the place of towns. Unlike the original, the player may choose to be either male or female and you have a pet dog that changes with you. A Co-op option will also be avalable! New aspects of the character alignment system include corruption, purity, kindness, and cruelty which will enhance or degrade a character's features. The player can be good but unpopular socially, or be evil yet charming, etc.



The family aspect of the Fable series will also be built upon. Now you can have children who will take after good ol daddy or mommy! The sex aspect, relatively unimportant in the first game, has also been built upon significantly. Players will be able to choose to have protected or unprotected sex (and by extension choose whether or not to have a child). Female player characters will become pregnant, and they will undergo the relevant physical changes. And dont worry, sex will still fade to black as in Fable 1.


Since the game will take place over a hero's lifetime, many things will change; Molyneux gave an example of a trade camp that the player could either help or destroy. Trading in such camps would increase their profit, resulting in a small town growing around them, while stealing from the camp or massacring the camp will result in the abandonment of the area.



Additionally, every accessible property (properties that can be entered by the player) in the world is ownable, and possessions often unlocks further quests. The houses will be furnishable with furniture etc available to buy. In addition titles will be awarded for buying property; if one were to buy every building and piece of land in a town they may become the mayor of that town, greater possessions leads to higher titles such as king, and eventually emperor of the entire land of Albion.

OFFICAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND HERE