Review: Fable II

While many gamers have the press conferences for both Sony and Nintendo pretty well figured out, the big question mark in the room is the Microsoft conference. There are a few titles that most expect to see from the company, but there is a lot of mystery in the air, and a hope that some really huge surprises are lying in w


Surprisingly enough, the simple driving segments of the game fare worse than the shooting gallery portions. It should be easy. Players have two virtual reigns, left and right. Pull on the left reign and let the right go slack to steer left, reverse that to steer right. Regardless, guiding Seren along Albion's roads is, at best, a haphazard endeavor. At worst, it's a never ending exercise in course and speed correction - and it makes up a major portion of The Journey's playt


Perhaps it could be as simple as just changing the type of fabric for your belt or the type of grain for your wooden bow, or maybe it could be more complex, such as Red Dead Redemption 2 in which you apply engravings, markings, leather straps, etc. Maybe even taking heed from Jedi: Fallen Order and applying different styles to specific weapon pa


Fable: The Journey represents Microsoft 's latest - and likely final - attempt to prove that Kinect , in its current incarnation, is a viable control interface for more than just dance simulators and mini-game collections. Developed by Lionhead Studios , with the now departed Peter Molyneux serving as Creative Consultant, The Journey puts players on a guided, first-person tour of Albion which, thanks to the power of Unreal Engine, has never looked better. But does the game play as good as it looks? Read on for our full review of Fable: The Journ


The game itself roughly breaks down into two primary modes of play: driving sequences and combat sequences. Gabriel and Theresa travel the lands of Albion in a horse-drawn buggy, with frequent stops during which Gabriel must use his newly acquired magical gauntlets to dispatch wave after wave of threatening foes. Rest stops, where Gabriel can tend to Seren, help break up the experie


Anyone who's seen a Mad Max movie will easily be able to spot the direct influence of those films in Borderlands , Gearbox Software's colorful, cel shaded open world role-playing shooter. The alien planet of Pandora is a dangerous wasteland and pretty much everyone who lives there is insane, but that's all part of its charm. The plot of the games follows groups of fortune seekers who are trying to track down mysterious Vaults full of immensely powerful alien technology, and we'd love to see a filmmaker tackle both the offbeat humor and the treasure-hunting quest at the heart of the Borderlands ser

Choosing to be good or evil was usually straightforward. Several of the main quests had an optional way to end them depending on the outcome, typically spare the foe for good points and kill them for evil. There were a couple quests where there were two available quests but they were the same event, the choice was just to determine what side the player was on which actually was a cool way of making it feel like you were choosing a side. A more fun way to rack up the evil points was to just go on a Grand Theft Auto style rampage in town and kill a bunch of guards and civilians, but again no killing children since they take away your weapons in the towns with kids. This can actually cause some problems, since you may want to go to town but end up having a massive bounty in several towns that doesn't expire for a few days.


Set 50 years after the events of Fable III (read our review ), Fable: The Journey tells the story of Gabriel , a young Dweller who becomes separated from his caravan and is ultimately called upon to save Albion from The Corruption, an evil entity that is bent on destroying the land with flowing rivers of ropey, bloody goo. Gabriel is aided in his quest by Theresa, the enigmatic, blind seer from the numbered Fable games, and his horse, Seren. It's a classic Hero's Journey setup that should lead to rousing Adventure Games crafting guide - but before we get to any of that, a mess

Without a doubt, Fable II is one of the most anticipated games of the year. Still, in the weeks leading up to its release, the feeling of dread was palpable. Many gamers remember the hype surrounding the original title, only to be disappointed when they received an experience that was great but not the classic they had felt they were promised.


Fable 2 was set 500 years after the original story, and Fable 3 set only 50 years after the second game. The game's creator, Peter Molyneux told IGN that the time jumps between each games time periods were a "big mistake" and so I'm confident that Playground Games may honour that thinking and just send things back to simplicity. I'd like to see a game set somewhere in those 500 years but through a story that doesn't deteriorate the lore for Fable 2 an


Given the current Hollywood craze for comic book movies, now is the perfect time for a movie version of inFAMOUS . This open world game casts players as Cole McGrath, a bike courier who gains electricity-based superpowers when he's caught at the center of a devastating explosion. After the smoke clears, Cole is faced with the choice to either become a superhero and save the citizens of Empire City, or use his powers to become a supervillain and make people fear and despise him. No matter which path you pick, this is one comic book style video game that we definitely want to see on f