Fable II (Xbox 360)
Fable II promises the world. But be careful what you wish for.
10/22/2008 7:02 PM | 10 Comments | Page 1 of 3
What's Hot: Fascinating moral dilemmas; An ever-changing world; Innovative approach to role-play
What's Not: Poorly sketched characters; Awful maps; Weak co-op
Gus Mastrapa
Status: Chickens that shoot lasers out of their eyes.
This is what it must feel like to be Peter Molyneux.
starts and ends on a wish. In the early minutes of Lionhead's ambitious role-playing adventure, the player stumbles upon an enchanted music box -- a device said to grant the owner's greatest desire. But we know how these things go. The White family in the classic horror story "The Monkey's Paw" fell into a similar trap. First they wish for money and they get it, in the form of a life insurance payout when their son is killed in an industrial accident. Distraught, they wish their son back to life. They're granted that wish, as well: Their son's mangled corpse comes loping back. Before they get a chance to lay eyes on the horror they've wished into existence, they use their last wish to send the zombie back to its grave.
W.W. Jacobs could have been talking about
Fable II's mastermind Peter Molyneux when he wrote that story back in 1903. In the tale, the sergeant-major, haunted by his experience with the cursed object, said this of the mystic who imbued the severed claw with its powers: "He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow."
Rose, we hardly knew ye.
So when Rose, the protagonist's naïve sibling in
Fable II, verbalizes her dream of finding sanctuary in the opulent Castle Fairfax, she seals her own fate. Up in the ivory tower we meet Lucius -- an agent of evil in league with Molyneux. Lucius may pull the trigger, but it's the game's creators who predestined the ensuing murderous act. They're the ones pulling the strings. They kill Rose and mortally wound the game's hero.
What is the Lollypop Guild and why should I care?
And so our story begins. Peter Molyneux and company thrust the player (and faithful canine companion) down a path towards vengeance. There are many byways to take on this journey, plenty of scenery at which to rubberneck on the way, but all roads lead toward the same finale.
Fable II gives players choices, but they're all like the choices made in "The Monkey's Paw" -- wishes fraught with consequence. Eat a pie to regain health and your character gets fat. Use magic and glowing blue cracks form across your face. The bigger the decision, the more monumental the impact on the world or your countenance. Some choices transform the landscape of Albion, turning wretched camps into thriving cities. Others simply change the townsfolk's opinion of you. But all these deeds can't change fate.
Destiny awaits at the end of a quest line. There, way off in the future, there's a showdown to fight. A choice to be made. And know that no matter what you decide, there will be consequences. That's the fascinating frustration of
Fable II -- and the frustration of the lives we live every day, really. You can't escape cause and effect. There's no cheating death. And sometimes you have to make sacrifices.
