Game Review Part 2...Fable 2

I thought I'd do a little review, starting with Fable 2:

Now I know it's been around for about a year, but I thought I would not even begin to get into it, as it was a Role Playing Game (RPG) which is not really my bag at all. However, after some prodding from Sparky (who just got it with an X360 for his birthday & was raving about it) I decided to download the first episode from Xbox Live Marketplace.

My main observation was the similarity between Fable 2 & Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - getting experience points (XP) from beating enemies & upgrading skills & weapons. However there are also comparisons to more open world (sandbox) games, like the GTA series.

Once you get through the child stage, which is really just a back-story & scene setting section, then a whole world is open for you to discover (only part of it, if you go through the episode method) & begin to gain employment (to earn gold, which you can exchange for property/supplies/weapons), or do quests, various missions which progress you through the game.

If you just did the main quests, you could probably complete it in say 8-10 hours. However, doing all the side-quests, finding all the secrets & generally experiencing the world of Albion, created by Lionhead Studios in full, game-time is huge - days rather than hours.

And if you do get through to the end, there are some download-able content packs (DLC) which open up more quests & regions to explore.

I had great fun with this game, which gets better the more you play & develop your character. Also I think that repeat plays might well be in order, to try to get some of the the more challenging achievements. So overall I would heartily agree with the XPlay rating of a 5 out of 5.