Fable 2 Coming to Xbox 360?

[fitbabits]

According to Computer & Videogames (http://www.computerandvideogames.com), Fable 2 is in development for Xbox 360 (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/r/?page=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/news/news_story.php(que)id=128840).

...a source has revealed to CVG that he interviewed Peter Molyneux recently and the Lionhead genius revealed not only that he's really enjoying making Fable 2 for Xbox 360, but also spilled a few tasty gameplay morsels.
Hmm, if the concept is fully realized this time around, this may be just what the doctor ordered come Christmas 2006.

[Deathbane27]

Rather big if.

[UnderHero5]

People aren't actually going to fall for the same trick yet AGAIN are they?

Come on now.

Fable was a good game. Obviously not what it was said to be. That can be said about pretty much all of Peter's games.
But are you really going to fall for the hype again?

What they wanted to do was perfectly possible on the normal Xbox. They didn't do it. Better hardware isn't going to change anything.

[Vandenh]

Nice! I loved Fable... I just loved the messing around a bit with your character and the "fake old Europe" feel to it ;) If they just change the world into an open streaming world I will be happy.

But actually Peter said Fable 2 was coming to 360 a long time ago, I guess this is just the first real information we get.

[fitbabits]

People aren't actually going to fall for the same trick yet AGAIN are they?

Come on now.

Fable was a good game. Obviously not what it was said to be. That can be said about pretty much all of Peter's games.
But are you really going to fall for the hype again?

What they wanted to do was perfectly possible on the normal Xbox. They didn't do it. Better hardware isn't going to change anything.
Say what you will, but Peter sure can spin a yarn - even if 80% of it is hyperbole! :)

[fitbabits]

Nice! I loved Fable... I just loved the messing around a bit with your character and the "fake old Europe" feel to it ;) If they just change the world into an open streaming world I will be happy.

But actually Peter said Fable 2 was coming to 360 a long time ago, I guess this is just the first real information we get.
Plus, you get to have a constant feline companion! w00f!

[DigitalFirefly]

I'll probably get this. I liked Fable for the Xbox. Sure it was hyped beyond all reason, but it was till a good title. Now the question is do we wait a year after it comes out for the release of Fable 2: the Lost Chapters?

[PantherModern]

I don't know if I would say that Fable "wasn't what it was said to be." I always knew it was an action RPG. That's not to say that it didn't have some really high concept ideas that got dropped (most games do, they just don't talk about it openly most of the time), but Molyneux has apologized openly for spouting his mouth off about upcoming projects, and I haven't seen him make any grand speeches about his games and what they are going to do in a long time.

I mean, the core ideas that were hyped were present and accounted for. A good/bad system, NPC's that reacted to your alignment, marriages, character customization, aging, and so on. I mean, all of that is pretty impressive in my book.

As far as everything they wanted to do being possible on XB 1, I don't know. I remember them saying that calculating the AI routines to keep the trees growing (a feature mentioned early on) was just an exponential exercise, and on a more powerful system may have been possible. It's all about optimization, and I think that simply saying they dropped the ball with the game is a bit of an overstatement. That's almost like saying that Morrowind should have been like Oblivion, they just dropped the ball. Hardware can make a HUGE difference in scope and what a game maker can do.

Personally, I skipped all the hype surrounding Fable and ended up really enjoying it. It had a great concept and a sometimes flawed execution, but apart from a more limited scope than I expected, the game was fun and cool. It's actually one of the few RPG's that I have finished in the last couple years. Except for Shadow Hearts 1 & 2.

[JediSanf]

Just make it longer. I'm talking a minimum of 50 hours. Fable was a fine game, I just couldn't buy into the 'play for 5 hours, age 30 years' rhetoric.

EDIT: Who the hell uses the word cert. in a published article? Such sloppy language is inexcusable for professionals.

[Morratut]

Peter Molyneux reminds of Mad Ken from Sony. Both of them are full of shit. I don't believe a word they say.

[DigitalFirefly]

this may be just what the doctor ordered come Christmas 2006[/I].

Yeah right. Probably 2007.

[MosBen]

I played Fable with a friend (who doesn't follow gaming news at all and therefore never got any of the hype) and we both enjoyed it quite a bit. Could they have done all the things they did do (graphics, changing your character, etc.) as well as making the world completely open? I don't claim to know. I wish it had been open-ended, but then I think more freedom in games is almost always better. Still, not being able to wander around the world doesn't make Soul Calibur any worse, nor do I enjoy an FPS any less because my movement options are limited. Fable was fun to play and that's enough for me.

[Chimpbot]

Personally, I skipped all the hype surrounding Fable and ended up really enjoying it. It had a great concept and a sometimes flawed execution, but apart from a more limited scope than I expected, the game was fun and cool. It's actually one of the few RPG's that I have finished in the last couple years.

That's exactly what I did; I ignored everything about the game until roughly a month before it came out. I hadn't heard of most of the stuff they cut until after I was already well into the game...and really, it didn't bother me. I had a blast with it the first time around and I'm having a blast with the Lost Chapters.
Really, all this means is that I'll have to get a 360 now...I'll wait until closer to Fable 2 to even consider the option, though.

[Roc Ingersol]

Start with 1 Fable:
drop the load times
expand the 'areas' (less rails)
add more quests (story and side)
add more 'GTA-ish-ness'(tm)
= teh win

[Morrolan]

We contacted Lionhead right away to discover the veracity of this here Fable, but were met with a firm "no comment" but we'll update you with more as soon as we have it. But we think it's an absolute cert and we'd expect Fable 2 in all likelihood to make a debut for Christmas 2006.
There are so many things wrong with that paragraph... Apparently you can still be taking an ESL course while working for CVG. Interesting.

Anyway, I'm not biting. Looking at Fable for what it was supposed to be, I would never get my hopes up again. Looking at Fable for what it actually was, it's nothing really worth my excited over a sequel. Either way, this news is not all that earth-shattering to me. Fable was an utterly disposable, forgettable action-RPG that did exactly nothing innovative, aside from the purely visual thing of your aging character. If you choose to buy into Peter's line again, well, whatever. But I am actually quite surprised that there are people saying that they will buy a 360 based on the strength of Fable's gameplay. What?

[AntB]

I'm with PantherModern on this one. I'm guessing Peter came up with Fable way before he knew the hardware limitations. So what he did was throw his grand idea at you, before he knew the some of the things he wanted just werent possible.

It's like saying Oblivion is what Morrowind should have been.
The Radiant AI simply wouldn't have been possible on the Xbox.

People need to stop buying into the hype and enjoy the games for what they are.

Shit, I'd be dissapointed too if I came up with this great idea for a game and then realize that a lot of the stuff that I wanted to bring in just wouldn't be possible. I would still try to make the game to my best abilities. Just apologize that it can't be everything I made it up to be. And try to make up for it later.

Some developers ideas are really limited by current hardware and hopefully in the future we'll see some great stuff come out. When people aren't limited by their hardware or publishers. And we'll see the no talent hacks come out too, when they finally have no excuse.

[jeffool]

I believe! (That it'll be a fun game.)

[bean19]

Three things I want in a sequel to Fable:

1. Don't FORCE aging on me in a cut-scene. Age throughout the game. I should be able to rocket through the game and finish as a young adult if I choose, or do every side quest and little bit of story I can find and then get a bit older. Actually, I wouldn't mind losing the aging bit altogether. The game certainly wasn't long enough to feel like someone's whole life. For that, it would need to be as huge as an Elder Scrolls game.

2. Make the art style more realistic. I get that they were trying for "story-book", but I'd like it to be the ethereal and beautiful storybook art of a "Knight saves the princess from a dragon" type story instead of the current art that is more appropriate for an amusing nursery rhyme. Actually, they kind of flip between the two. . . deforming the village characters, but leaving the main character semi-realistic (except as a child where he is MORE deformed than the others. . . as are all of the children in this game). I found myself not interested in the villagers and towns as much because they were such charicatures.

3. Meaningful story branching. Okay, I realize that making story-branching based on good or evil is difficult, but they need to take a page out of Bioware's book. Playing as a bad guy or a good guy made a real difference in how the scenes played out, even if they followed the same settings and plot points. In KOTOR, if you are a bad guy then you get different cut scenes, dialogues, and endings. In Fable, it mostly just impacted the way you looked and how people reacted to you.

[ezra]

Hmm, if the concept is fully realized this time around, this may be just what the doctor ordered come Christmas 2006.

And if we know anything about the first fable, I'd change that 6 to a 9

[Kelegacy]

I'm not even going to follow this game. No fucking way. Play it, yes, but I'm not going to be hosed this time.

[Deadend]

The aging system in the first one sucked.
The Hero aged based on your XP levels, not on anything else, nothing else aged. That game had no proper passage of time, just a hero aging. Whisper never grew older!

Fable 2 needs less liner areas, give me a dungeon with multiple routes.
The story also needs to drop that chosen one crap, where the Hero had some fate shit going on. Let me be a hero based on my actions, not on some weird power in the blood.

[The Iron Weasel]

I'm not even going to follow this game. No fucking way. Play it, yes, but I'm not going to be hosed this time.

I'm with you on this one.

[megaman]

Wud be nice if they added a story this time around

[novicius]

I enjoyed Fable immensely, played through it multiple times. Would have been nice to have more missions at the very least, but I don't feel "betrayed".

I easily look forward to Fable 2.

[Spoon]

Agreed, I think fable would have been AWESOME if it was just lengthier, I mean, is that too much to ask? my friend and I were playing in his dorm, with the shades drawn, you know, to blot out sunlight, and we get that giant sword at the end, and are immensely dissapointed that you can't at least, run around the lands destroying souls with it.
I mean come on.

but length isn't always as good as width.

think about it! ;-)

[bean19]

Agreed, I think fable would have been AWESOME if it was just lengthier, I mean, is that too much to ask? my friend and I were playing in his dorm, with the shades drawn, you know, to blot out sunlight, and we get that giant sword at the end, and are immensely dissapointed that you can't at least, run around the lands destroying souls with it.
I mean come on.

but length isn't always as good as width.

think about it! ;-)

I've thought about it, and I'd have to say that this is the most homoerotic post maybe ever.

So does the story end with you and your friend having sex in the shower?

[Rafer]

I think they should keep the length, but add more side quests, maybe a GTA style "you are 35% complete" thing. I don't have time for another 70 hour Dark Cloud 2-esque mostly-filler action rpg... unless it's called Dark Cloud 3.

Interesting he mentioned a dog. Originally Fable had a dog in it at one point, it was suppossed to serve the purpose of showing you which way to go instead of a blinking point on a map. Hopefully they can take a little from Shadow of the Colossus and make your animal companion a useful and compelling character.

[bean19]

I think they should keep the length, but add more side quests, maybe a GTA style "you are 35% complete" thing. I don't have time for another 70 hour Dark Cloud 2-esque mostly-filler action rpg... unless it's called Dark Cloud 3.

Interesting he mentioned a dog. Originally Fable had a dog in it at one point, it was suppossed to serve the purpose of showing you which way to go instead of a blinking point on a map. Hopefully they can take a little from Shadow of the Colossus and make your animal companion a useful and compelling character.

I LOVE the horse in Shadow of the Colossus. The animations are brilliant!

My one complaint about Shadow is that they should have released it on next-gen. It shows the constraints of our current generation far too clearly.

[insidious]

I'd think they have a good foundation for the code that could be carried over to a sequel. Add in some of the improvements (read: initially dropped features) as well as branching paths and some actual events that are alignment based instead of just townspeople reacting. And jeez, is it just me or is it unrealistic to be completing my epic destiny while pushing 70 (i know, age could be reduced) - i'd like to go legendary around 50 or so and just whittle away my twilight years on side quests. Is that so much to ask? I'd easily let the idea of a dog go if a sequel promised any of the above.

But i'll still probably play it.

[H.Bogard]

I didnt know anything about Fable untill it was announced for the PC (dont.........i know what you're thinking! dont mother fucker just dont!!!) I played through it and it's pretty freaking awesome, i had a FF geek install the game and play it too , he sings about the game all day.


My one complaint about Shadow is that they should have released it on next-gen. It shows the constraints of our current generation far too clearly.

Indeed, my friend has'nt bought the game yet (in favour of bf2 mc and re4) just because he wasnt too excited about the framerate of the game shown in the videos. See the video review at gametrailers.com to know what I'm talking about.

[MosBen]

As to the existence of a sequel, Fable sold so many units that a sequel is all but guaranteed based purely on economics. Ok, so we know there's going to be one, and we know that *most* people at least thought the game was fun, if perhaps a little more shallow than we might have hoped. For me then, the answer is just more: more area to explore more freely, more quests, etc.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Plus, you get to have a constant feline companion! w00f!

Do felines go "woof" in Scotland? :p

[Derella]

I think the general rule of thumb is to ignore Pete Molyneux. Despite what was said in this thread, PM has spouted outlandish claims more recently than you may remember... He dubbed Black and White 2 as the greatest strategy game ever before it was released. Anyone who has played it knows how accurate that statement was.

That said, I didn't hate Fable but I was let down by it. For Fable 2, I'd like them to scrap aging altogether. It's a cool concept, but it didn't make sense. If nothing else, put in a fountain of youth or something.

[Speed_D]

With Fable, I could've done without the aging bit, and even the marriage stuff was gimmicky.

I wish it had been open-ended, but then I think more freedom in games is almost always better.

I don't really have a problem with linear storylines. Some more branching / alternate ways to progress would've been nice. But I'm thinking more along the lines of Deus Ex. Games like Morrowind just bore me to death. Randomly generated npcs, dungeons and towns make me lose interest after the first 5 minutes or so. Plus Morrowind's combat system just sucked. Fable's combat was a lot more fun IMO.

I would definitely like Fable 2 to be longer though. I grabbed Fable on a 5 day rental, finished it, and took it back. That's a bit disappointing.

Most other games don't have a problem with this. Look at Deus Ex, No One Lives Forever 1/2, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate series, Half-Life 1/2, etc. All probably take ~50 hours each and all their levels were designer-created and not randomly generated. Fable 2 should strive for the same.

[Kelegacy]

Indeed, my friend has'nt bought the game yet (in favour of bf2 mc and re4) just because he wasnt too excited about the framerate of the game shown in the videos. See the video review at gametrailers.com to know what I'm talking about.

The graphics and other small technical issues did not ruin SotC at all. No way. Ask anyone who's actually beaten it, or played it (demo doesn't count).

[Zeal]

SotC is one of the few exceptions in which the videogame medium can express itself as art.

[fitbabits]

Do felines go "woof" in Scotland? :p
Dammit, I have cats on the brain. CANINE!

[Xerxes]

I would be very interested in said game. I followed the hype, but was still able to play it for what it was worth. You have to give ole Peter some credit. He apologized. Explained how his eyes got to big for his belly. And said he'd hold off on getting ahead of him self when speaking of his games. Black and White 2 and The Movies are examples of his restraint. Frankly I miss his harping on things. He paints a picture of would gaming could be sometimes.

[jwbxx]

Peter Molyneux was also quoted saying "When you insert this game into your xbox360 console, money will instantly poor out of the screen into your hand, then the gaming experience will be a billion times better then you could imagine."

A year later peter was quoted saying "I'm really, really, really, sorry for this disappointment. But! Fable 3! Will be even better!"