Or pay attention and keep a mistress or boy toy on the side, if you like. Neglect your spouse and you’ll be divorced. If you’re male, you can decide to get married or run off.īigamy is an option (just hope you don’t get caught). Unsafe sex can lead to a disease, pregnancy or both. You must choose between safe and unsafe sex (condoms can be bought at a general store). You can flirt, lead a willing partner to a bed and have sex (you hear some ooh-ing and ahh-ing, but the screen is black). Molyneux makes a brave statement by incorporating the very basic facts of life in Fable II. But far more impressive is how Fable II’s land of Albion comes to feel like a real world where you, the player, can choose your own destiny, even in your personal life. The basic mechanics of battling foes with spell and sword are fun and provide the requisite eye candy. With this game he puts to rest the aura of overblown hype and perplexing disappointment that has surrounded him for all these years, even as he has been inducted into the Order of the British Empire and awarded a French Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. In that sense, Fable II is a vindication for Mr. His game Black & White, released in 2001, reprised that dynamic with more nuance, with the player as either a vengeful or beneficent Jehovah.īut Black & White and the first Fable, released in 2004, felt a bit undercooked their execution fell short of their ambition. With his first hit, Populous (1989), he practically invented the “god game” genre, making the player a deity with power over a planet. Molyneux, perhaps alone among major designers, has focused on the consequences of how power is achieved and exercised. Many games place the player in a position of virtual power, but Mr.
Peter Molyneux, the game’s designer, has spent two decades examining the trade-offs between virtue and expedience and the relationship between rulers and ruled. It engages in its second-by-second interaction, but more important, it also provides the broad capacity for players to explore the depths and limits of their own morality. How you play is entirely up to you.įable II is a thoroughly insightful piece of entertainment wrapped in a colorful, almost deceptively simple package. That’s how I have played Fable II, the delightful and provocative new role-playing game from Microsoft for the Xbox 360. I sacrificed my honor in desperate lust to become king. I turned from the path of righteousness and fell into corruption. With the highest office in the land within my grasp, I was seduced into betraying my principles. And as my wealth grew, so did my quest for power.
Lionized far and wide, I returned home after years battling my nation’s enemies, a paragon of virtue. I sacrificed my body to protect the innocent. I was an honorable man when I began my quest for ultimate power.