Fable 2 and Peter Molyneux

Peter Molyneux (born in 1959 in Guildford, Surrey, UK) is considered one of the world's best developers of computer games. An description regularly used is "inventive". He is especially well known for games like Dungeon Keeper, Populous, and Black & White. His best known flaw is that he sometimes builds up the hype on games too much while they are still under development. In some cases the game meets the hype, but in most (?) cases they are not what he makes them out to be.

A good example of this was the 2004 release of Fable. Now that Fable 2 is in play on machines around the world, what can be said for Peter? Is Fable 2 a retread of Fable? Was it over-hyped?

Many of you will probably say that Fable 2 is, indeed, much more than Fable was. A much better rendition. Where Fable's combat was criticized a lot, Fable 2's will probably satisfy both casual and advanced players. And then there is the dog! Yes, a mutt. One that you get to rescue, and have as a companion.

I think that you will love the new combat system in Fable 2, and Xbox LIVE will add a new experience.

PC World says, "Fable II is Peter Molyneux's Smartest Game Yet.", and "... his (Peter's) work on Fable II, clear evidence of a mature designer who's finally figured out how to extricate pathos from all that whiz-bang ..."

And from Peter himself, "... to finish Oblivion would take sixty or seventy hours ... in Fable 2, the story lasts thirteen to fourteen hours."

Peter again, "(in Fable 2) If you want to be evil or good or kind or cruel, then that's totally up to you. With Oblivion it was basically all about me killing things."

In summary ...

* this action RPG (role playing game) made exclusively for the Xbox 360 picks up the story 500 years after the first Fable
* wide-ranging open-ended gameplay
* you can choose between a male or female character
* the new combat system provides for short-range, long-range, and magic attacks
* any money earned in the minigames on Live Arcade can be used in the game
* Xbox LIVE online multiplayer mode lets you bring other players into your world

Further comments, reviews, and potential sellers of Fable 2 are available through the Picked by Rick website.