As the date of launch continues to grow closer, the hype surrounding Fable 2 is increasing at a rate of knots. The differences between this game and the previous game are consistently being highlighted to show potential buyers that this is no mere sequel but an extensive evolution of the game. As greater and greater snippets of information are made available to the general public and the gaming press, the quality of the game seems undeniably good. There are a few points that do need to be queried, which (obviously) are at the heart of many people’s decision on whether to purchase the game. This is apart from the fact that it is a single platform game.

The alteration of apparent time period from medieval to colonial has allowed a greater incorporation of technology and weaponry in this game. The evolution of the weapons available to the character seems to be faithful to the period in which the game is set, which allows a greater immersion in the environment since running around with an AK-47 can sort of spoil the feeling of being in the Victorian age.

A large number of the changes between this game and the previous one involve increasing the player’s emotional involvement in the game. This is particularly true of the dog which accompanies the player wherever he or she travels. While this companion has the praiseworthy laws programmed into it of “unconditionally love the player, self-preservation and do not irritate the player,” the inability to refuse to have the pet at all is annoying in itself. I personally think the choice of whether to have a pet should have been left to the player.

In addition, utilizing a dog as the mini-map doesn’t make sense for those people who utilize their mini-map as a long range planning tool; however, for many people, having a companion to interact with can make the game more interesting. The rules will also go a long way toward mitigating the possible irritation factor. The long term interactions with NPC’s also increase the emotional attachment that you have to the game. These have been heightened to such a degree that many people may truly feel that they have a family with all the good and bad emotions that tends to bring.

If the interaction of the NPC’s with the character is done correctly, then the number of people who chose the “path of corruption” is likely to fall as most people may find it a lot harder to slaughter NPC characters that they have become attached to. With the choices made during the game having such an impact on character development, the emotional attachments can help to accelerate your character development when you start down the path of good or evil. Defending the people you care for in the game may help to increase the rate at which you achieve “good points,” while slaughtering them can accelerate the rate at which you gain “evil points.”