Fable 2, surprisingly good

I was not a big fan of the original Fable, so I was a bit nervous about asking for Fable 2 as a Christmas gift. With the help of other blogs, I managed to work up the confidence. So far, I am glad that I did. I have only put a few hours into Fable 2 so far, but I am really enjoying it.

After playing MMO's lately, a single player RPG is quite refreshing. Some notes:

• Story is nice. I am a fan of a good tale of revenge.
• Graphics are decent. Often times they do seem quite blurry to me, maybe my vision is going?
• Combat is simple but fun. You really feel like you are laying down some smack on the fools.
• The sandbox elements are great and do not feel tacked on at all. I am quite surprised at this, as I was not expecting to enjoy those aspects.
• The dog works out well. I was skeptical about your companion, but it is actually a good game mechanic. No mini-map need, as the dog can provide the cue. Great idea.
• The 'adult' elements feel quite unnecessary. This game feels like a kids (not little kids) game from the start with the Harry Potter type music. I'm not sure if there is more too it, but it feels like a gimmick.
• The B button for Will powers is killing me with the townsfolk. B means cancel to me, so I try to use it to close the radial sometimes, but instead it activates a power and scares the townsfolk.
• Yay for fast travel!
• Trophies are pretty neat too.
  

Overall what I like about the game the most is that it is stress free. While I enjoyed Oblivion, it was almost too open. Fable is more on rails in comparison. Fallout 3 also seems much more stressful than Fable. That is not to say those games are bad, as that would be crazy... just different.

So Fable will be yet another drain on my MMO time, but only temporary as it has an end.

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