Well, while Reg is busy with Banjo-Kazooie, I'll get a review in. *ahem*
Hello there, everyone. Lord of Armageddon is back with another review. This time, I shall review a game...of slight disappointment. Now, it is not a Nintendo game, but I feel like I must tell you about this game. Without further ado, please welcome my review of:
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Action/RPG
Modes: Single player, cooperative gameplay, Xbox Live
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Dates: 10-21-2008 (North America), 10-24-2008 (Europe), 10-23-2008 (Australia)
Rating by ESRB: M (Mature 17+)
Now, when I said the game was " slightly disappointing," that does not mean it's bad. I actually think this is a cool game. However, there are several things I take issue with. So, let's begin:
POINT OF GAME: Create your very own hero and go on many quests that are fun, addicting, and very creative as you explore the mythical world of Albion. Your main quest is to defeat Lord Lucien, who killed your charaters' sister as a child, and is on a mad mission to build the Tattered Spire, which grants a single wish to one who uses the spires' powers. Your main quest will probably take about 10 hours to beat, however, to complete the game entirely 100% would take way, way longer (at least 100 hours, they say).
GRAPHICS (6/10): The graphics are pretty much decent. Not the best I've seen on the Xbox 360, but they are pretty tolerable. Now, the cutscene graphics look awesome (the seawater in one scene looked amazing). The same cannot be said for the in-game graphics. They look fairly average most of the time, and in some places, the graphics look like they could have been pulled off on the original Xbox. The character animations look a little stiff and certain environments seem a bit...meh. The water in-game looks kinda weird and spectacular effects are kind of hard to notice. But, overall, the graphics are not that bad. I was just expecting more. However, there are also a couple of things I want to point out. The physics engine (Havok) functions a little weirdly in this game. Characters will die and their bodies will hit the ground and bend in the most ridiculous ways possible and sometimes, the engine will glitch out. I killed a monster and all of a sudden, it's body started bouncing around the room endlessly. I have also seen NPC's phase through walls (rarely, but it's happened enough for me to make it worth mentioning), and my character's wife was actually standing in the middle of a bed at one point.
SOUND (9/10): The music is awesome, that's all I really gotta say about it. The voice-acting is mostly okay, however, a bit off in a few places. Some NPC's have bad accents, but overall, they did an pretty good job on the voice acting. The sound effects...all I need to say is, they are fun to listen too.
CONTROLLING AND PLAYABILITY (9.5/10): The controls are solid and they work. The only problem I have with the controls is that the "B" button, which is normally associated as a cancel butten, triggers your magic, or Will, powers. Doing so in the middle of a town can cause a panic. The playability is very workable. The targeting system is nearly-perfect and you can switch between using melee, ranged, or magical attacks very quickly, making combat easy to work with. Your expression wheel is opened up by using the right bumper and it will display many expression you can perform in public. The camera is also very cooperative most of the time, and very rarely will it become a problem, which is good. The leveling system on this game is very creative too. You can channel your experience in battle into three abilities: Strength, Skill, and Will. Strength affects your talent with melee weapons, Skill is for ranged weapon skills, and Will determines your ability to use magic. The game functions like it should and very rarely does something poorly in this part.
ENTERTAINMENT (8/10): Overall, I have to say the game is very entertaining and it would have gotten a higher score if not for a few problems with the story, which I will go into in a little bit. Basically, the game has much in store for you. You can adventure alone with your trusty and loyal dog, or you can have your character settle down, find a wife, and raise a family. This game functions a lot like certain life simulators, like the Sims. You can get a job, buy property, and loads of other things. Your expressions and your actions can have an effect on the people around you and the land of Albion itself. Which reminds me, your character can have alignments in this game as well. Your Hero can be good or evil. Your actions will also affect your characters appearance. Be good and your character will look pure, while being evil has the opposite effect. Your characters' eating habits also affect your apperance. Eating too much meat and drinking to much liquor will fatten up your Hero, while eating veggies will thin him/her down. You can buy property and increasing their prices will show a sign of corruption, while lowering them is a sign of purity. You can equip many weapons, clothing, and even alter your character's hairstyle, and decorate him with tattoos or makeup if you wish. Your ability development will also affect your character's appearance. Focus on Strength and your character gets more muscular. Focus on Skill and your character will grow taller. Focus on Will and magical glowing Will lines will develop on your Hero's body. Your bad actions can also affect your game. Steal, murder, extort, etc. and it will show your character's evil disposition. Hell, go around half-naked and get busted for public indecency. Certain laws will also affect you. Kill innocent people and either get fined, attend community service, or resist arrest. Your choices affect you and the world around you. The combat in game is nearly-perfect and will keep you entertained and ready to look for even more action. There are stronger enemies which can serve as boss battles. These include trolls and banshees, as they require certain strategy to beat. However, there is one problem I need to mention: YOU CANNOT DIE! That's right, you heard me. YOU CAN'T DIE. You can get knocked out and when you get knocked out, you lose any uncollected experience and get a permanent scar, which affects your character's attractiveness and apperance. However, if you don't really give a ******** about your Hero's appearance, then the fact that you cannot die might make things quite a bit too easy.
Basically, there is so much to do in this game, I can't even list anymore of it, except for the main quest.
I need to talk about the story of your main quest to stop Lord Lucien. It involve you finding three Heroes: The Hero of Strength, the Hero of Skill, and the Hero of Will. They will help you in your quest to defeat Lucien. The main plot is very interesting and compells you to play the game even further, even with a while lot of other stuff to do. However, it can get a bit confusing at times, and at a couple of points, it is weird enough to make you go "WTF?"
(SPOILER ALERT!)
I REALLY don't want to have to spoil it for any of you, but I HAVE to talk about the ending of the main quest. Why? Because I think it sucks. You basically acquire this ancient magical music box and you take it to the spire. You're about to face Lord Lucien. He is using the three Heroes to use the power of the spire to grant his wish. You walk up to him and he starts talking. You then hold down "A" so you can use the magical music box to drain the power he is getting from the Heroes. So now you're expecting an epic, kick-a** final battle with the man who killed your sister and threatened to destroy all of Albion, right? WRONG. After you drain the power (very easily, mind you), he starts talking his mouth off AGAIN. You then simply press "Y" to shoot him once and he's dead. That's it. He doesn't even fight back. Okay...seriously...what the ********? That is very lame. You then get to make a single wish and then you're free to explore Albion to your hearts' content. Basically:
Ending of Fable 2 = ******** lame
Overall, though, this game can be quite fun. I'm still trying to complete all the missions and quests, while at the same time, making my Hero live life with family, and also going out to beat up the occassional monster, bandit, or assassin. This game is very entertaining.
REPLAY (3/5):The only reason it gets a good score is because you can create multiple Heroes and play as them. Other than that, if you didn't like the main story, there is no sense in replaying the main quest.
PRO's:- Good, solid controls that work well.
- Loads of missions and quests to complete.
- Great entertainment.
- Smooth combat and targeting system
- Good control over your character's ability growth.
- Cutscene graphics look amazing.
- Fairly decent graphics in many places.
- Story is interesting.
- Good voice-acting
CON's:- One of the lamest endings I've ever seen in a game.
- Some graphics don't look all that spectacular.
- Physics engine functions weirdly at times.
- The game may glitch (rarely, but enough to worth mentioning).
- While the story is interesting, it can get weird at times.
BOTTOM-LINE:If you are interested in the RPG genre, you have to at least check this game out. While the graphics are only decent and the story is interesting, but flawed in several places, the game is overall worth getting if you like the RPG genre. Even if you are not a fan however, this game is still worth a rent. All in all, the game, although a little flawed, is worth buying and it is very enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone who has a 360 and either likes RPG's or is willing to try it out.
FINAL SCORE: 8/10
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