Molyneux would give Fable 2 9/10

By Tom Bramwell Published 2 September, 2008

Bias claim probably for once justified.

Lovably chat-happy Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux reckons Fable 2 is worth 9/10.

"I'd rate it a 9 out of 10," Molyneux told Xbox World 360. "It's the best, most complete game I've ever worked on. The look is perfect, the interface is fantastic."

And the British developer reiterated that he thinks he's learned from the past - something he revealed when we spoke to him in July. "When I think back to Dungeon Keeper, and even the original Fable, they were incredibly guilty of having those mechanics in them where at the end of the day you think, 'So what?'" he said at the time.

"It's far better to cut it down and have a smaller number of things, polished. The dog is the perfect example in Fable 2. The dog is polished to make sure that the limited things that he can do, he does well."

As for the scores Fable 2 gets in the press, we'll have to wait and see, but Molyneux is hardly the first developer to look back on a project and suggest a mark. Most recently Harvey Smith, formerly of Midway, gave Wired his appraisal of the sadly dreadful Blacksite.

"I would give it an 80," he said, although he admitted the low scores weren't a surprise, explaining: "With a year to go, the game was disastrously off rails."

So Molyneux is decidedly more confident, and judging by our recent Fable 2 hands-on preview, he has every right to be. Look out for our full review closer to the game's 24th October release.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (55) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Sir_TimAlot #1 4 years ago

    i would give the crap i took this morning a 9/10 to.
    Edited by 1 at 02/09/08 @ 09:12

  • George-Roper #2 4 years ago

    GIANT FACEPLAM!!!1!

    I do quite unlike PM

  • DanWhitehead #3 4 years ago

    We need more dog polishing in games.

  • the_dudefather #4 4 years ago

    "When I think back to Dungeon Keeper, and even the original Fable, they were incredibly guilty of having those mechanics in them where at the end of the day you think, 'So what?'"

    Don't you talk smack about Dungeon Keeper! Thats probably the best game you will ever make!

    Anyway, to be fair, if asked, what would be an acceptable score to give your own game when asked, 10 is too high, 8 and under could be seen as 'oh he must think his game is rubbish if he give it that'
    Edited by 1 at 02/09/08 @ 09:27

  • Eraysor #5 4 years ago

    I wish he would get around to making Dungeon Keeper 3.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #6 4 years ago

    Hmm if the ultimateley over hyping biased maker only gives it a 9 that doesnt bode well

  • rudedudejude #7 4 years ago

    When you think back to Dungeon Keeper...

    Forget this black and white and fable shit, and just make another Dungeon Keeper!

  • jonthepymm #8 4 years ago

    Why not 10 / 10 ? What's wrong with it?

  • Beano #9 4 years ago

    "I'd rate it a 9 out of 10"

    Funniest Molyneux quote ever :)

    I wonder what he gave the first (and incredible bad) Fable game?

  • andywilkie35 #10 4 years ago

    He's said its the most complete game ever but says its only a 9/10, which I think is fair enough in a way, he clearly means that no game can justify a 10 out of 10 because nothing that has been made yet is absolute perfection

    I personally thought "Shaq Fu" was perfection however

  • LazyDan #11 4 years ago

    DOG POLISH OTHERWISE KNOWN AS NO CONTROL - YES YOU CAN NOW NOT FOR A LIMITED TIME NOT CONTROL THE DOG IN FABLE 2. THIS REVOLUTIONARY FEATURE COMES FROM LOTS OF COMPLAINTS WE RECEIVED ABOUT THEME PARK BECAUSE THERE WASN'T ENOUGH NOT-CONTROLLING OF DOGS.

    OH GO ON THEN, CONTROL THE DOG.... PSYCH! YOU CAN'T! I WAS BEING COY EARLIER THIS IS NOT A 9/10 IT'S A 10/DOG I MEAN 10

  • smirny #12 4 years ago

    too much coffee this morning lazydan?

  • Krelle #13 4 years ago

    @andywilkie35:
    scoring a game 10/10 has nothing to do with"absolute perfection".


  • peteb #14 4 years ago

    The 9/10 he was referring to wasn't what review score he thought it was worth, but rather how it compared to "his original vision". Which, given how outlandish they usually are, means that it must be a damn good achievement.

    All the sites that are running this story today of course prefer the more controversial version of the story it seems.

  • Golgo #15 4 years ago

    After the sales begin to tail off and there's little danger of hurting revenue he'll be saying it represents only about 2/3rds of his original vision - which we can expect to see realized in Fable 3...

  • Lutz #16 4 years ago

    What's more popular; bashing Halo or bashing Fable?

  • aldo_14 #17 4 years ago

    So, that'd translate to 7/10 real-world speak then?

    Actually, I quite enjoyed Fable on the PC, although it was pretty shallow. Albeit I never heard anything about it until well after the Xbox release, so maybe I don't have the same 'lying bastard lied about game' effect as others do.

  • captainrentboy #18 4 years ago

    I can't fooking wait for this game, this, Dead Space, GOW2 and Banjo 3 will hopefully provide a great gaming end to the year.
    To be fair, I haven't seen anything on this game where I've thought ''Uh-oh, that's looking kind of shitty'', the only downer is the already reported fairly average game length.

  • WinterSnowblind #19 4 years ago

    What's with the hate on the first Fable? Although ultimately disappointing because of the hype, it was still a solid game, infact it was easily one of the best games on the Xbox, very original and a lot of fun to play. If you've been paying any attention to the sequel, it HASN'T been being overhyped, he's takled about it very little and whenever he's talked about the new amazing features, it's only been when they're complete and actually in the game, and are usually accompanied by a video demonstartion, unlike with the original were it seemed he was making up new features that may eventually be added.

  • MightyMouse #20 4 years ago

    @Lutz

    Bashing Fable by far, there's the whole extra dimension provided by PM.

  • mcmonkeyplc #21 4 years ago

    It's crap! It should get 10/10 from it's creator.

  • Stoatboy #22 4 years ago

    Better than MGS4 then.

  • Triggerhappytel #23 4 years ago

    And likewise I expect Dennis Dyack would have given Too Human 9/10.

    This means absolutely nothing; is PM just upset that he hadn't been in an EG news story for a week or two?

  • Darren #24 4 years ago

    I must admit I'm a bit sceptical about Fable 2 but still looking forward to it nevertheless (it's pre-ordered!). I've been a big fan of Peter Molyneux's work since playing Populous on the Amiga years and years ago and Dungeon Keeper 2 and Magic Carpet are two of my faves. Sadly I thought the original Fable was a tad underwhelming, having undelivered on its promises, but it wasn't a bad game par se, just a terribly ordinary one albeit one with a delightfully English feel to it (like Rare's games too). I really do hope that this game turns out to be everything the first one should have been... it certainly looks a lot of fun in the (few) videos I've seen. And I can't wait to have my own dog! :)

  • Xerx3s #25 3 years ago

    "It's the best, most complete game I've ever worked on."

    Heh.

  • Xerx3s #26 3 years ago

    "I wish he would get around to making Dungeon Keeper 3. "

    With EA sitting on the IP (among countless others) because they don't want to make a game (it's not street innit) and don't want to sell it off because others might make awesome games out of them?

  • Xerx3s #27 3 years ago

    "Hmm if the ultimateley over hyping biased maker only gives it a 9 that doesnt bode well "

    There was an article about this a while back, turns out that all the 'hype' is largely the media's fault by twisting his words. I.e. When he said that they where exploring the concept of open world it would then be printed as 'it will have an open world!'.

    "I wonder what he gave the first (and incredible bad) Fable game? "

    Just because you thought fable was bad, doesn't mean that it is. If it was, the fable 2 thread wouldn't be filled with tons of people who are very much looking out to the refreshing style.

  • Lebowski #28 3 years ago

    I hope this "9/10" doesn't come back to haunt him. And using the term "polish a dog" isn't the best idea either.

  • wellsie #29 3 years ago

    I would kill for another Dungeon keeper, I still have it installed on my laptop

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #30 3 years ago

    I really liked the first Fable but I still wouldn't give it 29/10. That's just silly.

  • HEAVYface #31 3 years ago

    i rate molyneux 0/10 for modesty.

    10/10 for being a gobshite tho...

  • schnide #32 3 years ago

    Molyneux ALWAYS does this. He's been doing it since the days of the Amiga.

    You'll first hear about the new game he's working on, and he'll say it's the most revolutionary game since his last one, except this one has all the features he promised last time but this time it will REALLY have them!

    Then the game is near completion, and he'll still say it's the best game he's ever worked on (who would ever say that their new title isn't as good as their last?) and that hey, even though a few things he wanted to do didn't quite work out, he really really likes this one.

    Cue reviews that say it's fun, cute but essentially average and forgettable - repeat to line 2.

  • miiiguel #33 3 years ago

    So the guy sucks because he thinks he did his best and likes his job... hmmmm..., I wonder what some of you do for a living.

    Anyway, I do love my little korn shell scripts, now that is pathetic... but I do.

  • bdc #34 3 years ago

    Why not 10/10?

  • peteb #35 3 years ago

    I wish people would read the actual interview before flying off the handle:

    "I'd rate it a 9 out of 10," Molyneux added, when asked if he'd fulfilled his original vision with Fable II.

  • Benno #36 3 years ago

    Hahaha I love all this stupid hype.

  • septimus #37 3 years ago

    He hasn't made a good game since Syndicate. Fingers crossed. Though I did like the original Fable, even with all its issues.

  • RexRunti #38 3 years ago

    After reading the Edge preview I have a sneaking suspision this might actually be modest.

  • Xerx3s #39 3 years ago

    "I really liked the first Fable but I still wouldn't give it 29/10. That's just silly. "

    Spot the person who didn't read it. ;)

    "I wish people would read the actual interview before flying off the handle:

    "I'd rate it a 9 out of 10," Molyneux added, when asked if he'd fulfilled his original vision with Fable II."

    This is exactly what I mean. Here is an idea, why don't people try to best him in accomplishments instead of being so grumpy. In the mean time, try to avoid <a href='http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20080227'& gt;this</a> as much as possible if you will.

  • General_Zod #40 3 years ago

    @septimus

    Aye forget Dungeon Keeper, give me a new Syndicate. I had so much fun burning people with the flamethrower.

  • Arwin #41 3 years ago

    Maybe he meant best game I've ever done for Microsoft - Populous 2 was a 10/10 without question. :p

    I found the original ACE manazine review online (you can too) of Populous 2, it scored a 985/1000, one of the highest rankings in that excellent magazine ever. It was in the period that the magazine was at its very peak too, with wonderful 6 page reviews and a review system that many could learn from in this day and age.

    God that magazine was awesome.

  • JediMasterMalik #42 3 years ago

    This is useless without him rating his other game, or at least with a decent comparison.

  • HEAVYface #43 3 years ago

    "So he's a gobshite because he thinks his game is good?,

    go fuck yourself gobshite"

    awesome!

    no hes a gobshite because he thinks everything he does is 'gold' and for some reason manages to get quoted as such in any publication/website that'll give him airspace. i'd rather see him have a little humility / modesty rather than being the biggest gob on legs because hes proven himself wrong on several occasions.

    chew on that after you've finished chewing your dads dick.

  • charming_fox #44 3 years ago

    I thought it said "Molyneux would give Fable 2.9/10" lollageness

  • hiddenranbir #45 3 years ago

    Only a 9?

    Not high enough for a hardcore gamer like me. HURRR!!

  • magicpanda #46 3 years ago

    I have a feeling Fable II is going to get more than a few 10/10s

  • Floppy #47 3 years ago

    A new Syndicate or Dungeon Keeper... they'd be fantastic. However, no matter how much you and I want them, Molyneux can't deliver them to you. EA owns the intellectual rights to those and all the other Bullfrog franchises when they bought the company from Molyneux and Edgar (Populous, Powermonger, Magic Carpet, Theme Park, Gene Wars... etc).

  • patchbox360 #48 3 years ago

    nothing about this game stands out - i hope i am wrong

  • Bluetooth #49 3 years ago

    It's a repeat of the hype and subsequent disappointment before Black and White, then Fable, were released.

    Third time lucky?

  • L42yB #50 3 years ago

    /polishes dog

    Red Rocket!

  • ronuds #51 3 years ago

    Wow...you people must not have much confidence in yourselves if you think there's something wrong with a person who believes they did a good job on something.

    How DARE you compliment a project you've been working on for years, PM!!!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!!!

    BTW, Fable II looks great and I haven't seen any indication that it won't be. This will likely be my own personal GoTY!

  • SpikeRocks #52 3 years ago

    ronuds, go you! :D

  • itsfuzzy #53 3 years ago

    Molyneux would give Fable 2 9/10

    Theres a surprise


  • smelly #54 3 years ago

    Interviewer : So what score would you give your game?
    Interviewee: Oh i dunno.. laughs.. well it's the best game i've worked on.. so.. laughs.. i dunno.. 9 out of 10 or something.

    Interviewer : QUICK - Go to the press! Game maker says he's game is worth 9/10.. the fanboys will lap that up - may even have a few of them calling someone they've never met a cunt, etc etc..

  • hjarg #55 3 years ago

    Well, let's look at the track record of Lionhead:

    Black and White: Craptastic. Kinda fun, but tedious and with really annoying interface
    Fable 1: Grrrrr. Promised revolution, ended average
    Movies: Also, great fun-great-fun playing, but whoever designed then interface should be shot. And some other logic problems there.

    Basically, all these games had something in common- they were ridiculously overhyped. Molyneux, if given chance, would babble for hours of how great the B&W, Movies, Fable would be and how they all are going to revolutionize the genre and basically how the Peter Almighty is the game designer of the millenia. It's a real shame all these games turned out to be just average.

    But anyone notice a pattern here?