The Art of Fable 2 Comments by Rob Fahey

8/10

Ah Toy Story. 'Wait a minute, I just lit a rocket. Rockets ExplODE!' That line gives me goosebumbs everytime I watch it!

This game can't come soon enough, looks phenomenal.

I think they have done a great job with artwork.. how many spiky haired cross dressing emo teenagers can you stand in your (j)RPGs? This feel very European.

A timely article for me as I was looking at some the concept art that I have seen in various media and it is marvellous. There is a picture which I presume was done by Mike McCarthy of a bunch of villagers in a group shot, maybe 15 of them. It was truly beautiful. Every person was full of character, you could imagine a back story for each one of them. You got all that just from they way they were drawn. Fantastic. Do you want to sell it Mr.McCarthy? I'd love a copy!

so close you can taste the disapointment in the air.

7/10.

i guess if you be a fable fan already, then you will probably love it.

if you're a fable detractor, then there will simply be more of the game to hate.

personally i really enjoyed fable, and i daresay i will really enjoy this too.

Great interview! More like this please!

"And this may also be about the only Fable interview you read which doesn't even mention the bloody dog, so savour it."

Fail!

I loved the first game, I've no doubt that I'll love this too

What they said about the scaling back the big hands and feet, I forgot about that! You know what they say about big hands and feet......more pixels....?

Taxi

why do so many people hate fable 1?
i really enjoyed the game, also enjoyed jade empire. both excellent games.

so today, i actually pre-ordered fable 2 :) whoooooo

Really good read, looking forward to Fable 2 even more now :D

I like Lionhead, their games never live up to their expectations, but theyre still good fun to play, + they seem like decent ordinary guys

It's good to see that other people in Lionhead share Peter's sheer relish and fanaticism for their creations. As interviews go, I'm not even sure you needed to be there asking questions, these guys just wanted to tell you absolutely everything they could about the game's dev cycle.

Can't wait for this one. Even if it's as flawed as the first it'll still be full of sheer brilliance.

EG. Please resist the urge to strip soundbites out of this article to make the next 24hours' "news" entries.

This is the 360īs LBP. Hyped to the max, loved by a few, mehhed by the masses. Loved fable1 on pc though.

I'm really not sure what they're babbling on about half the time in this interview. Not at all.

The visually illiterate comment made me smile, mainly as it's absolutely true.

"This is the 360īs LBP. Hyped to the max, loved by a few, mehhed by the masses."

On a hype scale of 1-10 Fable has had about a 4-5 whereas LBP is well into triple figures.

The fundamental difference between the two games will be that Fable has gameplay in the place of LBP's 'Brand potential'. ;)

Interesting thoughts from those two fellows, and nice to read them.

Didn't play Fable, but with each passing snippet, 2 looks more and more appealing.

I learnt my lesson about buying games on day one a long time ago, though, so am not getting overhyped just yet.

@farticusmaximus

LBP doesn't have a peter molyneux behind the wheel though ;)

@the_dudefather

"LBP doesn't have a peter molyneux behind the wheel though ;)"

Is that a good or bad thing? I lost track of whether we're supposed to love or hate him...

I love the art style in this game, can't wait to get stuck into a game that has more varied surroundings than just the one '' Grey, war ravaged city''.
Reminds me more of Tim Burton than Ridley Scott mind.

Good piece, they seem really nice. Did you have to tie up the PR goon for the day?

Looks beautiful from the pictures. That visually illiterate comment made me smile because so many people think great graphics are about polygon counts rather than actually making something generally pleasant to look at. Along with the British sense of humour that this game promises I'm expecting this game to be a joy to play.

@farticusmaximus

just joking, but molynuex was known for his hyping madness, he has been good for fable 2 though

I can't wait for this. The people who want to be disappointed inevitably will be disappointed, the people who are merely expecting a video game, albeit an important one, will find plenty to like. And if you liked Fable 1, then this is a sure bet.

Could be amazing, possible 10/10 I think, but more than likely 9/10.

I can't wait for this. Loved the original, I really never understood the hate it got from certain quarters. One of the few games where I turned it on at about 8:30am, and then realised it was dark & I really needed to go to the toilet. Got up & saw that it was 9pm.

The odd thing was that as I got up to pee, I got a text from a friend of mine that had done exactly the same thing.

Loved it & waiting with baited breath for the sequel.

"This is the 360īs LBP. Hyped to the max, loved by a few, mehhed by the masses. Loved fable1 on pc though."

Fable 1 sold well over 3 million (not including the expansion and pc version), I highly doubt that the masses will meh it.

Beauty is only skin deep if i can still finish it in under 12 hours i shall be sorely disappointed.

By Finish it, do you mean pump through the main quest GameFaqs on the laptop, or explore the game to it's fullest - ie own an entire city or throw an orgy party or go on the perfect date or get a bunch of villagers drunk with you or get married or be the high preist in the evil temple?

"Hyped to the max, loved by a few, mehhed by the masses."

Hyped, OK, I'll give you that. As for "loved by a few...", c'mon, it's an RPG. I'd be worried otherwise.

I enjoyed reading that.

More stuff like this. I always find the thought behind the art (look) of a game very interesting.

@ Garulon

Never used a walkthrough or guide in my entire gaming life and believe me thats a very very long time..Ok don't get me wrong i like Fable but i fail to see the fun in "getting married" "getting drunk" "having omg ORGIES" call me old fashioned (i'm asking for it :P) but in my day a good old rpg went the distance 30+ hours without resorting to simsesque social bullshit, a great story is a great story and if its immersive enough i'll play it out, if that story lasts 8 hours tops prolly down to 3 hours after a first run through i for one will feel slightly cheated...Well here's hoping i'm wrong.

Hmm now if i can co-op in these so called orgies with a few of my lady gamer friends........Sad just sad :P

The art style in Fable is one of my favorite things about the game. I'd like to live in Albion, if I could. :p

@Von_Adder

I'm also worried that Fable 2 will be shorter than I want it to be. I did almost everything there was to be done in the first game, and when it was all over, I was only about 17 hours into it.

I think that most older RPGs were only long because of the endless grinding they forced upon you. Then again, if you're having enough fun to sit and grind for half of the game, it must still be worth it.

I don't get the need for duration to justify a game's validity (in any genre). If it's good it's good. Do the people who whinge about this only watch films longer than X hours, or read books above a certain page count? War and Peace ftw for you folks, I guess... :/


"Left wanting more" is almost always better than "outstayed its welcome" for me though.

My least favourite word when describing a sequel. "darker" Why? Why always darker. It fucked POP, i hope it doesn't do the same to Fable. It had one of the most enchanting environments in any game I have ever played. I remain hopeful.

Great interview. Looking forward to this although I never played Fable 1.

I was gutted when I completed Fable 1. Not because it was too short, like people have been saying above I did EVERYTHING in 17 hour, but because the game was over. I played it through from start to finish about 12 times, and each time I enjoyed it as much. I just don't do that with games anymore. So if Fable 2 comes close to that, I'll love it.

It looks beautiful, I loved Fable 1, I spunked everywhere when the Lost Chapters were announced, and I'm getting ready for my aching ballsack to spurt everywhere again n three weeks. After virtually four years waiting for this I'm expecting it to be the escape from the real-world I so sorely need after cutting down my weed intake, completing Mass Effect, Oblivion, Call of Duty 4, Halo 3 and all the other big-hitters of this generation and being wholly underwhelmed by games like Bioshock.

@Load "$"

I think darker may be cheaper to do. There are far more "dark" artists than cheerful happy ones in the computer game design world. Plus it also seems to sell fairly well to video gamers. I'm not saying there are no cartoon graphics, or they're not popular (becaue is nothing else its a nice change to have a less dark game0, but they seem to have declined over the years and more and more games take this darker style route. Then because you have artist trained who do darker style games, they then make more and so the style continues. I seem to remember all the old shool video games being a lot more cartoon like. I guess it's as much down to fashion as anything else. possible also because teenage boys prefer dark to bright, and teen age boys are still the target audience for the video games market.

Fable had alot of character but it was really boxed in, too much loading and the combat just felt pointless... how can you approach any combat with your own strategies for one button fighting mechanics? You cant... can you imagine the guides? "To defeat the wolverine: Press A to attack and B to roll and block to avoid their attacks, repeat this till they are dead".

I hope theyve fleshed out the combat mechanics this time around to make it more worth while, because I was bored of doing the battles after a while and for a game with so many in it, thats not good.

@Negotiator

Dream on - i hope youre right but i doubth it. Gears 2 and Left 4 dead is getting 9-10/10 all the way.

@Stoatboy : Exactly

Fable is such a awesome game. I am ready for a new one to come out.

orlando personal injury